[BLOG] Some Saturday links

[rfmcdonald]

• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait investigates a mysterious streak on a photo of Messier 77. Asteroid, satellite, something else?


• Centauri Dreams reports on the latest attempt at a census estimate of brown dwarfs in the Milky Way Galaxy.


• Crooked Timber's John Quiggin considers the diminishing role of the pundit, displaced by the expert.


• D-Brief is one of many sources to note the deadly, ubiquitous perchlorates of Mars. Mars is dead for good reasons.


• Lawyers, Guns and Money links to a tweetstorm by one Kate Antonova arguing that the ideological labels of the long 19th century no longer speak to our issues.


• Language Hat notes how early Tsarist mappers were confused by confusing, often shared, placenames.


• The LRB Blog reports on the recovery of a Bloomsbury Wedgwood service features the images of notable women.


• Marginal Revolution shares opinions that Macron is overrated, not least in terms of the distinctiveness of some of his policies from those of Trump.


• Window on Eurasia argues that projected shrinkage of the workforce of Russia means either economic decline or controversial immigration.