[BLOG] Some Tuesday links

• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait notes how the recently-charted orbit of S2 around Sagittarius A* in the heart of our galaxy proves Einstein's theory of relativity right.


• D-Brief notes a recent NASA study of Mars concluding that, because of the planet's shortfalls in conceivably extractable carbon dioxide, terraforming Mars is impossible with current technology.


• Dead Things suggests that one key to the rise of Homo sapiens may be the fact that we are such good generalists, capable of adapting to different environments and challenges with speed even if we are not optimized for them. (Poor Neanderthals.)


• At the Everyday Sociology Blog, Karen Sternheimer examines how individuals' identities shift as they engage, encountering new problems.


• Hornet Stories notes that Thailand may well beat Taiwan in creating civil unions for same-sex couples.


• JSTOR Daily examines the famed, nay iconic, baobab tree of Africa.


• Erik Loomis at Lawyers, Guns and Money wonders about how, as the centennial of the introduction of women's suffrage approaches, the white racism of many suffragettes will be dealt with.


• The Map Room Blog reports on Michael Plichta's very impressed hand-crafted globe of the Moon.


• Russell Darnley at Maximos' Blog reports on the massive forest fires in Indonesia's Jambi Province.

[URBAN NOTE] Five Toronto links: Doug Ford, elections, Garrison Crossing, TCH smoke free, streets

• The City Council of Toronto, out of all the cities councils in all of the cities in Ontario, was the only one targeted for such a sharp reduction in councilors. The Toronto Star reports.


• Alexandra Flynn at Spacing reports on some legal strategies that could be brought to bear by the City of Toronto against the Doug Ford actions.


• blogTO notes a new pedestrian crossing, the Garrison Crossing, bridging the rail lines west of Fort York.


• The new smoke-free policy of Toronto Community Housing will also apply to marijuana smoke. The Toronto Star reports.


• Christopher Hume considers, in an era where cars and their drivers compete with other users of our major streets, just what does make a street successful. The Toronto Star has it.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Markham, Gimli, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Sydney

• York Region reports on an anti-refugee protest in Markham that, reportedly, was dominated by Chinese-Canadian protesters.


• Gimli's 18th annual film festival has been a roaring success. Global News reports.


• What has become of downtown Winnipeg after the city's hockey team, the beloved Jets, finished their playoff run? Global News reports.


• The voice of Seth Rogan will be the voice of Vancouver's mass transit service, announcing stops and the like. CBC reports.


• Personal Reflections' Jim Belshaw reports on how problems of growth surround--literally--Astrolabe Park, in Sydney.

[NEWS] Five links on China's economic rise: Belt and Road, insecurity, Sri Lanka, Montenegro

• This explainer from The Guardian explaining what, exactly, is the famed Belt and Road policy of China is informative.


• This article at The Conversation considers whether or not China actually has the edge needed to lead the world. More likely, perhaps, is fragmentation in the face of the different weaknesses of China and the United States.


• This article in The Atlantic by David Frum suggesting that the huge surge of Chinese investment overseas is driven not so much by strength as insecurity--why so many second homes away from China?--makes a compelling argument.


• This Maria Abi-Habib article from The New York Times takes a look at how China was able to secure the port of Hambantota in Sri Lanka. Critically, the fecklessness of the Sri Lankan goverment, dominated by Sinhalese nationalists, was key.


• This Reuters article looks at how the government of Montenegro has gone badly into debt to finance a Chinese-planned highway of dubious economic sense.

[NEWS] Six links about guaranteed minimum income in Ontario (#onpoli)

• This article at Vice's Motherboard took a look at how an Ontarian provincial experiment with guaranteed minimum income has been helping people in Hamilton.


• Laurie Monsebraaten reported back in February how guaranteed minimum income was making a hugely positive difference for its recipients, over at the Toronto Star.


• Global News considered if guaranteed minimum income might make a big difference in British Columbia.


• Looking at the post-industrial town of Lindsay, Brian Bergstein at Technology Review suggested minimum income could have a hugely transformative effect if implemented elsewhere as it was here.


• Jordan Pearson warned at Motherboard that, compared to Mincome in the 1970s, the experiments being run in Ontario and Finland involved too few people receiving too little money to be necessarily informative. Were they being run to fail?


• Besides halving a planned 3% increase in welfare payments, to keep pace with inflation, the new Ontario government of Doug Ford has scrapped the guaranteed minimum income experiment. The Toronto Star reports.