[BLOG] Some Friday links

[rfmcdonald]

• The Broadside Blog's Caitlin Kelly asks readers how they define their community.


• Centauri Dreams looks at the Rosetta probe's unusual comet.


• Crooked Timber notes the death of Brian Friel.


• The Dragon's Gaze reports that hot Jupiter 51 Pegasi b apparently does not have rings.


• The Dragon's Tales suggests the bright spots on Ceres are salt deposits.


• Language Hat wonders where the sabra accent of Hebrew comes from.


• Languages of the World suggests grammar is a better guide to language history than words.


• Lawyers, Guns and Money looks at the Russian deployment in Syria.


• The Map Room's Jonathan Crowe exposes the failings of the Mercator projection.


• Marginal Revolution wonders if there might be a South Asian free trade zone soon.


• Out There notes that Earth's near-twin Venus is important for many reasons, not least as a guide to exoplanets.


• Window on Eurasia looks at population growth in the North Caucasus and examines xenophobic rhetoric in Russia.