Russ McBee

Ninety years ago today, at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the War to End All Wars came to a close. Although its carnage was eclipsed by the global disaster that followed twenty years later, the devastation of the First World War was the worst ever seen up to that point. As I discussed in this post, Dad and I visited ...

Two (mostly) unrelated stories caught my eye today; both have to do with protecting the wrong interests. First, President Bush has refused to sign a defense spending bill; his reasons were curious: And then Friday, with no warning, a vacationing Bush announced he will veto a sweeping military policy bill because of an obscure provision that ...

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is as fast as a jumbo jet, half the size of the Airbus 380, and 20% more fuel efficient. It's also selling like hotcakes: So far, 47 airlines -- including Continental Airlines Inc., Air Canada, Qantas Airways Ltd., Air India and Singapore Airlines Ltd. -- have signed up for 684 planes. Those are amazing sales numbers ...

A couple of years ago, a friend (whom I'll call Mike, because that's his name) and I spent a few days in Prague. It's one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen. It's also perfect for exploring on foot. Startlingly, most of central Prague's medieval core is intact (despite all those years living under Communism), which means it's very dense ...

On tourists in Barcelona: Why do they call it tourist season if you can't shoot them?

This post by Leanne Shear makes some interesting observations on the cultural differences between the US and Europe, as typified by the café culture of Paris. Her solo sojourn in Paris has given her the opportunity to see life through a different lens, noticing and adjusting to the little things that make the traveler aware of differences that ...

Dad and I have been to Maastricht, The Netherlands a couple of times. For both of us, it's become a favorite destination. The city is chock full of stuff to see, it's medieval core is largely intact, and there aren't that many tourists around. It's ideal as a vacation spot. On Vrithof Square in Maastricht, two churches sit only a few feet from ...

Dante was wrong: Hell doesn't have nine circles, it has ten. The tenth one is named Heathrow Airport, and it is reserved for air travelers who've wronged the Universe somehow. Heathrow is by far the most poorly designed airport I've ever experienced. I've flown to or through it many, many times over the years, either with London as a destination ...

As a consequence of post-9/11 fear mongering, we ended up with a new law that requires Americans traveling to Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean to present a passport when re-entering the country. Lawmakers insisted that the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, would ...

Of all the wars in recorded history, World War I stands out as the most idiotic. It was completely preventable, it was fought for no good reason, and its unfinished business led to the rise of the Third Reich. One of the bloodiest battles of that awful war took place in the countryside surrounding Verdun, France. From February through December ...