[BLOG] Some Friday links

[rfmcdonald]

• Did you know that astronomers have determined that the planet HD 209458b, a gas giant orbiting very close to its sun, has winds in excess of ten thousand kilometres an hour? Centauri Dreams tells us.


• Crooked Timber reports on the astonishing news of the amazing defense of Leopold II's genocide rule in the Congo by Belgian politician Louis Michel.


• The Global Sociology Blog is unimpressed by analyses of the French World Cup team which involve the ethnicity and countries of origin of the player.


• Slap Upside the Head reports on the case of a Yellowknife landlord who violated a contract that he had signed with a young gay couple, justifying the violation on the grounds of his religious freedom. Um.


• Via Towleroad, more news that the Iraqi government in involved in vicious persecutions of that country's queer population, sending agents to raid safehouses and disappear people.


• Understanding Society's Daniel Little examines the phenomenon of the truth and reconciliation commission. Where does it come from? Why? How is it run?


• Window on Eurasia quotes someone who suggests that the Commonwealth of Independent States was a success, not as a regional integration project but rather as a mechanism to help pacify the area.