[CAT] Shakespeare, on bedclothes

[BLOG] Some Saturday links

• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait notes evidence that white dwarf Gaia J1738–0826 is eating its planets.


• Crux takes a look at the stars closely orbiting Sagittarius A* at the heart of the galaxy like relativity-proving S2.


• D-Brief notes a recent proposal for an unmanned probe to Uranus and Neptune.


• Dangerous Minds shows the eerily decomposing sculptures of YuIchi Ikehata.


• Bruce Dorminey explores the provocative idea of era in the early Moon where it was briefly habitable.


• Far Outliers explores the reasons why George Orwell has become so popular lately.


• Hornet Stories notes that Tom Daley has recently posed nude for a painting by the celebrated David Hockney.


• JSTOR Daily explores the reality behind the imminent arrival of the laser gun into militaries worldwide.


• Language Hat notes that the Austrian state of Vorarlberg sponsors an interesting contest, of performances of songs--including pop songs--in local dialect.


• The LRB Blog notes the severity of the forest fires in Greece, aggravated by climate change, systematic corruption, and recent austerity.


• The Planetary Society Blog shares photos of asteroid Ryugu taken by the Hayabusa2 probe.


• Roads and Kingdoms reports on a T-bone steak heavy breakfast lasting twenty hours in Bilbao.
  
• Frank Jacobs at Strange Maps notes a joke political party in Hungary that wants to make the country smaller.


• Window on Eurasia notes how the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under Moscow is caught between its Ukrainian goals and its Russian links.

[URBAN NOTE] Five Toronto links: #DanforthStrong, #topoli, Jennifer Keesmaat, Province of Toronto

• Jamie Bradburn wrote earlier this week about a stroll he and his took down the Danforth.


• Edward Keenan is entirely right to note that Ford's slashing of city council's size is all but a declaration of war by his government against Toronto. The Toronto Star has it.


• Toronto MP Adam Vaughan has stated openly that, if need be, the federal government will bypass Ontario in working with Toronto. Global News reports.


• Widely-respected former Toronto city planner Jennifer Keesmaat is running as mayor in the upcoming election. I'm inclined to vote for her already. The Toronto Star reports.


• The resurgence of talk of a separate Province of Toronto is unsurprising, but frankly I think the proposal fundamentally unworkable. blogTO reports.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Halifax and Dartmouth, Winnipeg, Iqaluit, St. Petersburg, Pyongyang

• Is a mysterious chair in Dartmouth a legacy of the Halifax Explosion? Global News reports.


• Who is Googling Winnipeg, and why? Global News reports.


• The Nunavut capital of Iqaluit faces a serious prospect of water shortages, as its water source Lake Geraldine cannot support growing consumption. CBC reports.


• Guardian Cities reports that the old Tsarist-era palaces of St. Petersburg face a grim future unless someone--artists, say--can rehabilitate these edifices.


• Guardian Cities shares photos of the subway stations of Pyongyang.

[NEWS] Five links: Kazakhstan and Xinjiang, Qing China economy, US-Iran, Assange, Germany and AI

• Eurasianet notes that the trial in Kazakhstan of an ethnic Kazakh woman from Xinjiang for illegal crossing is creating a public scandal via her revelations about the Chinese security state there.


• J. Bradford Delong identifies some of the many institutional and economic issues of Qing China in the 19th century, explaining why catch-up to the West was not possible.


• A very imperfect deterrence prevails between the United States and Iran, neither country being strong enough to make attack impossible. Global News reports.


• The Intercept reported that the new government of Ecuador is negotiating with the British government to expel Assange from its London embassy.


• Politico Europe notes that Germany is trying to catch up to the United States and China in the domain of artificial intelligence.