[BLOG] Some Tuesday links

[rfmcdonald]

• Acts of Minor Treason's Andrew Barton callsfor legislation limiting the grounds on which parents can edit their prospective children while they are still in the fetus stage. Queerness isn't the only thing likely to be selected against.


• At the Burgh Diaspora, Jim Russell suggests that some American cities may catch up in the "creative class" ranks and others fall behind: cities in the US plains fall in the former category, Chicago possibly in the latter.


• Eastern approaches' Edward Lucas suggests that East Germany helped support Britain's coal miners in the 1980s, with vacations, and subsidies of various kinds.


• Geocurrents examines the coalescing Melanesian identity in the Pacific, based not so much upon a sense of shared identity in this diverse region as shared challenges--and enemies.


• Razib Khan at GNXP uses a telling example to demonstrate that genes are not, in fact, the sole determinants of one's persona. Does a demonstrably non-psychopathic brain scientist whose genes and brainscans suggest he should be a psychopath work as proof for you?


• At Marginal Revolution, Tyler Cowen notes that perennial European Union applicant Turkey would be better qualified, by virtue of its debt and deficit, for membership in the Eurozone than most of the Euro's current members.


• Norman Geras wonders if humans have evolved to prefer functioning in hierarchies.


• Torontoist's Marc Lostracco praises Toronto Maple Leafs coach Brian Burke for marching in Toronto's recent Pride parade in memory of his recent dead, out, gay son Brian Burke.


• At Wasatch Economics, Scott lets us know that China's banking sector, quite possibly laden with huge amounts of bad loans that no one has gotten around to check, might start to go down very soon.


• Window on Eurasia points out that Russia's neighbours, as important as they may be in terms of prestige, generally aren't that important as partners, in terms of trade or military relations or most other domains. (Ukraine is an exception.)