Category Archives: History

“We came in peace for all mankind”

NPR: How Do You Preserve History On The Moon?

“Historic preservationists are hoping that the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing this summer will persuade the United Nations to do something to protect Neil Armstrong’s footprints in the lunar dust.

Some of his boot marks are still up there, after all, along with other precious artifacts from humanity’s first steps on another world. Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left behind tools and science equipment, a plaque that read, “We came in peace for all mankind” and the U.S. flag, which has likely been bleached white by five decades of harsh ultraviolet light.

Other than a dusting of lunar soil or the random micrometeorite impact, Tranquility Base has been an untouched time capsule since the astronauts departed — though that could change as more nations and even commercial companies start to explore the moon.

“There has never been historic preservation off our planet. It’s a really difficult subject,” says Michelle Hanlon, a law professor and space law expert at the University of Mississippi who co-founded For All Moonkind, a nonprofit group devoted to protecting historic sites in space.”

„Sobald wir Angst haben, gehen wir” – Juden in Deutschland

WDR Unterwegs im Westen: Jüdisches Leben: Zwischen Alltag und Angst?. (YouTube, 29min)

“m Alltag verschweigen viele Juden in NRW ihre Religionszugehörigkeit aus Angst vor Anfeindungen. Die Bedrohung kommt vor allem vom rechten Rand der Gesellschaft. „Heute werden wir mit Klarnamen im Internet beschimpft. Und aus Schulen hören wir, dass Jude wieder ein Schimpfwort auf den Schulhöfen ist“, erzählt Michael Rubinstein. Er ist Geschäftsführer des Landesverbandes der jüdischen Gemeinden Nordrhein und erlebt, wie sich jüdisches Leben in Deutschland verändert.”

Farewell, Oppy

The Washington Post: Opportunity, NASA’s record-setting Mars rover, is declared dead after 15 years. “A eulogy for the spacecraft that transformed our understanding of the Red Planet.” By Sarah Kaplan.

“Opportunity’s historic mission, which uncovered signs of Mars’s watery past and transformed our understanding of the Red Planet, has finally come to an end after 15 years, NASA declared Wednesday.

The cause was system failure precipitated by power loss during a catastrophic, planetwide dust storm that engulfed the Mars rover last summer.

“It’s going to be very sad to say goodbye,“ said John Callas, the mission’s project manager. “But at the same time, we’ve got to remember this has been 15 years of incredible adventure.“

Opportunity’s mission was planned to last just 90 days, but it worked for 5,000 Martian “sols“ (which are about 39 minutes longer than an Earth day) and traversed more than 28 treacherous miles — two records for NASA.”

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The Heroes of the Thai Cave Rescue

Maclean’s: Into the dark – The inside story of an improbable team of divers, a near-impossible plan and the rescue of 12 boys from a Thai cave.

“We were foreigners and we weren’t going somewhere foreigners often go, so when I saw the blond man across the Bangkok airport shuttle bus on our way to the remote mountains of Chiang Rai, a one-hour flight away, I asked whether he was about to do the one thing or the other: “Are you rescuing the boys or covering the rescue?“

“Well, we’re hoping we can help rescue them,“ he said. He didn’t seem hopeful. He seemed grim. We stepped off the bus onto the hot tarmac and walked toward the plane.

“You never know,“ I said. “It could happen.“ Save 12 children and their soccer coach who got stranded three kilometres inside a flooded cave in northern Thailand at the start of the rainy season with no known food, water or swimming skills: It could never happen.

He nodded. “You never know.“ “

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“Trump has evinced little respect for the rule of law”

The Atlantic: Impeach Donald Trump. “Starting the process will rein in a president who is undermining American ideals—and bring the debate about his fitness for office into Congress, where it belongs.” By Yoni Appelbaum.

“On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump stood on the steps of the Capitol, raised his right hand, and solemnly swore to faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and, to the best of his ability, to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. He has not kept that promise.

Instead, he has mounted a concerted challenge to the separation of powers, to the rule of law, and to the civil liberties enshrined in our founding documents. He has purposefully inflamed America’s divisions. He has set himself against the American idea, the principle that all of us—of every race, gender, and creed—are created equal.

This is not a partisan judgment. Many of the president’s fiercest critics have emerged from within his own party. Even officials and observers who support his policies are appalled by his pronouncements, and those who have the most firsthand experience of governance are also the most alarmed by how Trump is governing.”

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C-SPAN: Rep. Ocasio-Cortez Explains Our Broken System. (Video, 5:06min)

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