[CAT] Shakespeare, looking north

[PHOTO] Four photos of, and from, the Humber Bay Arch Bridge

The Humber Bay Arch Bridge,
a pedestrian and bicycling bridge crossing the Humber, connecting what was once the old city of Toronto with Etobicoke, is a worthy subject of photos. Its position also lends itself to the taking of photos.

[BLOG] Some Saturday links

• Centauri Dreams considers, in the context of 'Oumuamua, the import of shads and axis ratios. What does it suggest about the processes by which planetary systems form?


• The Dragon's Tales notes a report suggesting that Russia is not at all likely to legalize bitcoins.


• At A Fistful of Euros, Alex Harrowell takes a look at Article 63, the German constitutional article that governs the selection of the Chancellor.


• The Frailest Thing quotes a passage from Jacques Ellul about the adaptation of humans to a mechanized world.


• Hornet Stories notes that out actor Russell Tovey is set to play the (also out) Ray in the Arrowverse, an anti-Nazi superhero from an alternate Earth.


• Language Hat tells the story of Lin Shu, an early 20th century translator of European fiction into Chinese whose works were remarkably influential.


• Lawyers, Guns and Money is amused by the story of a young university student who has used basic knowledge of Foucault to play with his family's household rules.


• The LRB Blog notes the very awkward, and potentially fatal, position of the Rohingya, caught between Burma and Bangladesh.


• The Map Room Blog links to a talk recently given on fake maps, on maps used to lie and misrepresent and propagandize.


• The NYR Daily meditates on the precocity and the homoeroticism inherent in the Hart Crane poem "The Bridge."


• Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel notes that we can see, so far, only a surprisingly small fraction of the observable universe. (So far.)


• The Volokh Conspiracy celebrates the many defeats of Trump as he fights against sanctuary cities as a victory for federalism and against executive power.


• Window on Eurasia notes a poll suggesting that, after 2014, while Crimeans may feel less Ukrainian they do not necessarily feel more Russian.


• Arnold Zwicky takes a look, linguistically, at an Ian Frazier phrase: "That is aliens for you."

[URBAN NOTE] Five Toronto links: Industry Street and York, Parkdale condos, Tories, Black Friday

• Daniel Rotsztain writes about how Industry Street in the old city of York is becoming the heart of a new sort of inner suburb stretch, over in The Globe and Mail.


• NOW Toronto looks at some of the massive new condo developments scheduled to develop in Parkdale in the next few years. This neighbourhood will not look the same. More here.


• The Tories' project for Toronto, involving massive investment in subways, looks nice. Is it? The Toronto Star has more.


• I agree entirely with Edward Keenan's argument about how Toronto City Hall should be open to everyone. The article is at the Toronto Star, here.


• Black Friday was as huge as you'd expect in Toronto this year. The Toronto Star reports here.

[NEWS] Four links from the former Soviet Union: Donbas, Crimean Tatars, Russian nationalism, Yandex

• Open Democracy reports on what appears to be a coup waged in the Luhansk republic by the forces of Donetsk. What is going on in the twin Donbas republics, anyway?


• Maxim Edwards reports from the Ukrainian border with Crimea, from Crimean Tatars rebuilding their communities in exile (again), over at Open Democracy.


• Leonid Bershidsky suggests that the Russian ultranationalism promoted by Putin will remain virulent long after the man is gone, over at Bloomberg.


• VICE reports on the quietly effective censorship that Russian-language search engine Yandex is forced to employ, here.

[NEWS] Four links about economies: the United Kingdom, Chile, Québec, Ontario

• Bloomberg notes that, in the era of Brexit, the United Kingdom is set to face prolonged recession. It may regain its 2007 levels of income only in 2025.


• Chile is technically a high-income country, but not enough of one to escape the middle-income trap. Bloomberg View reports.


• A Québec that is prosperous enough to no longer qualify for equalization payments may not be plausible, but the rhetoric around it makes good politics. MacLean's reports.


• The new $15 an hour minimum wage in Ontario is emerging as an election issue. The Toronto Star reports.

[NEWS] Four notes about futures, economies, apocalypses, and salvations

• Don Pittis plausibly suggests that, with spiraling inequality and the rise of tax havens, capitalism may be starting to break down. How can it function if the masses are excluded from prosperity? CBC has it.


• Thomas Wright suggests that, between Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, and Vladimir Putin, it's entirely possible their conflicting ambitions for themselves and their countries could trigger catastrophe. The Irish Times hosts the article.
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• Zach Ruiter makes a depressingly plausible case for climate change, particularly, triggering human extinction in the near term, over at NOW Toronto.


• Issie Lapowsky reports on how the equivalent of a guaranteed minimum income among the Eastern Band of the Cherokee has had significant positive effects on the lives of recipients, over at Wired.