Woman Claims to Own the Sun

[Vhite]

First one who touches it, owns it. Go get it girl.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

Then again, it would be nice to own an acre of Sun for when I retire, just in case she actually does.

Well, you know, once you retire, you can move there and make a living growing and selling...

...wait for it...

...sunflowers!

[small]I'll get my coat.[/small]

But still. This sort of proves that the field of law STILL needs a serious dose of reality. What notary public looked at an application to register ownership of the Sun and DIDN'T laugh this woman out of his/her office? Hey, lawyers? Whenever you start to wonder why your profession is one of the least-liked in the entire world, read up on stories like this.

*sigh* I miss Hankman

Also me want sun plot. It'll be good for picking up chicks

 

[th3_aVengeR]

well i claim ownership of the universe so your paying me rent for living in my space

 

[likalaruku]

Kid: "Look Miss Urheberrechtemeister, I drew a picture of class, & the sun has a smiley face."

Teacher: "Oh I'm sorry Little Timmy, but you have to pay Angeles Duran many pasetas to use the sun in any artworks under copyright law."

 

[blackrave]

Well at least now I know who to sue if I ever get sunburn

 

[Seieko Pherdo]

How does one own the sun?

 

[Use_Imagination_here]

That's actually pretty funny. It's not like this gives her any actual power but it's good for bragging rights.

 

[azurine]

You don't own the sun. Shut up.

 

[Zhadramekel]

This is very simple... cracker be trippin'

 

[Grey Day for Elcia]

EVERYTHING uses the sun. Of the hundreds of billions of organisms on this planet, there is not one that doesn't use the sun in some way, shape or form. This is stupid.

We've relatively recently discovered life so far down into the ocean and so far removed from the greater food chain, that they in no way, shape or form use, come into contact with or otherwise depend on the sun or anything that does so. They live off the heat from volcanoes along the ocean floor, deep enough for no energy, light or radiation to come anywhere near them. Nothing lives down there but these strange "volcano" eco-systems, so there's not even a trickle down effect that sees them prosper from the sun. In affect, the sun could go away tomorrow and they'd not be affected--bar the huge gravity fuck up, lol.

 

[Evil Smurf]

is she a batman villain?

 

[shockywatt]

I claim ownership of all water on earth including the water in your bodies. I will hold it ransom until i get 1 billion dollars

 

[JWAN]

Bullsh1t! I claimed the sun years ago.

 

[shtanto]

pff, no news here. Folks have been trying to sell real estate on the moon for years (some people bought bits of paper and personal delusions). This is simply a new twist on an old scam.

What an awful waste of time. Move along folks, nothing to see here.

 

[Neferius]

Normally I'm the last person to uphold or promote the principles of Communism ...but in this case, I just have to say:

 

[krodux]

...
Dibs on the moon Titan!
OT: I can just see it now...
"Sun taxation causes world wide depression..."

"US annexes sun, heavy casualties."

and so the events of Red Faction begin...

 

[DjinnFor]

Duran says: "There was no snag, I backed my claim legally, I am not stupid, I know the law. I did it but anyone else could have done it, it simply occurred to me first." She plans on charging a fee to anyone that "uses the Sun," giving half to Spain, 20% to Spain's pension fund, 10% to research, 10% towards ending world hunger, and she's keeping the remainder for herself. Good luck collecting.

It wasn't mentioned what Duran meant by "using the Sun," so she could attempt to siphon funds from either Kindergartners or astronomers. It's nice that Duran wants to end world hunger, but if this generates a single penny for her I'll be really upset. You don't own the Sun, Ms. Duran, so just knock it off. Then again, it would be nice to own an acre of Sun for when I retire, just in case she actually does.

She doesn't. I know you were being facetious but property rights are an important topic.

Ownership rights are ultimately enforced by social respect more than anything else, legal papers notwithstanding. People in general tend to recognize that when you set down your plate on a table in front of a spot in a cafeteria but get up to go grab a napkin or something, it's not socially appropriate to then take "your" seat (or your food, for that matter) just because you've temporarily vacated it. And normal people don't go around stealing cars left unattended in parking lots because they're worried that they'll be arrested or that a piece of paper will magically return the cars to their rightful owners, but rather because it's an asshole thing to do that's functionally and morally equivalent to enslaving the victim for the length of time it took them to earn enough money to buy the car.

From a practical standpoint, registering ownership of an item only helps you if
a) Society writ large will enforce such a claim,
b) Questions and disputes over ownership of the item are likely, an
c) You want the strong arm of the government to force would be delinquents to respect your claim

In this case, neither a nor b don't apply. Legally she can pretend like she owns it, but in reality she doesn't own it, and legality only matters from a practical standpoint, so in fact she doesn't own it legally either.

Normally I'm the last person to uphold or promote the principles of Communism...

You're not a Communist if you say some things are un-ownable.

You're a Communist if you say everything belongs to the government. Or, sorry, you "say" that everything belongs to "the Commune" or "us all" but which really translates to "everything is owned by and squandered by whichever bureaucrat gets to it first".