Ex-astronaut escapes assault charge (BUZZ ALDRIN ALERT)

Californian authorities have decided against prosecuting former astronaut Buzz Aldrin after he punched a documentary maker who claimed his moon missions were faked.

Mr Aldrin, famous for his participation in the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, hit Bart Sibrel after he approached the former astronaut outside a hotel in Beverley Hills, Los Angeles and demanded he swear on a Bible that the landing was not staged.

Perhaps he should just have offered to adjust his tinfoil beanie for him - Ivan

Mr Aldrin responded by punching Mr Sibrel, but said he merely struck out to defend himself and his stepdaughter, who was with him at the time.

Beverly Hills police investigated the incident, which occurred 9 September, but said that the charges were dropped after witnesses came forward to say that Mr Sibrel had aggressively poked Mr Aldrin with the Bible before he was punched.

Witnesses also told police that Mr Sibrel had lured Mr Aldrin to the hotel under false pretences in order to interview him.

Deputy District Attorney Elizabeth Ratinoff told Reuters news agency that a videotape shot by a cameraman hired by Mr Sibrel had shown the film-maker follow Mr Aldrin, calling him a "thief, liar and coward".

Mr Sibrel handed over the tape to police investigators, but as Mr Sibrel sustained no visible injury and did not seek medical attention, and Mr Aldrin had no previous criminal record, no charges were filed.

Mr Sibrel says his new documentary proves the Apollo 11 landings were faked by the Nasa space agency in order to fool the then-Soviet Union into thinking the US had beaten them in the space race.

The two countries had been embroiled in a desperate race to reach the moon, with the US initially trailing after the Soviets became the first to send a man into space and orbit the earth.

Mr Aldrin, the second man after Neil Armstrong to set foot on the moon in the Apollo 11 mission, is one of America's most famous space pioneers.

A former US Air Force pilot who flew in the Korean war, Mr Aldrin joined Nasa space agency in 1963.

Since his retirement from Nasa, Mr Aldrin has dedicated much of his time to publicising space travel for civilians.

And without Buzz Aldrin we wouldn't have this cracking Monty Python sketch:

Policeman: (Graham Chapman) Right. Right! RIGHT! Now then! Now then! Your turn.
Chemist: (Michael Palin) Aren't you going to say 'What's all this then?'?
Policeman: Oh! Right, what's all this, then?
Chemist: This man has been shoplifting, officer.
Policeman: Oh, he has? Yus?
Chemist: Yes.
Policeman: Are you trying to tell me my job?
Chemist: No, but he's been shoplifting.
Policeman: Look! I must warn you that anything you may say will be ignored and furthermore, given half a chance I'll put my fist through your teeth. F'tang. F'tang.
Man (Eric Idle): But officer, this man here...
Policeman: I've had enough of you. You're under arrest.
(He makes noises of plane flying and firing.)
Chemist: Officer, it wasn't him. (indicates shoplifter) He's the shoplifter.
Shoplifter: (Terry Jones) No I'm not.
Shoplifter's Mate: (sticking his head out of mac) He's not, I'm a witness.
Policeman: (to chemist) One more peep out of you and I'll do you for heresy.
Chemist: Heresy. Blimey. I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition.
Policeman: Shut up! F'tang. F'tang. Oh, that's nice. (he takes an object off the counter and pockets it) Right. I'm taking you along to the station.
Man: What for?
Policeman: I'm charging you with illegal possession of whatever we happen to have down there. Right. Lunar module calling Buzz Aldrin. Come in. (makes plane noise again) Raindrops keep falling on my head, but that doesn't mean that my...
(Caption appears on screen: 'AN APOLOGY')
Voice Over: (John Cleese) The BBC would like to apologize to the police about the character of Police Constable Pan-Am. He was not meant to represent the average police officer. Similarly, the reference to Buzz Aldrin, the astronaut, was the product of a disordered mind and should not be construed as having any other significance. Photo of Buzz Aldrin.
(Superimposed caption on the screen: 'THE BUZZ ALDRIN SHOW STARRING BUZZ ALDRIN WITH... (CREDITS)' Cut to Gumbys as at start of show.)
Gumbys: And now for something completely different. (jump cut to female Gumbys; then back to original shot) Oh that was fun. And now (CAPTION: 'THE END') The end, The end! The end! The end!

Regards, Ivan

Golly, maybe there really is justice in this world.

Let's look at the record. Mr. Aldrin is combat-decorated pilot from the Korean War, a top notch guy all around, the second man on the moon by virtue of seating arrangements, among other things. Mr. Sibrel is some whiny, nasal-toned twit who sponges off the gullible by writing lies about our space program, and called a true American Hero a "coward and a liar" -- I would have loved to watch Buzz adjust that guy's jaw!

I listened to a radio interview with the moron in question, and the host asked him something along the lines of "Don't you feel ashamed to have been beat up by a 74 year old man? Are you going to press charges?"... LOL

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