[BLOG] Some Saturday links

[rfmcdonald]

• blogTO describes Toronto's Great Fire of 1904.


• Centauri Dreams and D-Brief react to the discovery of Kepler-186f, The Dragon's Gaze linking to a paper that models potential climates on the world.


• The Dragon's Gaze notes, as does io9, that an Earth-like planet doesn't need a stabilizing moon to be habitable. If anything, a shifting axis may help a planet avoid ice ages.


• Eastern Approaches notes that the Czech Republic isn't getting a Russian corporation to renovate its nuclear power plants.


• Geocurrents notes the ongoing maritime border dispute between Romania and Ukraine.


• Language Log notes an example of Chinese characters being used as annotations for Vietnamese script.


• The Map Room's Jonathan Crowe links to a copy of the only fantasy literature setting map needed. (The cliches are cringe-worthy.)


• Marginal Revolution takes note of the ongoing real estate boom in Vancouver.


• The Power and the Money's Noel Maurer notes that Ukraine needs to keep Odessa, not only because of the city's importance as a coastal port but because of its oil refinery.


• The Russian Demographics Blog links to a paper analyzing the different kinds of processes of depopulation in European Russia.


• Towleroad notes that a photo exhibit showing same-sex couples kissing in Catholic churches, closed down in Rome, is now up in New York City.


• The Volokh Conspiracy notes that it's quite rare to actually see police officers suffer serious penalties for lying.


• Window on Eurasia points readers to the writings of Andrey Piontkovsky, who argues that Putin's push for territorial annexations is more destabilizing (because more uncertain) than the Cold War.
  
• Yorkshire Ranter Alex Harrowell observes an uncanny congruence between maps of England showing ancient patterns of Viking settlement and contemporary patterns of areas with benefit cuts.