[BLOG] Some Thursday links

[rfmcdonald]

• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait reports on the massive cloud of material detected around the active galaxy Cygnus A.


• The Crux suggests our contemporary problems with wisdom teeth represent not a failure of evolution but rather a failure on our post-Neolithic parts to eat hard foods which stimulate the jaw growth capable of supporting wisdom teeth.


• D-Brief notes how the astronomers involved in a planetary effort to image a black hole are preparing to make an announcement next week.


• Gizmodo notes how the debris field created in orbit by India testing an anti-satellite weapon threatens the ISS.


• Joe. My. God. notes that at least some hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei are deleting their social media profiles following protests over Brunei's violent anti-gay laws.


• JSTOR Daily considers if, between the drop in fertility that developing China was likely to undergo anyway and the continuing resentments of the Chinese, the one-child policy was worth it.


• Scott Lemieux at Lawyers, Guns and Money uses a recent New York Times profile to note the sheer influence of Rupert Murdoch worldwide.


• The Map Room Blog notes a new exhibition, at the shop of a Manhattan rare book dealer, of a collection of vintage maps of New York City from its foundation, sharing some photos, even.


• Marginal Revolution remarks on the rapid growth of Native American numbers in the United States over the past century.


• The NYR Daily shares a report from Debbie Bookchin in North Syria arguing that the West needs to help Rojava.


• Roads and Kingdoms provides some tips for first-time visitors to the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo.


• The Russian Demographics Blog notes the continuing growth in numbers of dead from HIV infection in Russia, with Siberia being a new hotspot.


• Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel explains how the Event Horizon Telescope project will image a black hole's event horizon, and what questions exist around the project.


• Frank Jacobs at Strange Maps shares an Anish Kapoor map demonstrating the Brexit divides in the United Kingdom.


• Daniel Little at Understanding Society considers the study of ethical disasters in capitalism, looking at OxyContin as an example.


• Window on Eurasia notes continued threats, and continued protests to these threats, surrounding Lake Baikal in Siberia.


• Arnold Zwicky has fun with a cartoon that plays on a pun between the words chants and chance.