[BLOG] Some Wednesday links

[rfmcdonald]

(A few minutes late, yes, I know.)

• Centauri Dreams notes that the imaging of exoplanet Beta Pictoris b means great things for the future of exoplanet searches.


• The Dragon's Gaze notes that now, we have the technology to search for true Earth analogues at Alpha Centauri.


• The Dragon's Tales observes that Scotland's offshore islands--the Shetlands, the Orkneys, the Western Isles--are now starting to examine their options for self-governance.


• Gideon Rachman at the Financial Times's The World Blog notes that the shocking mass death sentences issued to more than five hundred people in Egypt augurs nothing good about justice in that country.


• Geocurrents notes that all kinds of separatisms, among Russophone populations in the former Soviet Union and among Russian autonomous republics, have been galvanized by Crimea.


• Joe. My. God. notes that an anti-gay coalition is no longer holding its conference in Russia, on account of Crimea.


• Language Hat links to the Calvery Journal, an online journal of Russian-language culture.


• The New APPS Blog's Jason Reed writes about how highly uninspired budget cutting at the University of Southern Maine reflects a "particular hollowness" in the heart of the university.


• Window on Eurasia suggests that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would begin no later than mid-May, notes the prominence of evangelical Christians in the Ukrainian government, and worries about Crimean Tatar prospects inside Russia.