[BLOG] Some Monday links

[rfmcdonald]

• The Boston Globe's Big Picture reports on the scene from Palmyra after the expulsion of ISIS.


• James Bow links to a documentary on the search for Planet Nine.


• The Dragon's Tales speculates that the ability to enter torpor might have saved mammals from the en of the Cretaceous extinction.


• Honourary Canadian Philip Turner discovers the Chiac dialect of the Acadians of the Maritimes.


• Joe. My. God. notes that Afrika Bambaataa has been accused of molesting young boys.


• Language Hat reports on the renaming of the Czech Republic "Czechia."


• Marginal Revolution notes Singapore has a graciousness index.


• Personal Reflections' Jim Belshaw reflects on Australia's upcoming elections.


• pollotenchegg maps the 2012 elections in Ukraine.


• The Power and the Money's Noel Maurer explains how American investment in the Philippines was made impossible, so as to avoid welding that country to the US.


• The Russian Demographics Blog links to a paper examining contraception and abortion among the Czechs and Slovaks in recent decades.


• Towleroad notes Ted Cruz' disinterest in protecting gay people.


• Window on Eurasia notes the scale of Russia's demographic problems, report the debate on whether Russia will or will not annex South Ossetia, and suggest Russia is losing influence in Central Asia.


• The Financial Times' The World predicts the end for Dilma Rousseff.