[BLOG] Some Monday links

[rfmcdonald]

• Charlie Stross speculates about the recent tragic crash of Malaysian Airline's flight MH370 off the Vietnamese coast. Does the fradulent use of passports indicate terrorism?


• The Dragon's Gaze suggests that Beta Pictoris has another exoplanet in addition to Beta Pictoris b, which is photographed.


• The Dragon's Tale, meanwhile, notes that China is not supportive of Russia's move into Crimea.


• At the Everyday Sociology Blog, Peter Kaufman shares his experience of Crimea, attending a multinational youth camp in the late Soviet period.


• A Fistful of Euros' Alex Harrowell notes that the balance of soft power in Ukraine has been tilted towards the West and the European Union, not Russia, and is becoming even more West-leaning.


• Geocurrents' Asya Perelstvaig traces the complex language and human geography of Ukraine.


• Joe. My. God. links to the Pet Shop Boys' remix of Irish drag queen Panti Bliss' speech about gay rights.


• Language Log notes a study suggesting that elephants apparently have warning signals for human beings.


• Marginal Revolution links to an article exploring the Dutch construction of an online site for journalism akin to iTunes, and notes Ukraine's very weak post-Soviet economic growth.


• Registan's Nathan Barrick analyses Ukraine's situation, suggesting that some deal with Russia will be necessary and worring about civil society elsewhere in the former Soviet Union.


• Towleroad describes how Neil Patrick Harris has become a popular gay icon.


• The Volokh Conspiracy links to a claim by a former worker at a left-leaning American think tank, the Center for American Progress, that it was censoring itself in order to avoid offending Obama.