It seems most people don't even know what is and what is not possible to achieve in a 51% attack.
It is impossible to steal coins from somebody elses wallet whithout the private keys to the wallet address where the coins are stored on (except if the attacker has before transfered them to that wallet and removes all nodes back to that transaction ).
Knowing that you can be 100% sure that mintpal thing had nothing to do with any 51% attack.
I do not think most people think this. The point was that with roughly 1/3 of VRC stolen, the thief could thereafter launch a 51% attack, because it is possible to stake over 51% with less than 51% of the coin total. Correct me if I am wrong. I am still not totally clear on the what attacks can be made via staking.