>US Code Title 18 Sec. 641
>(http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/641.html) > >"Whoever
embezzles, steals, purloins, or knowingly converts to his use
or >the use of another, or without authority, sells, >conveys
or disposes of any record, voucher, money, or thing of value of
the >United States or of any department or >agency thereof, or
any property made or being made under contract for the >United
States or any department or agency thereof; or..." > >The
reason being according to Space.com is that: > >"As NASA never
relinquished ownership of the spacecraft, possession of >Challenger
debris translates to theft of government property. Okay, so
there's a US Code covering recovering debris of 'government property', but
this is at odds with the historical 'law of the sea' (which should have
set precedent, especially in the recovery of the Challenger debris which
all fell in the ocean) that any 'wreck' or portion thereof becomes the
property of either whomever expends the time and effort to recover it, or
it becomes the property of the owner of any land it happens to wash up
on...but what the hell, since the PTB no longer care about the
Constitution and Bill of Rights, why should International Law cause them
any concern? It seems to me that above a certain height,
space should become 'international waters' -- or does the U.S. government
claim ownership of ALL space that happens to lie above any U.S.
land? If a U.S. battleship sank out in the open sea, would
the U.S. government prosecute anyone who dived to the site of the sunken
ship and recovered any items? Would they do so even though
international law has historically allowed such operations, stating that
those who recover the property become the new owners of such
property? If 'transfer of ownership' applies to something that sinks
in the open ocean, it should also apply to something in space (altho where
'space' begins would have to be defined, just as 'international waters'
are defined)... It would have been interesting to see what
would have occured if Columbia fell apart over Libya or Cuba or the
interior of China or over some other country not particularly friendly
with the U.S....how would the U.S. go about prosecuting locals who
gathered up debris and decided to either keep it or sell it to the highest
bidder...? June
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