[PHOTO] Iris on Bathurst

I love this iris blossoming in the lee of a shed on Bathurst above Bloor.

[BLOG] Some Monday links

• Charlie Stross mourns fellow and recently passed Scottish writer Iain (M.) Banks.


• Crooked Timber, Lawyers, Guns and Money, and New APPS all take a look at the disgusting self-justifying behaviour of philosopher Colin McGinn towards a female grad student of his.


• Daniel Drezner wonders about the extent to which ideology will become important in upcoming seasons of Game of Thrones.


• Language Hat wonders if Dutch spelling reforms have cut off contemporary speakers of Dutch from easy access to Dutch literature predating the mid-19th century.


• Marginal Revolution wonders if European Union Internet privacy and security regulations will make things worse for American firms.


• Personal Reflections' Jim Belshaw writes about the continuing mystique of the monarchy in Australia.


• Registan's Reid Standish talks about the marginal improvements in law and order in Kyrgyzstan.


• Strange Maps' Frank Jacobs talks about the recent map reimagining the countries of the world on a reunified Pangaea as a rhetorical ploy.


• Understanding Society's Daniel Little charts the ways in which life for Chinese has improved over the past four decades, asnd the ways in which things are still lacking.


• Window on Eurasia quotes from alarmists worrying about the "de-Russification" of Tatarstan, demographically and otherwise.

[LINK] "Astronaut Chris Hadfield announces resignation"

Thank you, Mr. Hadfield, for everything.

Canadian Chris Hadfield has announced his resignation and his intentions to move back to Canada following a 10-year career and decades of living in the U.S.

The newly minted Canadian icon made the announcement at the Canadian Space Agency just outside of Montreal on Monday, fresh off a visit with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa.

The 53-year-old astronaut shared highlights from his five-month mission aboard the International Space Station where he dazzled Earth-bound star-gazers with breathtaking pictures, entertaining videos and a constant stream of poetic tweets.

The resignation means that Hadfield will finally return to Canadian soil. The astronaut has been living in Houston, Texas since his days as a fighter pilot in the 1980s.

"[I'll be] making good on a promise I made my wife nearly 30 years ago — that yes, eventually, we would be moving back to Canada," Hadfield said.

He said he's ready to pursue private interests, outside the government. Hadfield said he hasn't decided what he will do next, but said he plans to do presentations on space while reflecting over the coming year on his next move.

[URBAN NOTE] "Toronto’s first dedicated bike lanes on Sherbourne start of bigger network"

The Toronto Star's Andrew Livingstone writes about the new bike lane on Sherbourne.

[A]s part of $4.1 million upgrades along the street, the $2.5 million bike lanes will provide a necessary dedicated north-south route for the growing number of cyclists in the downtown area.

“We use them all the time,” said Meldon Lobo, 27. “Sherbourne is in much better condition than it used to be before.”

[. . .]

Sherbourne was touted as a safer route for cyclists than Jarvis St., where painted bike lanes, added in 2010 under former mayor David Miller, have been a hot-button issue for drivers.

Council voted 24-19 in October to remove the $59,000 bike lanes to restore a reversible fifth lane at a cost of $300,000 to improve commute times for drivers.

The Sherbourne lanes are the east route in what Minnan-Wong said will be a square network of dedicated lanes in the downtown core. Designs for Wellesley St. have been completed and he said construction will begin later this year.

[URBAN NOTE] "Ghost City: 85 Harbord St."

The Grid's Jamie Bradburn writes about the tumultuous history of Henry Morgentaler's pioneering abortion clinic at 85 Harbord Street.

When the Toronto Women’s Bookstore needed space to expand from its Kensington Market home in 1975, it settled upon the ground floor of a three-storey semi-detached former residence on Harbord Street. As one of the first feminist bookstores in Canada, the collective-run business quickly became a supplier to libraries, schools, and women’s centres who drew on stock the emphasized works by Canadian authors on topics ranging from health to non-sexist kid-lit. During its first few months on Harbord, store staff estimated that around 25 per cent of its clientele were men who were either curious about the concept or deeply committed to feminist issues.

During the spring of 1983, the bookstore learned it would have a new upstairs neighbour. Following a search delayed by threats of prosecution from the provincial government, Dr. Henry Morgentaler (who passed away last week), announced he would open his first Toronto abortion clinic on the upper two floors of 85 Harbord on June 15. The press was shown a freshly renovated space filled with plants and wicker furniture that Morgentaler hoped would create “a soothing atmosphere” for patients.

The clinic’s move-in wasn’t a peaceful one. Ontario Attorney-General Roy McMurtry expected police to charge in if any abortions were performed; at the time, the only legal option required the consent of abortion committees offered by some hospitals. Anti-abortion groups promised plenty of protests. When opening day arrived, a man wielding garden shears attacked Morgentaler. Repeatedly yelling “bad people, bad people,” Augusto Da Silva was intercepted by pro-choice supporters (led by clinic spokesperson Judy Rebick) before Morgentaler was seriously harmed. Da Silva then waved his shears in the air, told the crowd to move back, then ran from the scene. (He was soon arrested.)

The inevitable police raid came on July 5, 1983. After a pair of undercover Metro Toronto Police officers arranged an abortion, other officers swept in and removed equipment during a three-and-a-half hour blitz. Morgentaler, who was vacationing in California, surrendered to police upon his return to Toronto two days later. The raid set off years of legal battles that culminated in the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision to strike down federal abortion law in January 1988.

85 Harbord became a battleground in the divide over women’s choice and a target for extreme anti-abortionists. Around 3:15 a.m. on July 29, 1983, a man who failed to break into the clinic managed to get into the Toronto Women’s Bookstore. He set bags of paper afire under the stairwell, which ironically was near the pregnancy and childbirth section. A note left behind read “If your mother had taken your life away, you would not be living it up, Morgentaler.”