[PHOTO] Looking up, St. Mary's Church

The architectural glory of St. Mary's Church survives even being surrounded by taller condos.

[BLOG] Some Thursday links

• Discover introduces its new blog Astrobeat.

Centauri Dreams looks at our operations throughout our solar system.

• Dangerous Minds shares recordings from Prince's Sign o' The Times tour rehearsals.


• The Dragon's Gaze links to a study of gas giant HD 95086b.


• The Dragon's Tales notes evidence for pre-European trade in eastern Polynesia.


• Gizmodo notes that a large vertical farm is being built in New Jersey.


• Joe. My. God. notes that Kim Davis is being accused of hiding requested public documents.


• The LRB Blog notes that the Chilcot report proves Blair's culpability.


• Marginal Revolution notes the weakness of Deutsche Bank, looks at how the weak pound won't help Britain, and observes Italy's weakness.


• Steve Munro considers reviving the Scarborough LRT proposal.


• Personal Reflections' Jim Belshaw notes Australia's problems with Internet speed.


• Supernova Condensate looks at the Juno probe's arrival at Jupiter.


• Transit Toronto notes that high speeds have slowed down rail transit in Toronto.

[NEWS] Some Thursday links

• Bloomberg notes the decline of Japan's solar energy boom with falling subsidies, suggests 1970s-style stagflation will be back, looks at how an urban area in Japan is dealing with overcrowding, looks at Russia-NATO tensions, and examines how Ireland is welcoming British bankers.


• Bloomberg View looks at the return of Russian tourists to Turkey, notes Russia is not suffering from a brain drain, looks at the Brexit vote as examining the power of the old, and argues the Chilcot report defends Blair from accusations of lying.


• CBC reports on the end of Blackberry's manufacturing of the Classic.


• The Globe and Mail notes that, once, gay white men were on the outside.


• The Independent describes claims that refugees in Libya who cannot pay their brokers risk being rendered into organs.


• The Inter Press Service describes the horrors of Sudan and looks at how Russia will use Brexit to fight sanctions in the European Union.


• MacLean's reports on the opening up of the Arctic Ocean to fishing and looks at Winnipeg support for Pride in Steinbach.


• The National Post reports on the plague of Pablo Escobar's hippos in Colombia, looks at Vietnam's protests of Chinese military maneuvers, and examines Turkey's foreign policy catastrophes.


• Open Democracy notes the desperate need for stability in Libya.


• The Smithsonian reports on how video games are becoming the stuff of history.