“We cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation.”
Pope Francis
Video: Lessons from Venezuela
While I rarely report on International news, I came across this great video about how Venezuela descended into chaos. It shows how government corruption gave rise to Hugo Chavez who then started nationalizing businesses. Narrator Erick Brimen makes an interesting point: “Venezuela had a democracy, constitution, you know, division of power in government but people were not educated in the principles of freedom and they vote for whoever promises more.” It’s a worthy 7 minute watch.
Palm Sunday 2016
Taken from the Jerusalem Triptych
c. 1497-1500
The National Museum in Warsaw
Gdansk, Poland
Netherlandish or Northern German painter
(Click image to see larger version.)
Merry Christmas
I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy holiday season.
Mary, Did You Know? – Peter Hollens
Congresswoman Stefanik Makes Thanksgiving Week Visit to Fort Drum Soldiers in Afghanistan
Congresswoman Stefanik with soldiers from Fort Drum at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan.
Today, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) returned from an official Congressional Delegation visit to Afghanistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia with colleagues on the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee. She released the following statement upon her return:
“This trip was an important opportunity to visit with our brave men and women of the 10th Mountain Division and thank them for their brave service this holiday season,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “These soldiers put their lives on the line for us each day, and as the Vice-Chair for the Subcommittee on Readiness, this was a chance to hear firsthand from our troops. We live in an increasingly dangerous world and I am proud that we have these brave men and women defending our national security.”
Congresswoman Stefanik with soldiers from Fort Drum at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.
In addition to visiting troops in Afghanistan, Congresswoman Stefanik and the Congressional Delegation met with key officials in Egypt and Saudi Arabia to receive updates on issues including the conflict in Syria, Iran’s Nuclear Program, ISIL and Libya.
(Click pictures to see full-scale.)
Patrick McNelis in Little League Intermediate Division World Series in Livermore CA
Patrick McNelis (front row, second from right) is the starting catcher for the Commack North team that won the East Region Championship last weekend. His father, Pat McNelis, is coaching (back row, far right). Patrick’s grandparents, Pat and Irene McNelis, are longtime residents of Huletts Landing. (Click picture to see larger scale.)
Patrick McNelis is playing in the Little League Intermediate Division World Series in Livermore CA. They are 4-1 and are playing in the U.S. championship tonight (Friday) at 9:00 pm EDT.
The live stream from tonight’s game can be found at:
http://intermediateworldseries.org/livestream/
Friday’s winner will play the International Champion on ESPN at 9:00 pm EDT on Saturday (tomorrow).
Congratulations to Patrick and his teammates for advancing so far!
Bits of Everything
China’s Richest Man Buys Adirondack Property
Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba, has just purchased a 28,120-acre property in the Adirondacks.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/
Local Business: Fort Edward’s Little Theater on the Farm Prepares for 10th Year
Check out http://www.littletheater27.org/ for a list of their summer performances.
Bolton Landing Park Transformed
The Lake George Mirror describes a positive change in Bolton Landing.
Stefanik Discusses Fort Drum, Sequestration on House Floor
Congresswoman Stefanik Commemorates “Miracle on Ice” on House Floor
Congresswoman Stefanik Visits Fort Drum Soldiers During Visit to Middle East
Congresswoman Stefanik during a visit with troops in Afghanistan. (Click image to see full-scale.)
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21), member of the House Armed Services Committee, returned today from an official bipartisan Congressional Delegation visit to Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Stefanik was one of few Members invited to attend this Congressional delegation. Upon returning from her visit, she released the following statement:
“Over the last week, I had the honor of being invited to attend a small congressional delegation visit to Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. As a Member of the House Armed Services Committee and the Representative to Congress for the Fort Drum community, this trip was essential to gain a personal perspective of the circumstances under which so many of our brave soldiers from Fort Drum have served abroad.
“On this trip, I was privileged to meet with soldiers who are based out of Fort Drum as well as many who have trained there. I thanked them for their service and discussed ways we can work to strengthen and protect Ft. Drum for our district.
“Additionally, I was able to meet with many important foreign dignitaries, including King Abdullah II of Jordan, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, and Iraqi President Fuad Masum to discuss issues of concern to the region and to our national security.
“Our nation and our world face enormous threats right now and this trip was a historic opportunity to hear from our service men and women on the ground about real issues related to the readiness of our armed forces and the tools they need to keep our country safe. Serving the Fort Drum community in Congress and as a Member of the House Armed Services Committee is an incredible honor and I thank our men and women in uniform and their families for their service to our country.”
Former Vietnam POW Proudly Wears Whitehall Shirt
Richard D. “Moon” Mullen, Commander United States Navy and former Prisoner of War in Vietnam, proudly wears his Whitehall shirt given to him by Peter Ballantyne. Captain Mullen is the recipient of the the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, 3 Bronze Stars, Air Medal, 2 Purple Hearts, POW Medal and other decorations.
On a cold winter day, this story will warm your heart.
As I previously reported, Peter Ballantyne when in Whitehall this past summer, picked up some tee-shirts commemorating Whitehall’s contribution to the birth of the U.S. Navy. He distributed these to some veterans he works with at the Paralyzed Veterans of America, at his winter home in San Diego, California.
Last week Peter had the privilege of meeting the daughter of Captain “Moon” Mullen, whose story of bravery as a POW for over 7 years in Vietnam is well chronicled and presented below. Captain Mullen is the recipient of the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, 3 Bronze Stars, Air Medal, 2 Purple Hearts, POW Medal and other decorations. Peter Ballantyne gave Captain Mullen’s daughter one of the Whitehall shirts for her father, who proudly accepted the gift. Cdm. Mullen’s daughter passed along the above picture of her father wearing the shirt. In another coincidence of local significance, Captain Mullen’s last flight before he was shot down originated from the USS TICONDEROGA.
Cdm. Mullen was shot down on January 6, 1967 and was not released until March 4, 1974. Below is a partial account of Captain Mullen’s ordeal as presented in WE CAME HOME copyright 1977 Captain and Mrs. Frederic A Wyatt (USNR Ret), Barbara Powers Wyatt, Editor P.O.W. Publications, 10250 Moorpark St., Toluca Lake, CA 91602 Text is reproduced as found in the original publication.
Lt. Cdr. Richard D. Mullen was the pilot of a single seat fighter, a F8E Crusader assigned to Fighter Squadron 191 onboard the aircraft carrier, USS TICONDEROGA (CVA 14). Mullen launched on January 6, 1967 on his 31st combat mission over North Vietnam. During the mission, Mullen’s aircraft was seen to be engulfed in flames and explode. A good parachute was sighted and subsequently, Mullen was observed standing on the ground and waving. Contact between him and the airborne aircraft was established and Mullen reported to be “OK”. At this time, Mullen was near the coast of Nghe An Province, about five miles south of the city of Tho Son.
On subsequent passes, neither Mullen nor the parachute were sighted. However, intermittent emergency radio transmissions were heard. It was believed that Mullen was captured, and he was classified as a prisoner of war. Richard Mullen had been captured and was held prisoner by the North Vietnamese in the Hanoi Hilton (New Guy Village, Heartbreak), Zoo (Office, Pig Sty, Carraige House, Pool Hall), Camp Hope, Hanoi Hilton (Rm 3, 5) back to Heartbreak) Skid Row, Hanoi Hilton (Rm 2,3) until March 4, 1973. At that time, he was released with 590 other Americans from POW camps. He had been a prisoner for just over seven years.
He sustained no injuries upon ejection, but while captive was subjected to “the normal bone crusher manacles, ropes, leg stocks and whipping with a fan belt. The worst was strangling noose around neck tied to manacles behind my back.” While in captivity, he suffered a severe blow to his head. Since the war ended, nearly 10,000 reports relating to Americans missing, prisoner or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia have been received by the U.S. Government. Many authorities who have examined this largely classified information are convinced that hundreds of Americans are still held captive today.
Of the Crusader pilots shot down, nearly 50 are still missing. These fighter pilots in Vietnam were called upon to fly in many dangerous circumstances, and were prepared to be wounded, killed, or captured.
Richard Mullen retired in 1978 from the United States Navy as a Captain. Although retired, he remains active with youth, church, golf and travel. He still says about returning to the United States after his ordeal, “I was so choked up seeing the American flag at Clark AFB (March 4, 1973) I could barely get off the plane. Seeing my wife and children (at NAS Miramar) had to be the happiest moment of my life.”
Mars Rover’s 11th Anniversary: Hilltop Panorama & U.S. Flag
A panorama from one of the highest elevations that NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has reached in its 11 years on Mars includes the U.S. flag at the summit. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./Arizona State Univ.)
The view is from the top of “Cape Tribulation,” a raised section of the rim of Endeavour Crater. The panorama spans the interior of the 14-mile-wide (22-kilometer-wide) crater and extends to the rim of another crater on the horizon. (See full picture here.)
The U.S. flag is printed on the aluminum cable guard of the rover’s rock abrasion tool, which is used for grinding away weathered rock surfaces to expose fresh interior material for examination. The flag is intended as a memorial to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. The aluminum was recovered from the site of the Twin Towers in the weeks following the attacks. Workers at Honeybee Robotics in lower Manhattan, less than a mile from World Trade Center, were making the rock abrasion tool for Opportunity and NASA’s twin Mars Exploration Rover, Spirit, in September 2001.
Opportunity has driven 25.9 miles (41.7 kilometers) since it landed in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars on Jan. 25, 2004 (Universal Time, which was Jan. 24, PST). That is farther than any other off-Earth surface vehicle has driven. The rover’s work on Mars was initially planned for three months. During that prime mission and for more than a decade of bonus performance in extended missions, Opportunity has returned compelling evidence about wet environments on ancient Mars.
Opportunity has been exploring Endeavour’s western rim since 2011. From a low segment of the rim that it crossed in mid-2013, called “Botany Bay,” it climbed about 440 feet (about 135 meters) in elevation to reach the top of Cape Tribulation. That’s about 80 percent the height of the Washington Monument.
Bits of Everything
The Adirondack Almanack: Lake George from Green Island Bridge
A great picture of the lake in cold weather from the bridge to the Sagamore.
NY State DEC: Adirondack Forest Ranger Search and Rescue Highlights: 12/29/14-01/04/15
You might end up in this report if you get lost in the woods.
Governor Cuomo’s 2014 End of Year Report
The actual report is 44 pages but it’s broken down by category.
Office of the State Controller, Thomas P. DiNapoli
State Pension Fund Commits Additional $50 Million
to Invest in New York-Based Companies
USA Today: North Korean Reality Isn’t Funny for Christians
Historic First: Mercury Passes in Front of the Sun, as Seen From Mars
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has captured the planet Mercury passing in front of the sun, visible as a faint darkening that moves across the face of the sun.
This is the first transit of the sun by a planet observed from any planet other than Earth, and also the first imaging of Mercury from Mars. Mercury fills only about one-sixth of one pixel as seen from such great distance, so the darkening does not have a distinct shape, but its position follows Mercury’s expected path based on orbital calculations.
The observation by the telephoto camera of Curiosity’s two-eyed Mast Camera instrument.
“This is a nod to the relevance of planetary transits to the history of astronomy on Earth,” said Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University, College Station, a member of the Mastcan science team. “Observations of Venus transits were used to measure the size of the solar system, and Mercury transits were used to measure the size of the sun.”
The observations were made on June 3, 2014, from Curiosity’s position inside Gale Crater on Mars. In addition to showing the Mercury transit, the same Mastcam frames show two sunspots approximately the size of Earth. The sunspots move only at the pace of the sun’s rotation, much slower than the movement of Mercury