SpacedX

The Soviet Union tracked all the Apollo missions to the moon and even attempted to beat Apollo 11 to the lunar surface through the unmanned Luna 15. Its trajectory was completely to cock and it ended up crashing into a mountain about 350 miles from Tranquility Base where the Eagle has already landed. They acknowledged the success of the latter and they would have been all over such a hoax in a nano-second which would have been impossible to conceal at the time, not to mention, over half a century later. Possibly one of the most ridiculous theories that the deniers cling to. Aside from the fact that even today, convincingly faking continuous uncut footage in a vacuum and 1/6th g would be utterly impossible, the special effects in '2001: A Space Odyssey' didn't remotely resemble the Apollo of the lunar landings. Moreover, Douglas Trumbull was responsible for this, not Kubrick, and the whereabouts, projects and activity of the man are completely accounted for throughout all of the Apollo missions 1969 - 1972. Furthermore, there is no way that man of Kubrick's stubborn and defiant nature- and character would have compromised his artistic integrity for the US government. I'll mention it before anyone else inevitably does, he was such a perfectionist, he would have insisted on filming it on location. Amusingly, much of this horseshit stems from an excerpt from an appalling film made by T Patrick Murray, called 'Shooting Stanley Kubrick' featuring a deathbed confession. The actor cast in the role, (Tom Mayk), doesn't look or sound remotely like him, but that doesn't stop it being consumed and regurgitated by gullible social media addicts. 'Diamonds are Forever' and 'Capricorn One'...why is it even necessary to explain to these people that these are a work of fiction?

I think he would have responded at this level anyway irrespective of the system and coaching, where others haven't been so convincing. This is very much a credit to him and his ability as a defender in this league.

It seems to start with their believing that "the Government", NASA, scientists, teachers, and other powerful influencers in their lives, have been lying to them all the time, all their lives, for reasons that they cannot enunciate, and this general feeling that "something is wrong here" permeates their world view. Charlatans on the internet capture these simple souls and sell them beliefs such as Moon landing denial, 9/11 denial, flat Earth, antivaxx and sundry other crap, usually for profit. You may well be correct that Le Tissier is simply motivated by personal gain. Adherents to these belief systems are impervious to evidence to the contrary, and prefer the company of like minded folk to that of people who try to educate.edify them. Endless repetition of questions, followed by denial or avoidance of the responses addressing the questions, seems to be a feature of this. As @MPH correctly observes however, this is not entirely the preserve of those that think that the internet substitutes or supplants for an education, you can also find accomplished, professional people that subscribe to elements of this crap. What is evidently a shared characteristic is a complete ignorance of the subject concerned . For example, I have never encountered anyone that claims the moon landings were faked that is knowledgeable about the actual science, technology or history of space exploration and the Apollo Programme. Hence, the succumbing to same predictable arguments from ignorance and incredulity. Society is rapidly polarising and being torn asunder. These divisions are being intentionally manufactured and driven. Social media stokes anger and fans the flames of outrage - but purely for profit...because such anger and outrage sell. These broadening gaps in society are becoming more sinister, fuelled by political ambition and it thrives on precisely that, opinion valued over fact. The internet has given the village idiot and the raucous pub stool philosopher a voice. Individuals that were previously ignored. Sadly, it's easier to stir up hate and anger than it is understanding and compromise. The dialectic is dead as is logic and reason to these people. The concern is, that this populism, tendency to favour opinion over fact and polarisation are growing and are employed for political means. Look no further than Vladimir Putin framing the war in Ukraine as a struggle between Christianity and the satanic west. There is a distinction to be drawn here between conspiracy theorists and conspiracy believers. The former, those that devise, promulgate, perpetuate and contrive this nonsense are largely opportunistic fraudsters in it for their own gain. Bart Sibrel knows that NASA landed crewed missions on the moon, just as David Weiss knows that the Earth is a globe. These people harvest gullibility and stupidity for their own gain, snaring their followers through emotional investment and the illusion of empowerment. The believers meanwhile constantly ask the same questions based upon what they are told to think but aren't remotely interested in the answers. They could easily get a valid answer if they suspended their preconceived nonsense, used the internet responsibly and for its intended purpose, as the information is freely available. The problem is that they consider any answer valid that doesn't involve an enormous conspiracy about which they are one of a special minority who is clued-up enough to know, and are therefore superior to the brainwashed mass of "sheeple". The real, valid, non-conspiratorial answers don't allow them to pretend they have privileged information, and hence don't stoke their egos in the way that they desire. Actually, not quite. The conspiracy started as a consequence of an article written in the mid nineties by a guy called William Thomas, was popularised by Art Bell on Coast to Coast AM, and subsequently with the advent of 'trutherism' on the internet. It simply initially claimed that aircraft contrails were actually a product of chemical spraying for deranged reasons ranging to de-population, to mind control to concealing the return of Planet X/Nibiru. In an attempt to gain more credence and credibility con artists such as Micheal J Murphy, Russ Tanner and Dane Wigington intentionally conflated this with geoengineering/Solar Radiation Management - in particular, Stratospheric Aerosol Injection, increasing its plausibility. SRM/SAI, with the exception of isolated experiments into marine cloud brightening and albedo modification are of course entirely hypothetical and purely the province of research proposal/mathematical modelling and have nothing to do with the condensation trails formed largely by commercial airliners. The same with cloud seeding, which is practiced at much lower altitudes and by light aircraft and does not even leave a lasting trail. Throw in Bill Gates who has leant his verbal and financial support to the notion of SAI, that's all the believers in this horseshit need to allow themselves to be duped by a ludicrous online hoax that has managed to reduce a cloud into a conspiracy theory. It is largely predicated upon the following falsities: Contrails can only last between seconds and minutes and anything that persists is therefore a chemtrail. High bypass turbofan jet engines are incapable of producing contrails. The skies used to be clear, and persistent spreading trails are a recent phenomena. That they have been analysed and tested through air, soil and water samples and heavy metals toxins identified. There are whistle blowers within government, the military and the aviation industry that have exposed these spraying/weather control programmes. @RoboFox is correct about Le Tissier. Self-styled conspiracy theorists understand their product range. They know that alluding to one conspiracy theory, such as the absurd notion that the government can control the weather, will create a wider following. It is unusual for a believer in something as wacky as chemtrails not to embrace the entire gamut. Trump does exactly the same thing in his campaign rhetoric and social media use. Many defend it as just harmless fun but anti-science and conspiracy theory is outright dangerous. Conspiracy theories thrive on disinformation, are perpetuated by charlatans for their own gain, can be detrimental to the mental health of those that believe in them and as the ludicrous Q Anon illustrated, can even be politically subversive. Medical staff, healthcare workers and teachers are attacked by dumb anti-vaxxers, who put entire communities in jeopardy by refusing to vaccinate their children, political extremists hi-jack these beliefs and push damaging agendas, and the victims of genuine tragedies have been harassed and victimised. Again, look into what these freaks did to the victims families of Sandy Hook. My hope is that the ruination of Alex Jones and the damage to Info Wars, where once a template for these potential grifters, may deter some from following such a destructive path.

Very saddened by the passing of Sir Peter Higgs. Despite the fact as a modest and introverted individual, he nonetheless felt a calling and obligation to use the public profile his achievements brought him for the good of science, and he did so on multiple occasions. The particle that bears his name is one of the most overwhelming example of how ostensibly theoretical abstract mathematics can make predictions which turn out to have the most profound physical consequences since Einstein.

I dare you to eat Jon's hat.

Former mf player Dave Mehmet who has passed away at the age of 63.

Yes, as I intimated in my initial post. Like many of her Republican far-right counterparts, she definitely intentionally harvests stupidity for support.

Yes there are, but we are talking about MJT here who is a particularly nasty breed that has no shame whatsoever. There are those that at least try to conceal their agenda.

I still have PTSD from that dreadful prawn coloured monstrosity that turned our Kop end pink 2019-20. f*****g ridiculous.

Check out SNL and Cicely Strong's impression of her.

It's likely that she's intentionally pandering to the blue collar bible bashers and fundamentalists in the mid-west and deep south that are so crucial to Trump's re-election. Hardcore Republicans know full well that this is the language that MAGA/Q anon speaks - a primitive tongue called stupidity, but one that she is also fluent in. The irony is that nature is genuinely sending us a sign - crying out for us to change our ways, whilst Putin is threatening to steamroll into Europe - I pray that her country listens. ...Well even a stopped clock tells the time twice a day. Seriously though, how did such a vile, hate fuelled individual become a member of Congress?

Did you pay @Daggers a visit to drown your sorrows?

Why do you care? I thought you said you were going?

Disagree. At 2-1 up we were pretty much in control - largely due to the fact that the Norwich press was non-existence. They put very little pressure on us in the second half, failed to shut down the mf as other teams have managed and offered little threat in the final third which surprised me given their recent good run. For that reason, I don't think that today was an accurate measure of our performance or potential at all. What I will say is that some of the reactionary threads, posts, melodrama and histrionics over the last two months on here have been once again, beyond embarrassing. Yes, the drop in form has been alarming as was the complete collapse at Leeds - largely down to the lack of a plan B, poor finishing, fatigue and a lack of focus. Yes, off the pitch the club is a shambles right now and of course an inquisition by its fanbase is to be expected. However, I don't agree that our players are lacking commitment or that our manager is out of his depth. You can see what the win meant today. Mav, Abdul and Wilf up off the bench and celebrating on the sidelines was great to see. Where I'm not convinced that we'll win the league, we will get automatic promotion I'm sure.

It's so hard to know what to write here - or to say anything that hasn't been said. I would however like to echo this... The healing process may never be complete, but your daughter needs her wonderful Mother more that ever. May the memory of your dear departed son be a reminder of your fine parenthood, your love and devotion.

The idiots were always there. Remember the rabid throng bricking windows outside the main stand and demanding the head of Smeaton on a plate? Saying that, they didn't have the toxic feed of the internet to voice and channel their hatred, which is corrosive and contagious.

Yeah, bloke called Ben Chilwell. Much of our moronic fan base and match thread psychopaths derided him as well.

So have I - it came with the club that I have supported since childhood. Difference was back then, the village idiots didn't have internet connections.

Ivan 'Tonali'.

Dare I say that NASA seem to still be afflicted by some of the organisational and operational maladies that doomed Challenger and Columbia. Also, Project Artemis appears to be way too complex. Regarding the HLS, there don't even appear to be plans for a simulator along the lines of the LLRV/LLTV which was crucial in the success of the landing. Don't know if you've had a chance to watch it yet, but one of the things that Sandlin points to in his presentation was simplicity and focus, in addition to referring to the "Apollo playbook" -'What made Apollo a Success?' Go from 44 minutes. It's impossible to challenge what he's saying.

Jimmie Nicol on drums - (for a few weeks).

Odd that isn't it? Popular folklore - elves, unicorns, pixies, giants, sprites, demons, banshees, dragons, wryms, witches, ghouls - all things that used to be sighted or plague our villages and communities similarly went to ground with the advent of technology and access to knowledge and education. Then along came the internet.

His comparison with the planning process of Apollo and in particular, the redundancies that were engineered into the programme is spot on. More concerningly, the implications of the near rectilinear halo orbit and the actual reasons for doing so are an eye opener. If it's true that each mission may require fifteen starship launches, then this is utter insanity. My own misgivings concerned the HLS itself, particularly given the recent toppling over of IMs unmanned Odyssey lander. That said, in spite of its relative conical shape alongside the rather squat LM, I'm guessing that the COG is a lot lower than its taller appearance suggests.

Lennon claimed credit for much of the lyrics in Taxman - it certainly contains his acerbic humour, but also George's dry wit and resentment over money matters. George couldn't nail a solo and was perfectly happy for McCartney to come up with something. In the event it fitted perfectly and George was delighted.