[BLOG] Some Friday links

[rfmcdonald]

• Beyond the Beyond's Bruce Sterling notes the latest appearance of glamourous Russian spy Anna Chapman, this time on the red carpet in Moscow next to Brad Pitt.


• Daniel Drezner observes that the global reaction to the Federal Reserve's statements on quantitative easing indicates that the United States is still the dominant economic hegemon.


• Joe. My. God. shares maps of storm evacuation zones in New York City.


• Language Hat starts a discussion about the paucity of Chinese loan words in English.


• Erik Loomis at Lawyers, Guns and Money talks about how illegal marijuana farming in the Pacific Northwest is a significant threat to the environment, all the more so because it is unregulated.


• Speed River Journal's Van Waffle is celebrating the summer solstice by taking part in an international Breeding Bird Survey.


• Also at the Speed River Journal, guest blogger Mike Lepage writes about how construction and development in west-end Guelph is threatening bird habitat.


• The Volokh Conspiracy deals with the recent American court ruling determining that the federal government cannot necessarily require donor groups to endorse certain views to get funding (originally, started by anti-HIV groups which were also required to oppose prostitution).


• Window on Eurasia notes that Buddhists and Orthodox Christians in the Russian autonomous republic of Tuva have set up an interfaith council to try to manage ethnic conflict.