[BLOG] Some Friday links

[rfmcdonald]

• 80 Beats reports that the British investigation into possible fraud by climate research scientists has found nothing wrong, despite suggestive press headlines to the contrary.


• Beyond the Beyond's Bruce Sterling is rightly critical of the myths of catastrophe-proponents that rural areas are going to outlast urban areas after Peak Oil, when rural areas are actually poorer and more dependent than ever before.


• Centauri Dreams considers the possibilities of life on Saturn's planet-sized moon Titan and signs from contaminants in the atmospheres of dying white dwarf stars that planets are common even around more massive stars than Sol.


• At City of Brass, Aziz Poonawalla wonders if an Iranian policy of ambiguity on its nuclear weapons status might be copied from Israel's example, in an effort to deter possible threats.


• Far Outliers examines the paradox of the early 20th century Netherlands' interest in Asian spirituality and other cultural hybridization with a prejudice in the Dutch East Indies against people of mixed European-Asian background.


• Geocurrents considers the plight of the Hindkowans of Pakistan (1, 2) and the Hazara of Afghanistan.


• Language Hat writes about the curious 18th century French tradition of radically rewriting translations of books from other languages according to the prevalent literary styles of France.


• Lawyers, Guns and Money's Robert Farley argues that the French sale of Mistral-class amphibious boats to Russia doesn't realistically increase the threat to Russia's neighbours since it could overpower them already.


• Douglas Todd's The Search writes that two million Canadians know someone sexually abused by a priest and observes that the approaches of Canadian and Ugandan Anglicans to gay issues are completely different.


• Window on Eurasia notes that the indigenous peoples of northern Russia are gearing up to deal with climate change, like their counterparts in North America and Europe.