Saturday, November 11, 2006

Virgiliu Pop on the "Cultura Nova" show

On November 11th, 2006, George Gaina of the "Europa Nova" TV in Timisoara had me as a guest on the "Cultura Nova" show.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

SF Gate: "Unreal estate -- for some, the moon's the limit"

Carol Lloyd, from SF Gate, interviewed me for an article on space property rights (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi%3Ff=/c/a/2006/10/22/REGIELSHR91.DTL):

What do you get when you take the real away from real estate?
Unreal Estate, of course. Otherwise known as space real estate, this intergalactic enterprise zone has been around for centuries. ...
Earlier this year, Virgiliu Pop, a Romanian space law expert, published his monograph, "Unreal Estate: The Men Who Sold the Moon," which chronicles the history of celestial space grabs and their legal ramifications.
Interestingly, Pop, like many other space lawyers who have weighed in on the issue, aren't focused on consumer protection so much as the protection of his profession.
"Space law is very complex -- it deals with issues as varied as sovereignty in space, pollution in space, registration of satellites," he states in an e-mail. Since his doctoral dissertation for the University of Glasgow deals with property rights in outer space, he's concerned that Hope and other celestial "space oil" salesmen are influencing what should be a serious discussion about how to control space ownership in the future.
"This issue (of unreal estate) has hijacked the public perception of space law," he writes. The primary issues he's concerned about vis-a-vis space law currently involve how governments determine satellite positioning, and regulating satellite frequencies and other potential conflicts between national uses for outer space.
"In the public mind, space law ... does not mean regulation of the frequency spectrum, it does not mean registration. For the regular person on the street, space law concerns the sale of extraterrestrial real estate."

Sunday, October 1, 2006

Corod, toamna 2006

This house belonged to my great-grandmother, and used to be my childhood paradise (1974-1988). It may not mean much to others, yet to me, it has a huge emotional value.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

El Mundo: "El hombre que vende la luna"

Julio Valdeon writes for "El Mundo" (http://www.elmundo.es/suplementos/cronica/2006/565/1156629605.html):

Virgiliu Pop, investigador de la Universidad de Glasgow y del Instituto Internacional de Ley Espacial sostiene que aunque la ley reconociera la propiedad privada del espacio Hope no sería dueño de la Luna. «Él sólo afirmó que la poseía, como si alguien sostiene que es Dios o el rey del mundo», dice. En 2001, Pop inscribió el Sol a su nombre: «Lo hice para mostrar cuán ridículo es decir que es mío porque yo lo digo. Si alguien sostiene que la Luna es suya creo que debería pagarme por la luz que recibe de mi propiedad».

Saturday, July 1, 2006

Flacara: "Virgiliu Pop: "Sunt pentru proprietatea asupra asteroizilor""

Dan Tornea and Alice-Claudia Gherman interview me for "Flacara" (http://www.revistaflacara.ro/index.php?an=2006&luna=iulie&nr=7&articol=Virgiliu_Pop_Sunt_pentru_proprietatea_asupra_asteroizilor.xml):


Pamant de vanzare pe Luna? Ganditi-va de doua ori si cumparati o data! Inainte sa cumparati un certificat de proprietar al Lunii pentru a va impresiona iubita, cereti parerea expertului Virgiliu Pop. Romanul, specialist in Drept spatial, a demontat "afacerea" americanului Dennis M. Hope - vanzarea de teren pe Luna si nu numai - intr-o carte celebra si mult apreciata la nivel international: Unreal Estate - The Men who Sold the Moon! Prin anii '80, americanul Dennis M. Hope si-a inegistrat dreptul de proprietate asupra a 52 de corpuri ceresti si de atunci incoace a reusit sa vanda milioane de hectare de proprietati extraterestre pamantenilor creduli.
Afacerea spatiala i-a adus venituri considerabile, transformandu-l in milionar. Inclusiv compatriotii nostri s-au repezit sa muste din momeala americanului. Realitatea este ca vanzarea de terenuri spatiale e ilegala! Cel putin asa declara Virgiliu Pop, omul intervievat de catre reporterii unor publicatii extrem de serioase precum New Scientist, Space.com/MSNBC, The Space Show, La Tercera, Ta Nea, Geo Magazine.


- Daca oamenii vor sa-si cumpere pamant pe Luna, de ce vrei sa le strici placerea?

- Nu vreau sa le stric placerea, vreau doar sa nu-si faca vise in van. Daca vor sa-si cumpere pamant pe Luna atunci poate ca vor trebui sa mai astepte, probabil peste 20 de ani va exista intr-adevar posibilitatea de a-si cumpara teren pe Luna. Personal, sunt un adept al drepturilor de proprietate in spatiu, dar la ora actuala nu poti sa cumperi terenuri pe Luna. Pur si simplu e o minciuna si de ce sa se pacaleasca oamenii aia!?

- A fost roman cel care a vandut primul asa ceva?

- Nu. Exista intr-adevar un roman care vinde, la Bucuresti, pamant pe Luna, se numeste Adrian Dragan, dar face, hai sa spunem, parte din franciza lunara a lui Dennis Hope. E pur si simplu o filiala a Ambasadei Lunare, cum exista in multe alte state.

- Stie Adrian Dragan ca ai scos cartea asta in care...


- El nu, dar Dennis Hope stie. I-am si luat interviu si am cazut de acord asupra faptului ca in capitolul despre el, il voi prezenta cu propriile lui cuvinte, dar, la sfarsit, imi voi permite sa-mi aduc criticile. Deci asta a fost intelegerea pe care am respectat-o!

- Cum te-ai documentat? E o mare afacere vanzarea de terenuri spatiale?

- De fapt vanzarea de terenuri spatiale nu exista! E doar un mit. E pur si simplu ca inainte, de pilda, acum 200 de ani se vindeau terenuri in Rai.

- Biserica!

- Nu Biserica! Bine, existau, ma rog, indulgentele... dar ma refer la anumiti oameni care ziceau ca vand teren in Rai si oamenii inghiteau asemenea povesti. La ora actuala traim in era relativismului moral. Daca zici ceva, lumea o ia de buna. Ei bine, eu trebuie sa combat acest relativism moral, fie el si in aspectul dreptului de proprietate. De fapt, dreptului ireal de proprietate in spatiu... daca ar fi un drept real, eu chiar nu as combate asta! Bine, sunt oameni care combat dreptul de proprietate in spatiu, vor un fel de socialism spatial! Adica, daca ma duc pe Luna si exploatez Luna, vor sa impart veniturile mele cu toata lumea, nu, nu sunt de acord cu asa ceva!

- Esti pentru capitalism in spatiu?

- Da, dar nu pentru un capitalism neadevarat, un capitalism de domeniul fanteziei, al neadevarului, ci pentru un capitalism real in spatiu. Gen: te duci acolo, inclusiv aterizeaza un robot pe un asteroid si atunci acel asteroid poate sa devina al tau. Dar nu zici Luna e a mea si gata! Si daca ar fi legal, dar nu e legal. Cine e Dennis M. Hope? Nu e prima persoana care a revendicat Luna, loturi lunare se vindeau inca de prin 1890, in New York.

- Ai reusit sa-ti faci o idee, cam la ce nivel sunt afacerile lui?

- Pai, sunt cateva milioane de oameni care au cumparat certificate. Nu care au cumparat pamant pe Luna, ci care au cumparat certificate! Aici e diferenta, intre pamant si certificat. Certificatul zice ceva, pamantul e altceva. Ideea este ca argumentele mele sunt argumente legale, imbatabile fiind legale. Nu sunt in slujba nimanui, daca legea ar fi fost de partea lui Dennis Hope, bineinteles ca as fi scris o carte favorabila lui. La urma urmei, nu am nimic impotriva unui om, am ceva impotriva unei situatii de ilegalitate.

- Modul in care a fost prezentata cartea ta a fost mai degraba haios, hazliu!

- Cartea mea este o carte serioasa pe un subiect neserios.

- Din extrasele pe care le-am vazut si modul in care ti-ai prezentat cartea e oarecum amuzant!

- Este oarecum amuzant pentru ca subiectul intr-adevar este amuzant, dar in ultimul capitol spun de ce oamenii nu pot sa cumpere teren pe Luna. De exemplu, in 1756 un imparat german daruieste Luna, zice el, de fapt e o legenda ilara, unui supus. In 1936 un american se declara stapan asupra tuturor corpurilor ceresti din Univers, deci mult inaintea lui Dennis Hope. Din 1944 pana prin anii '60, Ministerul Pamanturilor in SUA primeste o multime de cereri sa li se acorde pamant pe Luna, cum inainte se acorda pamant in Vestul salbatic, acum americanii vor sa li se acorde pamant pe Luna.

- Pana la urma Luna a cui e?

- Luna e greu de spus a cui e! Pot sa spun a cui nu e! Sunt o multime de teorii care se bat cap in cap, la ora actuala este un fel de domeniu public, dar care ar putea sa se privatizeze, de ce nu!

- Americanii au ajuns acolo si nu-si pot ingradi ei un teren?

- Nu au vrut! Primii, de fapt, care au ajuns acolo, au fost rusii, ei au trimis o sonda spatiala la sfarsitul anilor '50 care a imprastiat medalioane cu stema URSS si se credea la acel moment ca URSS o sa-si proclame suveranitatea asupra Lunii. Ei bine, nu s-a intamplat asa ceva. In 1969, cand SUA au ajuns pe Luna, deja se semnase tratatul spatiului cosmic Outer Space Treaty din 1967, iar acesta le interzicea proclamarea suveranitatii. Atunci americanii au si zis: venim in pace pentru omenire, au pus steagul american pe Luna, dar l-au fixat in mod simbolic, cum expeditiile romanesti pe Everest pot sa infiga steagul romanesc acolo.

- Ar putea sa revendice cineva banii aia dati pe terenul lunar?

- E o chestiune de protectia consumatorului caruia i se vinde ceea ce nu este in proprietatea celui care vinde. E ca si cum eu as vinde camere din Casa Poporului, e acelasi lucru.

- Spatiul e un business in momentul acesta?

- Da, spatiul e un business. Exista o diferenta intre asa-numita vanzare de teren pe Luna si businessul spatial care a fost de prin anii '60 odata cu satelitii de telecomunicat ii si cu toate celelalte. Acum or sa inceapa zborurile private in spatiu, de anul viitor sau oricum peste doi ani, Virgin Galactic al lui Richard Brandson vrea sa lanseze oameni in spatiu probabil pentru suma de 200.000 de dolari, daca nu ma insel, nu pot sa vorbesc eu pentru el, dar atat am auzit ca ar fi! Spatiul se deschide omului, aproape omului de rand. Ei, nu chiar! Sa zicem bogatului de rand.

- Deschiderea pe care a facut-o Denis Tito cu primul lui zbor spatial semnifica intr-adevar inceputul unei industrii de turism spatial?

- E un fapt deja.

Monday, May 1, 2006

The Thunder Child: Review of "Unreal Estate"

Ryan Brennan from The Thunder Child reviews "Unreal Estate: (http://thethunderchild.com/Reviews/Books/NonFiction/SpaceSciences/UnrealEstate.html)

Virgiliu Pop's Unreal Estate: The Men Who Sold The Moon chronicles the known history of the many attempts made to buy and sell our lunar neighbor.
Although it would not come to light until the late 1990s, it would appear that the earliest claim against the Moon was in 1756 when King Frederick rewarded his healer, one Aul Jurgens, with the orb. Martin Jurgens, Aul's descendant, took Dennis Hope (more on him later), owner of the Lunar Embassy, to court when Hope's organization sold Moon lots.
Moon lots were being offered for sale by the 1890s. It would seem likely that the works of Jules Verne may have been of some influence; the French science fiction writer having captured the imagination of the world with his tales of adventures under the sea, under the earth and on the Moon.
Even in that remote time, but certainly more strongly as the decades slipped by, the Moon represented the last great unexplored region. For some, the thought of conquering the easily seen but distant land, and acquiring the vast tracts of acreage available there, inflamed the mind.
And while some may have taken in gullible marks ready to part with their money for a stake on the lunar surface, as Pop demonstrates, pure profit was not generally the motive for men wanting to own the moon. And when I say "men" I use the word correctly, for there are no women mentioned in the many schemes to legally secure the Moon as personal property.
A. Dean Lindsay is one of the earliest men to be associated with owning the Moon. In 1937 he registered a claim, witnessed before a Notary Public, and was dubbed "World's Richest Man." His claim, and his fame, caught on with the public and Lindsay, who also appeared in Ripley's Believe It Or Not because he owned a domesticated porcupine, was featured on radio and was spoofed in a popular comic strip of the day.
The U.S. Department of the Interior has been approached so many times over the years regarding Moon ownership — over 200 times by 1965 — that a form letter was drafted. Throughout, the Department has maintained that to make a legitimate claim, the claimant must first inspect the land, file the claim, then meet a requirement of six months residency on said land. Obviously, no one, so far, has been able to meet this criteria.
Pop, who is a specialist in space property rights, lists one contender after another. James Thomas Mangan, who in 1948 established the Nation of Celestial Space, aka Celestia, minted money, applied for U.N. membership and issued Moon passports to President Eisenhower and John Glenn. Roman Starzl was a science fiction writer until 1934, with published stories Out of the Sub Universe, The Global Terror, The Power Satellite, and The Metal Moon before the jokester settled on giving away free Moon farms as a way of publicizing his Iowan newspaper, The Le Mars Globe-Post.
Publicity is the most cited reason for individuals and groups offering Moon (and other celestial bodies) lots for sale. Publicity could not only raise the profile of an individual or organization but was also helpful in fundraising attempts. In 1952 one such group, Elves, Gnomes, and Little Men's Science Fiction, Chowder, and Marching Society, said to be inspired by Robert Heinlein's The Man Who Sold the Moon, found their claims covered internationally. They were counter-challenged by Alexander F. Victor, a Swedish motion picture pioneer who founded the Victor Animatograph Corporation, invented the electric washing machine, a 16mm camera, and safety film.
That same year, the 10th World Science Fiction Convention gave attendees cards assigning them ownership of specific Moon craters. Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury and Philip Jose Farmer were all lucky recipients.
Often, Moon ownership overlapped with or led to claims against other heavenly bodies. In 1956 the Japan Astronautical Society sold Mars plots. So famous was this event that the popular Japanese science fiction film The Mysterians had improvised dialogue about Earthlings selling real estate on the Moon and Mars without permission. Even later, the 1999 film Kasei no Waga Ya (Mars Sweet Home) incorporated the nationally known and remembered selling of Mars plots into its story.
Some claims were made in a roundabout manner. Richard Garriott, through a Sotheby's auction, bought one of the abandoned Soviet Lunakhods left on the moon. His rationale was that if he had an actual property on the Moon it might establish some sort of squatter's rights and give him a legitimate claim to Moon property. Another Moon property aspirant, Jim Benson of SpaceDev planned to build a robot craft that would land on an asteroid. Using the camera eye to view the property could be a legal maneuver around the requirement to personally inspect the land.
In 1998 the Native American organization The Western Federation Church and Tribe got in on the action. And three men from Yemen claimed they inherited the moon from their ancestors who lived there 3,000 years ago. For a bit of variety, Russ Wylie made it fun to buy Uranus. Deer Park, Texas, the home of the San Jacinto monument, acquired Venus by annexing all the vertical space between Earth and the planet. In St. Paul, Alberta, Canada a UFO landing pad was built in conjunction with the sale of Mars plots. In the 1950s, no doubt in connection with that decade's science fiction movie and TV craze, Nabisco, Post or Quaker Oats (depending on who you ask), offered one-inch square lots on the moon for cereal box tops. More recently, Nestle gave away meteorite dust on a series of 20 different collectible cards.
Probably the most serious Moon entrepreneur was the aforementioned Dennis Hope. Hope founded the Lunar Embassy and, over several decades, used it as platform for education and space property reform. His sincerity led him to the U.N. and placed him at odds with governments he felt intruded on his rights. Also, Thomas P. Budnik was genuine in filing numerous mineral claims for fear that the U.S. would lose out and be left behind.
Most suspect was a Brazilian scam artist who claimed that he had sold Moon lots to Neil Armstrong. Part of his sales pitch stated that Armstrong had used the Moon mission to inspect his property. More questionable sources of space property are the website [GalaxiesRus], where you can buy an entire galaxy, and [MoonCertificates.com] which bases its legitimacy on authorization from the Martian Council of Kings.
Unfortunately, poring over the many individuals and organizations who claim to own part or all of the Moon (there are, literally, millions worldwide), as well as all off-Earth space becomes a bit repetitious and monotonous. Whether it's the United Societies in Space, Lunar Republic Society, Galactic Government, Interplanetary Development Corporation, Lunar Fantasy Corporation, The Original Moon Owners of Surry Slope or legitimate groups like the Maryland Academy of Sciences, South Florida Science Museum, Newark High School Astronomy Club or Fiske Planetarium, there is little variation in their names or stories.
The author does not attempt to explain humankind's fascination with the Moon or what it may have meant to us over the years. The explanation for why anyone would be interested in buying the Moon, or thinking that they could do so, is presented only at face value. The book is lacking in illustrations, too, providing only a few reproductions of ephemera from the ephemeris. However, despite these drawbacks, this book represents a one-stop shop for the topic, providing the reader with as much information as he or she could possibly need on the gullibity (for whatever, unexplored reasons) of mankind.

Monday, March 6, 2006

Space.com /USA Today: "Moon Water: A Trickle of Data and a Flood of Questions"

Leonard David interviewed me for space.com andUSA Today (http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060306_lunar_ice.html; http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2006-03-06-moon-water_x.htm):

"Whether lunar ice exists or not, its legal status can be a good intellectual exercise," suggested Virgiliu Pop, a PhD candidate at Glasgow University in Scotland and a specialist in space law focused on property rights in outer space.
Pop is author of Unreal Estate: The Men who Sold the Moon (Exposure Publishing, 2006).
Interestingly enough, Pop pointed out, the legal status of ice right here on Earth is not completely settled. There is no set answer to the question who owns Earth's South Pole, he advised.
In Antarctica, there is a small sliver, reaching down to the South Pole, claimed at the same time by the United Kingdom, Chile, and Argentina. The 1959 Antarctic
Treaty may have frozen territorial claims, but that document did not clarify who
owns what in Antarctica, Pop said.
"Nonetheless, ice is used by scientific expeditions. Yet, in Antarctica, ice is abundant. At the same time, while Antarctic icebergs have no clear legal status either, several icebergs have been mined for ice without any protests," Pop explained.

Monday, February 27, 2006

Thespacereview.com: review "Unreal Estate"

Jeff Foust reviews "Unreal Estate" for The Space Review: (http://www.thespacereview.com/article/562/1):

"In the space advocacy community, a perennial area of concern has been property rights in space. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 prevents countries from claiming sovereignty over the Moon or other “celestial bodies”, but the ability of individuals and corporations to lay claim to real estate beyond Earth is a murkier issue. Some people believe that the long-term commercialization of outer space is dependent on a resolution of this question that does grant some kind of property rights. In the meantime, though, the lack of a clear legal infrastructure that supports such property rights has not stopped many from claiming and selling real estate on the Moon, Mars, and other bodies in the solar system. The long, quixotic history of such efforts is the focus of Unreal Estate, a book by space law expert Virgiliu Pop.
While most efforts to lay claim to the Moon (the primary celestial body of interest for those seeking property in outer space) were stimulated by the opening of the Space Age and the race to the Moon in the 1960s, Pop traces such ownership claims back 250 years to Prussia, where King Frederick granted title to the Moon to a farmer with “healing powers” (a claim that only came to light in the 1990s when a descendant of that farmer contested the ownership claims of Dennis Hope’s “Lunar Embassy”.) In the 1940s, with World War 2 still raging across the globe, one American contacted the General Land Office (now part of the Bureau of Land Management) of the Department of the Interior, asking about how they could file homesteading claims on the Moon. The strong interest in space starting in the 1950s further stimulated interest in lunar, Martian, and other celestial real estate, primarily but not exclusively in the US.
In Unreal Estate Pop goes into great detail about outer space ownership claims, both famous and obscure, through the present day (almost literally: the book mentions interviews as recent as January 2006, remarkably recent in the book publishing world.) These ownership claims fall into a few broad categories. There are those efforts primarily intended to make money for the claimant through the sale of acreages on the Moon or elsewhere: the best known, but hardly only, example of this is the aforementioned Lunar Embassy, which has been selling extraterrestrial deeds since 1980. There have also been ownership claims designed to make money as fundraisers for museums, planetariums, and in one case, a high school sports complex in Romania. There has been claims made with tongue firmly planted in check, best exemplified by BuyUranus.com (whose deed registry is called the Real Estate Commission and Trust of Uranus Management; to see the humor, spell out the registry’s acronym.) There have also been a few cases where people have made claims not to make money but in a genuine, if ultimately futile, bid to make a statement regarding the legality of such property rights claims, such as Greg Nemitz’s claim on the asteroid Eros and his effort to get that claim recognized by the US government.
While most of Unreal Estate is a historical examination of the various claims of extraterrestrial property rights claims, Pop does devote a final chapter to the legality of such claims. While such claims are a “trivial issue” for space law experts, who don’t give them a second thought, the same is not true for the general public: “The issue has hijacked the public perception of the space law.” So Pop spends several pages deconstructing the Lunar Embassy’s claims in particular, using several lines of argument: that others filed claims to ownership of the Moon prior to Hope, that government recognition of such claims in general would be in conflict with the Outer Space Treaty, and that those who make such claims lack the physical ability to take possession of their property. Such arguments, however, have not deterred Hope, who is now petitioning the state of Nevada, where his company is headquartered, “to recognize us as a visiting government and embassy.”
One question that Pop does not address in detail in Unreal Estate is why there is so much public interest in owning property on the Moon and other worlds. In several cases Pop writes that people that offered “deeds” to property on the Moon and Mars were overwhelmed with demand. It seems that few of the people who have purchased stakes on other worlds are real estate speculators who expect to somehow exploit—let alone visit—their tracts. For the vast majority, such claims are seen as novelty items, akin to the “name a star” promotions that draw the ire of professional astronomers: even the Lunar Embassy, Pop notes, recognizes its deeds as “novel gifts”. Eventually the issue of outer space property rights will have to be tackled in a serious way, through treaties or case law, if there is to be any significant human presence beyond Earth. Until then, Unreal Estate reminds us there are plenty of people willing to claim and sell more dubious stakes of cosmic property."

Sunday, February 26, 2006

PR Leap: Land on the Moon for sale? Think twice! Lawyer Debunks “Unreal Estate” Business


(PRLEAP.COM) Before you purchase a certificate offering the Moon to the love of your life, check with space law expert Virgiliu Pop. In a groundbreaking book, “Unreal Estate – The Men who Sold the Moon”, Mr. Pop comes with legal arguments as to why one cannot actually buy extraterrestrial real estate.
During the past decade, mass-media has reported about individuals and companies that have claimed ownership of various celestial bodies and, in most of the cases, subsequently offered them for sale to the public. Nowadays, the number of “owners” of extraterrestrial real estate certificates from different companies is in the range of several million.
“The moon has been wished for since time immemorial” – said Mr Pop, who researched the history of lunar claims with media archives and interviewed several lunar claimants. “In the 1940’s, people were enquiring with the US Bureau of Land Management for lunar homesteads; in the 1950’s, deeds for square inches of lunar property were offered as premiums with morning cereals; in the 1960’s, the Moon and Venus were officially annexed by several municipalities. There is nothing new under the sun!”
Mr Pop, a native of Romania, is a specialist in space law and policy, writing-up a doctoral thesis at the University of Glasgow on the subject of landed property rights in outer space. A member of the International Institute of Space Law, Virgiliu has authored several acclaimed papers in the field of space law and policy. His dedication for the subject and the originality of his articles earned him the interest of the mass media, being interviewed by prestigious outlets as diverse as New Scientist, Space.com/MSNBC, The Space Show, La Tercera (Chile), Ta Nea (Greece), Geo Magazine (Germany) and many more.
“Who could be cooler than a space lawyer named Pop?” – exclaimed Jesse Londin, who maintains ‘Space Law Probe’, a blog specializing in space law. “If Virgil’s fascinating stories and characters from the annals of space property claims were the issues, I might never have fallen asleep during property class in law school”. In ‘Unreal Estate – The Men who Sold the Moon’, space law is climbing down the ivory tower, reaching the mainstream in the manner of ‘popularized science’ books. The book appeals to readers from all walks of life, from lawyers and real estate professionals to space aficionados.
“Virgiliu has done stellar research on this topic and his book is extremely informative and interesting” – declared Dr. David M. Livingston, founder and host of ‘The Space Show’. “You will find the stories he tells to be compelling, the legal arguments as to why one cannot own space real estate to be illuminating, and the entire book to be not only unique but very special”.

Unreal Estate: The Men who Sold the Moon
by Virgiliu Pop
Exposure Publishing, 2006
Paperback, 204 pp., illus., 6.0" x 9.0",
RRP US$ 15.99 / £9.99
ISBN 1846850959

Sunday, January 29, 2006

"The Space Show" with Dr. David Livingston

Dr. David Livingston hosts me on "The Space Show", were we talk about my new book, "Unreal Estate - The Men who Sold the Moon". The Space Show® focuses on timely and important issues influencing the development of outer-space commerce and space tourism, as well as other related subjects of interest to us all. In Dr. David Livingston's words:
Mr. Pop has done stellar research on this topic and his book is extremely informative and interesting. Many of the characters in the book are hilarious to read about and listening to Virgiliu talk about them on the show was a great experience. You will find the stores he tells to be compelling, the legal augments as to why one cannot on space real estate to be illuminating, and the entire discussion to be not only unique but very special."
"

Tuesday, January 3, 2006

"Zodia Culturii" with Simona Pele, Radio Timisoara

Radio Timisoara's Simona Pele has me as a guest to "Zodia Culturii", where she interviews me about my new book, "Unreal Estate".