More stories by merlynne6

The USA troop withdrawal from Iraq is a sham. Will the US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan ever end? What is to be done about the Pakistan nuclear arsenal?

Environmental Graffiti writer Bennett Blumenberg talked to premier big game fish photographer Jon Schwartz. The interview forms the basis for this fascinating post.

A huge Blue Marlin attacked the press boat during the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament, August 2010. It fought the line and hook for an hour, then escaped.

Add to the uses of the legendary WD-40, the ability to stop floor boards in old houses from groaning.

Understanding how the Sun catalyzes Climate Change and creates weather on Earth is now more important than ever. Meet the satellites that are watching the Sun 24/7.

Japan's latest mission to Venus will embed a satellite with a two year lifetime in the upper atmosphere to study the wind and weather; and confirm active volcanoes.

The Japanese IKAROS mission to the Sun is evaluating the first power solar sail designed for interplanetary spacecraft. First test results back are excellent.

Victory! Preservationists have stopped further damage by the natural gas industry to thousands of sacred, indigenous, rock art creations in Nine Mile Canyon, Utah.

The legendary BBC World News Service is now available as a web radio station. So turn on, tune in... and educate yourself.

Now under construction in the UAE, Masdar City is a model for urban living in the near future.

George Washington failed to return two books taken out from the New York Society Library in 1789. Was the NYSL is willing to forgive the $300,000 fine?

There are dangers that confront the Large Hadron Collider but they are not micro black holes. Meet a petulant God, and an aggressive Oyster Catcher.

On March 30, 2010, the Large Hadron Collider recorded an extraordinary event. A proton-proton beam collision experiment achieved energies of 7 TeV, a level believed to ha

The Pakistan army offensive against the Taliban that started last fall has created a new huge, refugee population. More than 2 million people have been displaced.

Environmental Graffiti's Bennett Blumenberg recounts the siege of Acre in 1291, through the eyes of a common footsoldier

Hospitaler Master, Mathieu de Clermont defends the walls / D.Papety c.1840
Painting - PHGCOM / Wikimedia

PRELUDE –

“The air stinks! Smells like dead rats and rotten mutton. Piss everywhere, and the kids drink this foul, putrid water that runs down the alleys. At least it's not too hot, winter and all...

Bini, a Tsimshian Indian shaman / (British Columbia, Canada)
Photo - hallman.org

”Cry of Rage” / Taliban supporters at a rally against the Pakistan army offensive in the Swat and Buner Valleys, May 26, 2009
Photo - © AFP / Banaras Khan / Miriam Godet / Flickr

The War

Since the fall of 2001, the United States has tried relentlessly to convert Pakistan into a steady and reliable ally in the war against terrorism.

Giant Rabbit on Colletto Fava, Italy 1
Photo - Bstender / Wikinews

On Monday, September 19, 2005, tourists and local people in the North Italian village of Artesina (Piedmont) looked upward at a familiar mountainside and were amazed; then likely many folks burst into smiles and laughter.

Ebenezer Place (MacKay's Hotel), Wick (Caithness), Scotland
Photo - Noudbijvoet / Wikimedia

At 6 ft 9 inches (2.06 m) in length, Ebenezer Place in Wick (Caithness), Scotland is as long as Vanja Ivesa (tallest football player living, playing for Eskisehirspor in Turkey) or Zdeno Chara (tallest player in the National Hockey League) are tall. Nelly Alisheva (tallest female Volleyball Player) matches Ebenezer Place cm for cm, inch for inch.

The story of Ebenezer Place is the story of MacKay's Hotel.