This sticky thread is for BRIEF mind-catching little cameos re particular places. Not for long stories or data, just links or bits of text that nutshell spots around the world.

GALVESTON:

So, not a lot of people know this, but Galveston is straight up crawling with crazies, sick people, and completely broke/homeless people. The island is home to UT's Medical Branch, which treats basically the southern half of Texas' indigent population, in addition to servicing TCDJ (criminal corrections). I lived there for two years and was basically always afraid. People get shipped down there because no one wants to treat a schizophrenic homeless person, they get some meds from UTMB, then stop going to treatment and hang out around the island until they've completely forgotten why they were there in the first place. On top of that, the whole island is a gross display of haves versus have nots, there is a constant stream of young, inexperienced tourists, and the police force vacillates between not giving a shit and taking shit way too seriously. I actually saw a cop pull a gun on someone for cutting in the ferry line. I also saw a lot of cops parked in the Seawall, chatting on their cell phones, despite the fact that there are an overwhelming number of rapes and sexual assaults reported every summer on the public beaches that the Seawall overlooks. The whole place is awful, just awful, and I couldn't have been more glad to leave.
In short - tl;dr version - This doesn't surprise me in the least, that place is a hellhole, if you can avoid it, stay away. [jezebel 8/18/11]

Went to Galveston once, myself. Did not like it compared to South Padre. It is the western edge of the South. There's a New Orleans feel to the architecture, and there are plenty of niggers. There's a boardwalk, a not very nice surf, and the detritus mentioned above. All in all, I didn't think much of it.

I had an idea similar to this thread. There are times when I have a question about a topic, maybe my ideas are not yet in conclusion to post an entire thread. Maybe I am working on a project that needs a bump. Or like you said, just bits of info that may not warrant an entire thread but worth posting, but rather as FYI. The idea I had for a thread was like a junk drawer, a place to put useful things not yet classified.
Here is a link on the north american union.
http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-mainmenu-26/north-america-mainmenu-36/7775-wikileaks-confirms-north-american-integration-scheme

Here is a link that shows an animated map of all the empires in the middle east over the past 5000 years. The video is 90 seconds long, and the ending is all too telling that some things don't change. Worth watching.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2bsa28/www.mapsofwar.com/images/EMPIRE17.swf

https://www.dollywood.com