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So Who Should Moonbases Belong To Then?
popularmechanics.com — For just about as long as the moon has been within reach, people have been arguing about lunar property rights: Can astronauts claim the moon for king and country, as in the Age of Discovery? Are corporations allowed to expropriate its natural resources, and individuals to own its real estate?
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- MarkDykeman, on 05/21/2008, -6/+7They should belong to John Koenig. Or the aliens from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
- linagee, on 05/21/2008, -0/+14Nobody can own it unless you're up there to defend it. So right now, nobody owns moonspace.
- uncoveror, on 05/21/2008, -1/+1Au contraire! The Zhti Ti Kofft, aka "martians" have a base up there, and are defending it. Read more!
http://www.uncoveror.com/zhtitikofft.htm - known, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2I own the Moon!
- Eezyville, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1If I had property on the Moon the first thing I'd build is a giant railgun that captures asteroids and shoots them at speeds equal to outrageuos. Then I'd get some asteroids, makes some anti-missle silos, and threaten every country. Yeah that would be cool. ^_^
- uncoveror, on 05/21/2008, -1/+1Au contraire! The Zhti Ti Kofft, aka "martians" have a base up there, and are defending it. Read more!
- dusanmal, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1When mentioning Sci-Fi, do read Ben Bova Sci-Fi books... What he have written is a very likely property-in-space future...
- linagee, on 05/21/2008, -0/+14Nobody can own it unless you're up there to defend it. So right now, nobody owns moonspace.
- reflex768, on 05/21/2008, -2/+24Damned good piece. Call me a cynic but I suspect that like the Homestead Act itself, that proposed treaty authority will end up a contorted mess which will be abused by corporate and state interests. If you want a piece of the moon, get there and sit on it, just like the land rush of the 1880s. It will be a seriously difficult and expensive matter to actually evict a "lunar sooner" once he's ensconced up there in his tunnels. "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and so forth.
- starmanjones, on 05/21/2008, -1/+8i can usually find an opinion that sounds good even if it isn't good. this... almost defies solutions.
the problems seem to be the big company/countries staking out all the good spots... lava tubes, etc. places to live. i think staying alive is going to be more important than owning. what can be drawn up that facilitates that.
i don't think ownership or jurisdiction or laws from earth will matter much in a very short amount of time if ever. staying alive matters. for sometime the mining and resources are going to be more to stay alive than for profit. water may be a problem and it will have to be shared.
maybe starting out with the recognition that we don't have a clue what is needed but recognize the colonies will become sovereign in a way that we may not understand today.
the prime locations for colonies is limited and belong to no one.
if the u.s. government puts in a base and i want to build a base then i have a right and an obligation to build close enough that it makes everyone safer and extends the livable habitat.
in the case of something like lava tubes that are limited in supply... then i have a right to use them but i should arrive or send ahead 'stuff' that i need to make it habitat. sealed... electrical...
at some point basic water and other logistics will be established and a certain amount of habitat will be established... someone will want to move in and bring a few acres of forest. they will bring their forest and the colonists will find apartments for them in the safer lava tubes. that will be the point where rules from earth don't matter.
i think its a mistake to allow it to become defended territory.
- starmanjones, on 05/21/2008, -1/+8i can usually find an opinion that sounds good even if it isn't good. this... almost defies solutions.
- BigManOnCampus, on 05/21/2008, -0/+37I'm predicting corporate sponsorship and ownership.
Sea of Tranquility, brought to you by PepsiCo- justintsmith, on 05/21/2008, -0/+3No. All your moonbase are belong to us.
- blackjack75, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1I predict as always the natives will be exterminated by the time we build a base up there.
- Ceaser57, on 05/21/2008, -0/+15Damn, I really wish I had thought of selling moon property to idiots first.
- Grimdotdotdot, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1I've got an acre I could sell you ;)
- jmichaelg, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1They're idiots - sell it to them twice. Tell them the first guy didn't have the property rights but you do.
- Eezyville, on 05/21/2008, -0/+3Its not to late. You can sell Mars property, Jupiter, Saturn, Europa, and Titan. Then there's the asteroid belt, good for minerals, and the Kuiper belt, where the comets and thus water comes from. But I call dibbs on the Kuiper belt because I want all the comets! Not only do they provide water but also rocket fuel.
- sc0rpi0n, on 05/21/2008, -8/+2Whether it is on Earth, the Moon or Mars, a piece of land belongs to whoever has own or allies' the military power to claim and defend it. "Why does a large piece of land in China territory belong to China?" Because Chinese government has millions of soldiers and weapons to defend it. If they had no military, US would be the first to claim their land and colonize it.
Everybody wants a piece of the moon, but none of them wants to wade war. War is painful to anybody whether s/he is a communist, a socialist or a democrat. That is why these people had the idea of creating the United Nations. USA, China and other countries have their representatives sitting in UN. So... dividing the moon? That wouldn't be a problem. They will initially yell at each other for the sake of media monkey biz show, but at the end of the day, hands will be shook and there they have it their own piece of moonland, and then they can build whatever base and building on it.- Dystisis, on 05/21/2008, -2/+3You speak of communism, socialism and democracy as if those were three ideas in the same category. Democracy is a form of government, communism and socialism is a mode of production. What you meant was: Communism, socialism and capitalism.
- Matt2k, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1Yes, socialism at its roots is independent from a form a government. And Communism is the absence of government. But in practice, states that adhere to those philosophies adopt a certain type of government. I think we kind of got the point he was trying to make.
- MWeather, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1On the same note capitalist countries tend to be democracies, which helps the capitalists purchase the leaders they want.
- Matt2k, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1Yes, socialism at its roots is independent from a form a government. And Communism is the absence of government. But in practice, states that adhere to those philosophies adopt a certain type of government. I think we kind of got the point he was trying to make.
- Dystisis, on 05/21/2008, -2/+3You speak of communism, socialism and democracy as if those were three ideas in the same category. Democracy is a form of government, communism and socialism is a mode of production. What you meant was: Communism, socialism and capitalism.
- kakapu4u, on 05/21/2008, -8/+45Same as here on Earth: the guy with the bigger gun.
- tufftugg, on 05/21/2008, -1/+6 that's how it works, but others live in a world of denial of this fact.
- seanof, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2Most people buy title from someone else and don't have to worry about how owned or used it before. With the Moon there is no one to buy title from and the system people see will not work.
- SteelChicken, on 05/21/2008, -0/+5"all power comes from the barrel of a gun." - Mao
- TsuruchiBrian, on 05/21/2008, -0/+4In fact, we don't even need fancy laser guns or anything, as regular small arms work just fine in space. In fact they work better with less gravity.
- Eezyville, on 05/21/2008, -1/+1Oh there's still gravity in space, how do you think we orbit the Sun. In fact if you shoot a bullet in space, if it fires since there's no oxygen in space, I wonder if it will orbit some celestial body instead of going straight?
- TsuruchiBrian, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1I didn't say there was NO gravity, I said there was less gravity on the moon. This means there will be less inaccuracy caused by bullet drop http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullet_drop . There will also be less atmosphere, hence less wind resistance and less inaccuracy caused by differences in air pressure between the gun and the target. Bullets will also be going much faster by the time they reach their target due to decreased friction with the air, and further minimizing the effect of bullet drop.
Also bullets don't need atmospheric oxygen to function. This is a comman misconception. Gun powder usually contains potassium nitrate (KNO3) and this is what supplies the oxygen for the chemical reaction. This is why bullets still work under water (although not as well) and in space (much better).
- TsuruchiBrian, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1I didn't say there was NO gravity, I said there was less gravity on the moon. This means there will be less inaccuracy caused by bullet drop http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullet_drop . There will also be less atmosphere, hence less wind resistance and less inaccuracy caused by differences in air pressure between the gun and the target. Bullets will also be going much faster by the time they reach their target due to decreased friction with the air, and further minimizing the effect of bullet drop.
- steviesteveo, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1Especially if you can just threaten the stereotypical gunfight on a plane explosive decompression scenario that will terrify every single moonbase operator, it'd be a very hard environment to police.
- Barryke, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1Ballistic weapons in space is a big nono. Think. You want energy weapons.
- TsuruchiBrian, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1Bullets do have energy. They have kinetic energy.
- steviesteveo, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1Why would we need energy weapons (you mean laser weapons and the like, yeah)?
A gun that fires tiny round that has just enough force to pop a hole in an exterior wall can kill an entire moonbase, whereas you'd be hard pressed to shoot everyone in a moonbase with a laser gun.
- Eezyville, on 05/21/2008, -1/+1Oh there's still gravity in space, how do you think we orbit the Sun. In fact if you shoot a bullet in space, if it fires since there's no oxygen in space, I wonder if it will orbit some celestial body instead of going straight?
- tufftugg, on 05/21/2008, -1/+6 that's how it works, but others live in a world of denial of this fact.
- SeaweedWater, on 05/21/2008, -10/+49All your base already belong to us.
- withears, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2Damn, you went there!
- supaklaw, on 05/21/2008, -1/+6Was expecting this a bit higher up the comment list...
- blazes816, on 05/21/2008, -0/+6All your base already belong to U.S.
Fixed.
- EffYoo, on 05/21/2008, -8/+6Considering that we're decades away from this scenario becoming economically feasible, this question is nothing more than a though-exercise for lawyers.
- bungoman, on 05/21/2008, -0/+6True, but I'd say it's a pretty important one. It'd be nice if for once we could have something like this sorted out in advance.
- steviesteveo, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2QFT, this -needs- to be sorted out internationally in advance or when it is economically feasible we're going to meet someone sitting up there with a rifle on the porch ready to defend the land he's claimed.
Also, have a little wonder for thought exercises, this one is pretty interesting.
- steviesteveo, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2QFT, this -needs- to be sorted out internationally in advance or when it is economically feasible we're going to meet someone sitting up there with a rifle on the porch ready to defend the land he's claimed.
- bungoman, on 05/21/2008, -0/+6True, but I'd say it's a pretty important one. It'd be nice if for once we could have something like this sorted out in advance.
- KeepSwinging, on 05/21/2008, -2/+37The Mooninites?
- Harbinger67, on 05/21/2008, -0/+4So maybe you'd be a good person to ask who wrote "Da moon rulz", on my car, with a key.
- robertgoodwin, on 05/22/2008, -1/+1Or how about the Lunatics? :-D
- WTFppl, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2"Everyone"...Well, not the clear people!
- corryface, on 05/21/2008, -2/+1i own the moon
- aladrin, on 05/21/2008, -7/+57All your moonbase are belong to us.
- Canadian0207, on 05/21/2008, -1/+4beat me to it
- ladbroke, on 05/21/2008, -0/+6I was just going to go for something a bit more subtle, such as:
"Us. All of them." - richbradshaw, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2I came to this story just to find that comment in order to digg it up.
- Nougat, on 05/21/2008, -8/+7Moon *****
---
I say, ***** the moon!
(A poem by George Carlin) - ElAssoWipo, on 05/21/2008, -3/+18Lol at legal aspects of the moon.
Like any "new land" the ones to claim it will be the ones who have the power to keep it.
Contracts tend to lose significance when there's absolutely no authority to enforce them.
And if you want to see something extremely stupid:
http://www.lunarinternational.com/?gclid=CLrWx53kt ...- alecks, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1was the gclid url querystring really necessary or are you working on commission here?
- beatrixkiddo, on 05/21/2008, -4/+2Buzz Aldrin!
http://digg.com/people/Buzz_Aldrin_punches_a_guy_i ... - Screwy1138, on 05/21/2008, -0/+7Agreeing with some of the above.... laws and contracts are useless if unenforceable. Ownership of land, on Earth or elsewhere, goes to anyone who can enforce/defend their claim.
- Dystisis, on 05/21/2008, -5/+1Ephraim the retarded rabbit.
- usgovterrorists, on 05/21/2008, -22/+3The terrorist United States Government is use to using might in the Middle East, will surely use might on the moon as well.
United States Government are terrorists, war criminals, and horrific liars.
Where's the evidence that kerosene fires melted steel?
How did the huge molten pools of metal get under the twin towers and building 7?
9-11 was an inside job! 9-11 official story was a lie! What happened to building 7?
Depleted uranium is a weapon of mass destruction!
Play Wall Street like a PONZI SCHEME!
The elections are rigged, unsecure voting machines & ballots!
Terrorist United States Government mandated a fivefold increase in the use of biofuels.- wyzzerdd, on 05/21/2008, -0/+4cocaine is a hell of a drug...
- smackieattk, on 05/21/2008, -0/+3You're just plain kooky. BURIED!
- reuscel, on 05/21/2008, -0/+4Your schtick is getting really ***** old.
- datastorageguy, on 05/23/2008, -0/+1Nurse!!! 1000ccs of thorzene STAT.
- corryface, on 05/21/2008, -2/+4there would be some race to own the moon if they found oil on it.
- uncoveror, on 05/21/2008, -2/+4Bush already wants to claim the moon so red China can't control all the green cheese.
http://www.uncoveror.com/moon.htm
- uncoveror, on 05/21/2008, -2/+4Bush already wants to claim the moon so red China can't control all the green cheese.
- TheSageBush, on 05/21/2008, -7/+5Uhm, it should belong to ~the world.~ But yeah, it's not that easy... humanity blows.
- SteelChicken, on 05/21/2008, -2/+1does your house belong to the world?
- pkonink, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1I agree - it could be the first global park. Like Yellowstone, but for the planet earth.
- steviesteveo, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1Yeah, the first global park that gets mined to power spacecraft.
It would be a lovely idea though.
- steviesteveo, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1Yeah, the first global park that gets mined to power spacecraft.
- IphtashuFitz, on 05/21/2008, -2/+18Do the same thing as Antarctica as far as I'm concerned.
- juanchopanza, on 05/21/2008, -2/+3Obviously commercial leases are going to be required if we want to exploit the moon's resources and establish permanent settlement. My favored approach to settlement is a submoonarian tube drilled by a nuclear powered excavator, 10 meters high and encircling the moon. The tube depth would vary from 10 to 30 meters depending on terrain. It would provide access to the moon for exploration and exploitation as well as providing a safe area for manufacturing, commercial and living areas. I'm looking for capital startup money. Have any?
- Harrison88, on 05/21/2008, -0/+26Piratebay.
/thread - prleet, on 05/21/2008, -10/+0It is remarkable that people are worrying about the properties of Luna and whatever, which isn't a concern for people who are thinking logically. Assume that the sun is going to be around for another 5 to 6 billion years, whats the likely that Luna will be around for 5 million years. What happens if Luna isn't around? Say good bye to day and night and maybe just 24/hr straight sun. I give or take another million years before we need to get of this planet and scram.
- cgiupload, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2apparently u don't understand why we have night time on Earth.
- Anonchrist, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1Bill Nye had a lecture about that in Texas. Please don't storm out when he presents the theory.
- richbradshaw, on 05/21/2008, -1/+1Isn't it to do with eclipses?
- starmanjones, on 05/22/2008, -0/+2>Assume that the sun is going to be around for another 5 to 6
>billion years, whats the likely that Luna will be around for 5
>million years. What happens if
if you think it through its not likely that we have that long. the earth and sun and moon may be here X billion years but that doesn't imply we could live here. the earth has suffered any number of mass extinctions. if the weather changes drastically as in ice age... we could find the remaining humans living a subsistence existence. i think the most important is this.
we have built a civilization where most humans live in poverty. the first world elite use resources like they won't end and we use more than our share. however, we nearly have the the technology to manipulate matter and energy in ways that give all humans a chance.
we have that opportunity because we first world elites are taking more than our share of resources. another way to think of it is that we have the wealth. disaster strikes and we may loose that wealth.
i think that its fairly easy to make an argument that we have a couple hundred years to make the leap from using everything around us faster than we should to manipulating matter and energy to our advantage. if we don't make this leap then we may not ever make it and humans will go extinct and the universe won't know we existed.
i think its now or never.
- cgiupload, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2apparently u don't understand why we have night time on Earth.
- RetepNamenots, on 05/21/2008, -10/+6Why not fix Earth before screwing up some other land mass?
- juanchopanza, on 05/21/2008, -1/+3Why not save Terra and screw up some other land mass?
- bungoman, on 05/21/2008, -3/+7Colonizing the moon and reaping the benefits of the tremendous advances in technology that will come with that makes a lot more sense than just trying to fix our problems here on Earth first. Technology provides and will continue to provide solutions of many of our problems (from the mundane to the global) and if we can learn a lesson from our attempts at just getting to the moon it's that colonizing it will require new things we probably haven't even thought of yet that will benefit all of mankind.
- pkonink, on 05/21/2008, -0/+3I love technology, but I am not so obtuse to think it will "save" humanity. How long have we been around? At least several hundred thousand years in our current stage of development.
Yet how long have we needed "saving?" A couple thousand years? In terms of impending eco-catastrophe how long - a couple hundred years? Perhaps to save ourselves we need to start looking inside ourselves to find out how we lived for so long in harmony with our habitat rather than outside for blame and salvation.
- pkonink, on 05/21/2008, -0/+3I love technology, but I am not so obtuse to think it will "save" humanity. How long have we been around? At least several hundred thousand years in our current stage of development.
- Sibir, on 05/21/2008, -1/+8The moon should be owned by those who first bring it out of a state of nature, and then, only that portion which they have improved - same as any other property. Locke has this covered.
- spwpi10, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2Locke's theory has plenty of problems associated with it. Just because we use an economic system essentially based off of his ideas doesn't make him right. I personally think our economic system is flawed and promotes class seperations and poverty.
- Sibir, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1I agree entirely with you first two statements.
There are indeed problems with Locke's system. Firstly, who gets to decide exactly what constitutes an "improvement"? Does my walking out an area and putting sticks in the ground around a plot of land make it improved?
Also, just because the United States once recognized homesteading(even if in a very limited way) does not make it just or necessarily the best solution.
However, I happen to believe that Locke's ideas regarding homesteading are the most reasonable, just ideas we have at our disposal. Yes, there are indeed problems, but that is true of any system which must divide up limited resources for ownership. The idea that such a division should be "fair" is widely accepted, but what is "fair"?
I should also state that I do not support the existence or exertion of force by any coercive government upon the moon. I happen to believe that a Lockean system will arise from the cooperation and interaction of individuals seeking use of the moon. I don't believe that a coercive legal regime is necessary for private property to exist, in fact, I'd say that a centralized, coercive legal authority would be the biggest enemy of private property.
I could go on here, justifying my view that private property is best way to handle the ownership of the means of production and all other forms of real property(read as "not intellectual property"), but I'll only go down that route if you're interested.- spwpi10, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1Private property necessarily means that some people have the opportunity to own more than other people, even if just by chance. These people then accumulate more wealth because they have the advantage. Down the road you have people that own all the means of production and essentially other people (workers). It's an inevitablity, sure you can have private property as a means of owning the means of production for awhile but in the long run certain people will accumulate more wealth than others and you will end up with what are essentially today's giant global corporations.
- Sibir, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1I agree entirely with you first two statements.
- spwpi10, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2Locke's theory has plenty of problems associated with it. Just because we use an economic system essentially based off of his ideas doesn't make him right. I personally think our economic system is flawed and promotes class seperations and poverty.
- awtripp, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1Moonbase Commander FTW!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonbase_Commander - zadadka, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation.
"Launch Interceptors!" - shermanthetank, on 05/21/2008, -3/+3Me.
- blipblipbeep, on 05/21/2008, -1/+0Well i was gonna say it. you beet me to it, So i dugg you. stay cool bro.
Happyness is whatever makes u feel happy.
- blipblipbeep, on 05/21/2008, -1/+0Well i was gonna say it. you beet me to it, So i dugg you. stay cool bro.
- Orion682, on 05/21/2008, -1/+5January, Universal Century 0079.
The space colonies of Side 3, declaring themselves the Duchy of Zeon, launched a war of independence against the Federated Union of Earth. At the same time, the Zeon Forces undertook Operation British: An attempt to drop a space colony onto Earth; the target Jabrow Base, Headquarters of the Earth Federal Forces in South America. However after the colony entered Earths atmosphere it was destroyed over the Arabian Peninsula. The largest piece hurdled toward Earth, and struck Sydney, Australia, instantly transforming the city into a huge gulf.
The Duchy of Zeon, based on space colonies didn't have the raw materials needed to fight an extended war in Space. With the failure of Operation British, a war was now inevitable. So they embarked on a plan to land on the Earth to secure the materials they needed. With eminent speed, they seized 2/3 of Earths surface. Even Australia, which bore the worst scar of the Operation British disaster, has fallen subject to Zeon attack for it's abundance in natural resources. The Earth Fedral forces in Australia already battered could do nothing to repel the Zeon onslaught.
Now the Federal Forces will be fighting for the safety and common good of the people of Earth. Led by one of the greatest diplomats, pilots, and leaders there has ever been: Isaea Roenall. "Suite up boys...the time is upon us..."- StaticThunder, on 05/21/2008, -1/+1Arg, the spellings!!!
The colony was jumping hurdles?
The Federal Forces went to a hotel?- theatheist, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1Digg for Gunam UC century
- Orion682, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1Considering that most of that was from memory, forgive me for misspelling like 3 words -_-
- StaticThunder, on 05/21/2008, -1/+1Arg, the spellings!!!
- manbear, on 05/21/2008, -8/+3All your moonbase are belong to us.
- YouAreNumber6, on 05/21/2008, -2/+2Whoever builds the first catapult? Or the first secret catapult.
- dupswapdrop, on 05/21/2008, -1/+3So anyone ever read "The Man Who Sold the Moon" by Robert A. Heinlein?
- Masefield, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2It should belong to no one until it blows out of orbit. Now, there's a series that has potential for a sequel or remake.
- nard3456, on 05/21/2008, -0/+4The moon will be claimed by the country that has the military power to defend it.
- jimmies, on 05/21/2008, -0/+7[King Soloman]Let's cut it in half!!!! [/King Soloman]
- steviesteveo, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1Oh that's cute, I like that idea. Dugg.
- MatthewDuke, on 05/21/2008, -4/+4The moon belongs to the United States. Everybody knows that.
- gquaglia, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2We own the rest of the world, might as well own the moon too.
- Gndoab, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2that reminds me of that gay british comedian...
"We took over the world through the cunning use of flags!..."but we live here"...yes, but do you have a flag?" - Tarkaan, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1Dude. It's not the United States. It's US. All your base are belong to US. That meme is so old it's got hair.
- Beson669, on 05/21/2008, -0/+10That's no moon...
It's a SPACE STATION- supaklaw, on 05/21/2008, -2/+2There is no spoon...
It's a Mace Station.
- supaklaw, on 05/21/2008, -2/+2There is no spoon...
- MadOgre, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2It should belong to Sealand.
- urazn13, on 05/21/2008, -6/+1ALL UR BASE R BELONG 2 US
- mpfarmer, on 05/21/2008, -4/+5I expected more "base belong to us" jokes....
- Matt2k, on 05/21/2008, -2/+6> the Moon Treaty, in 1979. It explicitly barred private property rights on the moon. It also provided that any development, extraction and management of resources would take place under the supervision of an international authority that would divert a share of the profits, if any, to developing countries.
And its thinking like that which will lead to Moon colonies, once established and self sufficient, moving towards an independent government trading with corporations based on earth.- StaticThunder, on 05/21/2008, -1/+3I didn't sign that treaty. And if I landed on the moon, the first thing would be to renounce my citizenship -- thus relieving me of any treaty obligations my homeland has -- and take ownership of it as private property to set up my own fiefdom.
The trouble with treaties is not everyone signs them, and you don't really have authority over an object unless you can control it. - jpowell180, on 05/26/2008, -0/+1The United States did not sign the Moon Treaty.
Also, "Developing Countries" that don't put up a share of the capital toward establishing a lunar outpost don't deserve jack from the profits!
- StaticThunder, on 05/21/2008, -1/+3I didn't sign that treaty. And if I landed on the moon, the first thing would be to renounce my citizenship -- thus relieving me of any treaty obligations my homeland has -- and take ownership of it as private property to set up my own fiefdom.
- YodaJones, on 05/21/2008, -5/+1All your moonbases are belong to me.
- TKOtheKDR, on 05/21/2008, -2/+1The Autobots.
- digghasnoethics, on 05/21/2008, -0/+10This is all unimportant and small scale.
I own the entire universe outside of earth's geostationary orbit. All I need to impose that claim is enough armament to shoot down any rocket that travels outside this near earth region without my permission. So far I've let science probes through, but its at my discretion.
BTW there is a invoice waiting for all the solar energy you've stolen... - macdaddy357, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1That dude selling plots on the moon should hire the Spongmonkeys to sing a jingle for him!
http://www.rathergood.com/moon_song/ - reedts, on 05/21/2008, -0/+4Somebody set up us the bomb.
- synthpop, on 05/21/2008, -1/+15this just in - slam dunk evidence shows that Al-Queda has been building terrorists training camps on the moon for years.
to protect the Earth from evildoers we hereby launch "Operation Lunar Freedom" and claim the moon in the name of Amurka!- Gndoab, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1in baltimore it's "balmure murlin, Amurica"
- cubicledrone, on 05/21/2008, -1/+1I know. Let's hire a bunch of really smart people and put them to work building a moon base. Let's pay for it with a big government check. Let's put some fatass middle managers in charge and have them arbitrarily reject designs, obstruct progress and generally ***** things up for as long as possible. Let's make those smart people work weekends, holidays, nights, all night, all the next day and give them some free enchiladas to compensate. Because this is capitalism and by gum, we're paying those people and we have a right to make them miserable!
Once the base is done, and the haggard, overworked employees all smile and shake each other's hands to congratulate their colleagues for their success, let's call them into rat ***** #1's office one at a time and fire their asses and have four security people escort them and their sad little cardboard box to the BACK door and shove them into the alley.
Then let's hand the keys to the new base over to some really big company (for free of course) so their executive committee of lying cheat rat ***** donut-residue covered bald-headed crouton-pouring phone-flipping I have to take this call because I'm so much more important than you powerpoint hairpiece house husband Bob from accounting gangrene-infected unwiped asscracks can brand it, congratulate themselves at the golf course and pocket the profits.
Of course, this is all a fragrant load of *****. We don't have the huevos to build a paper airplane in this country any more. - DarthTurducken, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1They should belong to ...the Moon. Isn't that right, Err?
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