I had a brush with these people yesterday, and now I feel dirty.
They were commenting on a youtube video showing Professor Brian Cox (rightly) calling people who believe Apollo was hoaxed morons. Simonshack invited his acolytes to join him in spamming the video.
I added my own comment, and it wasn't long before simonshack himself joined in.
Regarding my own comment about images of Earth, he posted
a new movie called "Gravity" starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney also shows splendid images meant to depict the entire Earth. Do you reckon that they filmed that from space? Or could it possibly just have been made with 'Hollywood-grade' special effects
When I pointed out that Gravity took 5 years and a whole new system of filming that didn't exist in the Apollo era I got this:
Oh no, I do not think they had the ability to make movies like "Gravity" back in 1968-1972.
They had the ability to do THIS:
watch?v=Obd_jTO66-0
And it cracks me up every single time I watch it :O)
The link is to the Apollo 17 ascent module remotely controlled launch footage,
So what was the point in posting the Gravity thing then? None, other than to poison the well a bit. I pointed out to him that the same sequence of film shows an image of Earth with verifiable weather patterns. He has not bothered to respond.
So there's one tactic they employ - a seemingly pleasant "Just saying" tone that belies the deeply unpleasant nature of the forum over which he presides and attempts to cast doubt in the mind of the neutral without actually discussing anything you posted.
Meanwhile, another user. Darian Nucleus weighed in:
ol. "Satellites". You might as well rephrase the sentence to: "We went to the moon---what I saw on television proves it". You're relying on a devoted son to testify against his parents, essentially. Without even getting into the specifics of the satellite myth, the aforementioned conflict of interest should be enough for any rational human being to realize that relying on NASA to prove the claims of NASA is profoundly stupid.
Notwithstanding the fact that, actually, TV does prove it, because the live broadcasts show details that could only have been seen in space or on the moon, it's all just "NASA NASA NASA booo bad guys".
After my response to him we have:
You do not need space-based technology to obtain such data and imagery. Again, you're using NASA fakery to prove the claims of NASA. Ionospheric Refraction and high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft technologies are more than sufficient. Keep worshiping actors playing their respective parts on television, though, by all means. I'll take investigative analysis over propaganda disseminated by the British Royal Society (continuation of The Lunar Society/Hellfire Club) any day. Yay, history!
He fails to explain how the technology he quotes could possibly produce images of Earth from space. He obviously doesn't consider the stuff I've done as investigative analysis (see my sig), and all you need to do is a bit of character assassination and you have won.
I pointed out that NASA didn't collect the weather images I use, and that he should find me a faked Earth image and he responds with:
Are you implying that media corporations launch their own "weather satellites" and conduct "observations" entirely independent of so-called space agencies? You think NASA and the media are mutually exclusive? As for the imagery, I invite you to form an introductory post at cluesforum, and you can introduce us to your "real" images of earth "from space". Surely, you are willing to come and post a single, REAL image of earth from space, no? You've been willing to engage us here, of all places.
He doesn't get it.
I responded saying that i wouldn't lower myself to join his forum and that I only visit it to laugh at them. I invite them to show me a faked image of Earth. I then get
Your declining of my invitation to "debunk" the ongoing research of cluesforum is so predictable that I find it quaint---cute, even. You are willing to spend your time responding to our challenges on youtube, but are unwilling to engage us in a proper forum for in-depth discussion. How wonderfully transparent of you. Unwilling to post even ONE real image of earth? I wonder if it's because you can't!
Good game. You're done.
I love the idea that their forum is a proper forum for in-depth discussion - it's the last thing it is. I responded that having seen their treatment of dissent from within their own ranks I had no interest in being their chew toy.
I have had no further response but it has revealed interesting tactics of 'debate', namely demand you discuss it solely on their terms or not at all, avoidance of any kind of evidence to support their claim and a reliance on smearing evidence that opposes their view.
Oddly one of my comments got lots of negative comments and was hidden. Which one? The one saying that simonshack had invited his users to spam the video.
Brian Cox is absolutely on the money about them and their ilk, and I share his contempt.
