Category Archives: Law

Law, Media Criticism, Political Commentary

The “Breaking News” About The FBI And Trump

4 Comments

My opinion:

The leadership of the FBI under Obama were apparently all dirty cops.

[Update a while later]

Watergate, by any other name. People should be prosecuted for this, and not just McCabe.

Business, Economics, Law, Political Commentary, Science And Society, Social Commentary, Space, Technology and Society

Space Property Rights

11 Comments

Steve Wolfe just sent me a call for papers that’s right up my (and perhaps some of my readers’) alley:

I am chairing an interesting program at the ISDC this year titled the Space Settlement Policy Forum. It will be held June 5th in Washington, DC. Forum details and agenda are attached.

Though most consider discussion of space settlement related policies to be academic, for Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and other leaders the reality of space settlement is an imminent and highly desirable probability. In this forum we will take a sober look at the laws and policies that would or should be implemented in order to facilitate and encourage space settlement development. The Forum will address this broad challenge without presuming a single ‘silver bullet’ solution.

Topic Categories Include:

  • How Current Space Law Encourages and Inhibits Space Settlement Development
  • Potential Government Incentives for Private Funding of Space Settlements
  • Changes to International Law to Enable Space Settlement Development
  • Licensing Regime for Space Settlement Development and Construction—What would it look like?
  • Proper Role of Government in Space Settlement Development: Leading the Way or Being a Cheer Leader?
  • What Are the Space Settlement Enabling Technologies That Government Agencies Should Be Investing In Now?

Presentation Submission Guidelines:

  1. Prepare a 15-minute to present with slides
  2. Prepare a paper of not less than 3-pages that will be publish in the proceedings of the conference.
  3. The presentation must recommend, and argue for, a particular legal or regulatory change directly related to space settlement
  4. The paper must provide a summary that includes specific recommendations for policy change
  5. Interest must be expressed to Steve Wolfe immediately
  6. Abstract submission due by January 25, 2019

Kind of short notice, but I’ll probably be submitting multiple abstracts.

Business, Law, Political Commentary, Space, Technology and Society

The Space Frontier Act

1 Comment

It passed the Senate. I like the name, but the Lefties will hate it. I’m glad that the Office of Space Commerce is no longer under NOAA (I had discussed that issue with Jason Kim at lunch during the Galloway Symposium a couple weeks ago), and I don’t think we have to assign regulatory authority to it yet. Before we do that, we need to understand very clearly exactly what orbital activities are being regulated. Unfortunately, it’s unclear whether it will get through the House before the session ends.

[Update late morning]

Apparently the House is voting for it today, under suspended rules (they’ve pre-reconciled with the Senate), so it looks like it will go through as is.