Recently I discovered a friend had fallen for the "all the Moon landings were faked" conspiracy theory. I have to say I was disappointed in someone who usually shows keen insight and judgment, but a natural mistrust of his government had clouded his thinking. Governments lie on a regular basis, especially the U.S. government, but that doesn't mean they lie all the time. Here are ten reasons that this conspiracy theory, peddled by people who want to make a quick buck, is total bullshit.
1. The testimony of thousands of people involved in the project.
2. The fact that none of them in the past 40 years have blown the lid on the "conspiracy", despite the potential to get millions for their story.
3, The hundreds of professional and amateur astronomers worldwide who saw the reflected light of the lander on the Moon through their telescopes, and the countless people they showed this wonder to.
4. The fact that the Soviet Union, despite its extensive spy network and a very big motive, never called the U.S. on the "lie."
5. The fact that no other nation hostile to the U.S. has done this in 40 years.
6. The hundreds of pounds of Moon rocks divided up and sent to researchers in dozens of countries, including Russia. Moon rocks are unlike any rocks found here on Earth. Where did the conspirators get them?
7. The fact that actually going to the Moon is not a great physical or technological feat for an already space-faring nation, merely an economic challenge, and we're talking about the richest country in the world here.
8. A Nasa satellite has photographed the Moon landing site from space. Of course they're part of the conspiracy, but are Japan and India?
http://www.squidoo.com/apo
9. The weak arguments of the "hoax" has been debunked in several venues. Here's only one of the best.
http://www.xmission.com/~j
10. Given all the above reasons, it would be easier just to go to the Moon!
Photo of Charles Conrad Jr., Apollo 12 Commander, courtesy of NASA. This photo is not faked. People really can achieve amazing things when they try hard enough.
Saturday, 24 July 2010
Ten reasons the Moon landing conspiracy theory is stupid
Stumble it!Friday, 2 October 2009
Ben Indick (1923-2009)
I just learned from fellow writer S.T. Joshi that an old correspondent of mine, Ben Indick, has died aged 86. Ben and I had a regular correspondence reaching back almost fifteen years. I first met him back in my zine days, when he and I used to trade our little publications. He was a big science fiction fan of the old school, meaning that while his zine supposedly was an sf publication, it covered every topic under the sun, from politics to travel to his son's career as an opera composer. It was a real pleasure corresponding with him and reading his work. Others had the same experience. As Dave Langford notes in his latest issue of Ansible, Ben was awarded this year with the First Fandom Hall of Fame Award at the 2009 Worldcon in recognition of his longtime contributions to the community. Langford had been corresponding with him since 1976.
It's a shame when one of the old guard in the small press/fan community passes on. He had been active since before I was born, and I learned a lot of community history from him. He will be missed.
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