So, if a bird shits in the woods and nobody hears it, does the US have territorial rights?
Kieran
yes.
codewolf
<P>Sadly, despite the entertainment to be derived from Kieran and codewolf's <STRONG>"all your bird shit are belong to us"</STRONG> interpretation, that's not what it says:</P> <P>"Whenever any citizen of the United States discovers a deposit of guano on any island, rock, or key, <EM>not within the lawful jurisdiction of any other government</EM>, and <EM>not occupied by the citizens of any other government</EM>, and takes peaceable possession thereof, and occupies the same, such island, rock, or key <EM>may, at the discretion of the President</EM>, be considered as appertaining to the United States. ..."</P> <P>If guano which didn't already belong to anyone else, and wasn't being lived on by anyone else, was discovered by an American who decided to claim it, then the US might claim rights. Not so much "all your guano are belong to us" as <STRONG>"all nobody's guano are belong to us if we find it first and nobody else is there and and we decide we want it"</STRONG>.</P>
Rob