[BLOG] Some Thursday links

[rfmcdonald]

• Arctic Progress notes the Norwegian parliament's approval of a maritime border treaty with Russia, observes Russia's plans to build a research centre on the Arctic Svalbards.


• Bag News reports on the original self-taken image of former Republican Congressman Christopher Lee, the married man who tried to pick up women on Craigslist. It turns out to be even more evocative than the cropped versions which appeared in the press.


• At Behind the Numbers, Carl Haub observes that sex ratios in the most male-imbalanced states of India, as in the country as a whole, have improved, though not so much recently.


• blogTO's Robyn Urback visits some of the different stores in Toronto offering cash for gold and jewellery.


• The Everyday Sociology Blog's Karen Sternheimer takes a look at celebrity culture--especially of the "American Idol" way--as a way people can at least vicariously enjoy social mobility, if not escape one's class altogether.


• Far Outliers reports on a recent lecture by scholar Philip Jenkins, who notes that natural increase will take over from conversion in making Africa the centre of the Christian world, the continent perhaps becoming the first one with one billion Christians.


• The Grumpy Sociologist argues that the sexualization of young women in Japanese manga says things about the status of women and the state of the patriarchy in Japan.


• The Invisible College's Lennart Breuker takes a look at the Thai territorial claims on a Cambodian temple complex that have killed dozens in the past week. Thailand's claim looks to be very weak, inasmuch as Thailand never raised the subject when borders were up for discussion.


• Mark Simpson starts a discussion arguing that misandry is common in popular culture, with derogatory views of men as animals, etc. It's out there, but to what extent relative to others?


• At Nissology PEI, Hans writes about the latest political corruption scandal on the Island, something fitting into the grand global trend. At least it demonstrates a certain amount of voter engagement.


• The Planetary Society Blog's Emily Lakdawalla examines the latest astronomical studies suggesting that Vesta may have been radically reshaped by the impact that created its massive south-polar crater, creating complications for those who hoped that the small world could have a preserved geological record intact.


• Andy at Siberian Lights notes that Russia is on track to become the largest online market in Europe soon, surpassing Germany; 65 of Germany's 82 millions were online at the end of 2010, but only 60 out of Russia's 142 millions. Search engine Yandex has done well, interestingly, holding its own against Google.