- Open Democracy reports on what appears to be a coup waged in the Luhansk republic by the forces of Donetsk. What is going on in the twin Donbas republics, anyway?
- Maxim Edwards reports from the Ukrainian border with Crimea, from Crimean Tatars rebuilding their communities in exile (again), over at Open Democracy.
- Leonid Bershidsky suggests that the Russian ultranationalism promoted by Putin will remain virulent long after the man is gone, over at Bloomberg.
- VICE reports on the quietly effective censorship that Russian-language search engine Yandex is forced to employ, here.
[BLOG] Some Tuesday links
Sep. 19th, 2017 02:31 pm- Anthrodendum offers resources for understanding race in the US post-Charlottesville.
- D-Brief notes that exoplanet WASP-12b is a hot Jupiter that is both super-hot and pitch-black.
- The Dragon's Gaze links to a paper examining various models of ice-covered worlds and their oceans' habitability.
- The Everyday Sociology Blog takes a look at the value placed by society on different methods of transport.
- Far Outliers looks at how Chinese migrants were recruited in the 19th century.
- Hornet Stories notes that the authorship of famously bad fanfic, "My Immortal", has been claimed, by one Rose Christo.
- Marginal Revolution notes one explanation for why men are not earning more. (Bad beginnings matter.)
- Peter Watts has it with facile (and statistically ill-grounded) rhetoric about punching Nazis.
- At the NYR Daily, Masha Gessen is worried by signs of degeneration in the American body politic.
- Livejournal's pollotenchegg maps the strength of Ukrainian political divisions in 2006 and 2010.
- The Power and the Money's Noel Maurer is afraid what AI-enabled propaganda might do to American democracy in the foreseeable future.
- Roads and Kingdoms notes an enjoyable bagel breakfast at Pondichéry's Auroville Café.
- Drew Rowsome celebrates the introduction of ultra-low-cost carriers for flyers in Canada.
- Strange Company notes the 19th century haunting of an English mill.
- Window on Eurasia notes that Crimean Tatars, and Muslims in Crimea, are facing more repression.
[BLOG] Some Monday links
Mar. 6th, 2017 11:45 am- Centauri Dreams reports on asteroid P/2016 G1, a world that, after splitting, is now showing signs of a cometary tail.
- The Everyday Sociology Blog considers outrage as a sociological phenomenon. What, exactly, does it do? What does it change?
- Joe. My. God. reports on a new push for same-sex marriage in Germany, coming from the SPD.
- Lawyers, Guns and Money examines the Alabama government's disinterest in commemorating the Selma march for freedom.
- Marginal Revolution looks at Oxford University's attempt to recruit white British male students.
- At the NYRB Daily, Masha Gessen warns against falling too readily into the trap of identifying conspiracies in dealing with Trump.
- pollotenchegg maps the distribution of Muslims in Crimea according to the 1897 Russian census.
- Savage Minds takes a brief look at ayahuasca, a ritual beverage of Andean indigenous peoples, and looks at how its legality in the United States remains complicated.
- Elf Sternberg considers the problems of straight men with sex, and argues they might be especially trapped by a culture that makes it difficult for straight men to consider sex as anything but a birthright and an obligation.
- The Volokh Conspiracy considers how the complexities of eminent domain might complicate the US-Mexican border wall.
- Window on Eurasia reports on protests in Russia and argues Belarus is on the verge of something.
[BLOG] Some Tuesday links
Dec. 27th, 2016 12:20 pm- Bad Astronomy shares a video imagining of how Cassini will meet its end with Saturn.
- Cody Delistraty shares an interview with Rebecca Solnit.
- Far Outliers reports on Margaret Thatcher's unorthodox campaign in 1979.
- Joe. My. God. shares Hillary Clinton's thanks to her 66 million voters.
- Marginal Revolution looks at gender stereotypes among scientists.
- The NYRB Daily talks about the visual art of Pipilotti Rist.
- Otto Pohl commemorates the 73rd anniversary of the deportation of the Kalmyks.
- Window on Eurasia suggests China might follow Russia's Crimea strategy in invading Taiwan, and looks at the latest on controversies about Tatar identity and genetics.
[BLOG] Some Sunday links
Dec. 18th, 2016 11:52 am- Bad Astronomy reports on the astounding scientific illiteracy of Trump advisor Anthony Scaramucci.
- blogTO compiles a list of the best tobagganing hills in Toronto.
- Citizen Science Salon looks at what we can do in the redwood forests.
- The Dragon's Gaze notes a gap in the disk of TW Hydrae.
- Imageo notes that 2016 is the warmest year in the records.
- Joe. My. God. notes that a pride parade protected by police went off in Montenegro.
- Language Hat shares the story of Lazer Lederhendler, a son of Holocaust survivors in Montréal who became one of the leading translators into English of Québec literature.
- Language Log looks at the distant origins of Japanese terms for "dog."
- Marginal Revolution notes the rising popularity of Vladimir Putin on the American right.
- The Power and the Money's Noel Maurer looks at the links between Russia and the "Calexit" movement.
- The Volokh Conspiracy celebrates Saturnalia.
- Window on Eurasia looks at Russia's use of genetics to disentangle the Tatar peoples and argues that the definition of Russians and Ukrainians as fraternal is dangerous to the latter.
[BLOG] Some Saturday links
Jun. 18th, 2016 11:03 am- Antipope's Charlie Stross fears the arrival of fascism in Britain after the murder of Jo Cox.
- Centauri Dreams reports on SDSSJ1043+0855, a white dwarf apparently consuming a rocky planet.
- The Crux notes discussion of terraforming Mars.
- The Dragon's Tales notes the revealing result of a study of the crops that ancient Indonesians brought to Madagascar.
- The Everyday Sociology Blog considers hierarchy has manifested in a dance competition being filmed for television.
- The LRB Blog considers the state of Algerian and Arab-language literature.
- The Map Room Blog maps migrant deaths in the Mediterranean.
- Marginal Revolution notes the collapse of coal companies in the United States.
- The Power and the Money notes that Puerto Rico is not a colony of the United States.
- Savage Minds considers at length the situation of Crimea and of Crimean Tatars.
- Window on Eurasia wonders if the West is forgetting about Ukraine.
[BLOG] Some Saturday links
May. 21st, 2016 02:06 pm- Beyond the Beyond considers the floating mountains of Pluto.
- The Boston Globe's Big Picture notes the story of a church that transitioned from an old-style church building to a storefront.
- blogTO shares a photo of the Gardiner Expressway, closed for construction.
- Centauri Dreams considers the search for life around red giant stars.
- Crooked Timber criticizes left-wing Brexit proponents for the contradictions in their politics.
- The Dragon's Tales looks at mountain-building on Io.
- The Frailest Thing's Michael Sacasas wonders if the kids are all right in an age of ubiquitous technology.
- The LRB Blog notes Trump's acceptance by Fox.
- Otto Pohl shares a list of his articles dealing with the Crimean Tatars.
- The Power and the Money's Noel Maurer examines air pollution and car traffic in Mexico City.
- Window on Eurasia notes the political popularity of Sufis in Dagestan.
- Arnold Zwicky celebrates actor Joe Dallesandro.
[BLOG] Some Monday links
May. 16th, 2016 10:16 am- Charlie Stross at Antipope wonders what subtle techniques could be used to sabotage a modern technology firm.
- Bad Astronomy notes the work that went into determining the origins of a high-energy neutrino.
- blogTO praises the Toronto Islands.
- Imageo shares this unsettling graphic depicting rising global temperatures over time.
- The Map Room notes, using Amazon's controversy over same-day delivery being coincidentally limited largely to areas with non-black populations, the problems involved with being blind about data.
- Marginal Revolution's Tyler Cowen makes the case for Britain staying in the imperfect European Union.
- The Power and the Money's Noel Maurer notes that the new Brazilian government's all-male cabinet required some work, given the presence of women in Brazil's business life.
- Transit Toronto looks at plans for new GO Station construction in the GTA.
- Window on Eurasia looks at Russian coverage of Crimean Tatar Jamala's song "1944" and her victory for Ukraine at Eurovision.
[BLOG] Some Tuesday links
Apr. 12th, 2016 12:33 pm- blogTO notes that April has been the snowiest month this year.
- D-Brief notes that we are on the verge of a literal explosion in gravitational wave astronomy detection.
- The Dragon's Tales examines Maya water management.
- Far Outliers notes the 1709 rescue of Alexander Selkirk from a desert island, one of the inspirations behind Robinson Crusoe.
- Geocurrents speculates that Crimean Tatars may follow North Caucasians in supporting radical Islam.
- Joe. My. God. notes that a Republican co-sponsor of an anti-trans law has been quarantined as a danger to female co-workers.
- Language Hat examines how one language deals with the representation of time.
- The Map Room Blog links to a beautiful topographic map of Mars.
- Marginal Revolution links to a new book by Joel Kotkin that seems somewhat anti-cities.
- The Power and the Money's Noel Maurer wonders if Irish independence could have been avoided.
- Peter Rukavina contrasts and compares public spending and revenues on Prince Edward Island in 1915 versus 2015. The changes--particularly the increases--are notable.
- Une heure de peine looks at the idea of the insider, in French.
- Window on Eurasia notes that Eastern religions are now seen as threatening by some Russians and looks at the construction of Russian influence networks in France.
[LINK] "Why Russia Stopped at Crimea"
Feb. 27th, 2016 01:48 pmBloomberg View's Leonid Bershidsky notes why Ukrainian leaders in early 2014 chose not to respond militarily to the Russian invasion of Crimea, and why Russia did what it did.
The news site Pravda.com.ua has published the transcript of a meeting of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council that took place Feb. 28, 2014. The previous day, Russian troops without identifying insignia helped pro-Moscow activists take over Crimea's parliament and government. The following day, the Russian parliament authorized Putin to start military operations in Ukraine.
The meeting's attendees, officials swept into power by Ukraine's "Revolution of Dignity," vainly sought to prevent the loss of Crimea to Russia, but effectively decided to give up the peninsula, believing the alternative would be worse.
Oleksandr Turchynov, the acting president and parliament speaker, raised the possibility of fighting back. Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk -- who still is in office, unlike many others who came to power directly after the February 2014 revolution -- opposed a counteroffensive.
"We're talking about declaring war on Russia," he said, according to the transcript. "Right after we do this, there will be a Russian statement 'On defending Russian citizens and Russian speakers who have ethnic ties with Russia.' That is the script the Russians have written, and we're playing to that script."
Yatsenyuk pointed out that the Finance Ministry's bank account was empty and that, according to the Defense Ministry, Ukraine had no military resources to defend Kiev if Russia invaded. Besides, Yatsenyuk said that there would be "an acute ethnic conflict" in Crimea and that the Ukrainian government would be blamed for failing to prevent it. He called for political negotiations through foreign intermediaries to grant Crimea more autonomy and in the meantime to try to rebuild the military.
Other attendees who spoke up against fighting back were acting National Bank Chairman Stepan Kubiv and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who had been freed from prison in the final days of the revolution. Tymoshenko argued that Putin wanted to play out the same scenario that unfolded during the 2008 Russian-Georgian war: Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili attacked pro-Russian forces that held the rebellious region of South Ossetia, but Russia intervened and steamrolled the Georgian army[.]
[BLOG] Some Thursday links
Dec. 31st, 2015 03:35 pm- The Broadside Blog's Caitlin Kelly asks what readers are reading.
- Centauri Dreams looks at the miraculous way gravitational lensing can refract supernovas.
- The Dragon's Gaze notes the compplex HD 100546 system.
- The Dragon's Tales looks at the dinosaurs of ancient South Africa.
- Geocurrents looks back on the past year.
- The Power and the Money's Noel Maurer considers which Republican presidential candidates might be good drinking partners.
- Torontoist suggests things to do this New Year's Eve.
- Window on Eurasia suggests Russia is even alienating Armenia and notes Russian upset over Turkish support for the Crimean Tatars.
[BLOG Some Friday links
Nov. 13th, 2015 12:03 pm- blogTO notes that a TTC driver has been caught on video ... doing pushups.
- Centauri Dreams looks at the discovery of distant dwarf planet V774104.
- The Dragon's Gaze reports that white dwarf SDSS1228+1040 is surrounded by a ring of shattered planets.
- The Dragon's Tales notes widespread German espionage on allies, undermining somewhat German official protests.
- Far Outliers notes how the desire of Afghan Communists in the late 1970s for radical reform undermined their cause fatally.
- Geocurrents looks at the various heterodox Christian movements around the world, like Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses.
- Language Hat notes how people repairing a church in Russia found centuries' worth of bird nests, often made of written documents.
- Language Log looks at a photo caption translated from Tibetan to English via Singlish.
- Marginal Revolution writes about the Chinese economic slowdown.
- The Planetary Science Blog reports from Ceres.
- The Russian Demographics Blog shares a map of China, comparing life expectancy in different jurisdictions to different countries.
- Torontoist reports on a pediatric clinic that opened up in a Toronto public school.
- Towleroad notes the governor of Utah has argued a judge who removed a child from gay foster parents should follow the law.
- Window on Eurasia notes the relative disinterest of ethnic Russians in the Baltic States in Russia, and looks at the Ukrainian recognition of the Crimean Tatar genocide.
- The Financial Times' The World links to a paper noting, in Africa, the close relationship between city lights and economic growth.
[BLOG] Some Friday links
Nov. 6th, 2015 03:37 pm- blogTO compares the contours of the Toronto Harbour in 1919 and now, and notes the huge amount of infill.
- Centauri Dreams notes a three-dimensional study of GJ 1214b.
- D-Brief describes how the primordial dense atmosphere of Mars was eroded by the solar wind.
- The Dragon's Gaze notes a SETI check of KIC 8462852 gives no results.
- The Dragon's Tales reports on Russia's Syrian war.
- The Everyday Sociology Blog examines perceptions of racial inequality in the United States.
- Geocurrents maps the eaters of the sago palm, in Southeast Asia.
- Lawyers, Guns and Money notes the myth of California as a land forever being lost.
- Marginal Revolution considers the Amazon bookstore.
- The Planetary Society Blog provides updates on various ESA missions.
- The Russian Demographics Blog notes an article on foreign fighters in the Ukrainian war who returned home.
- Savage Minds shares an article by an anthropologist explaining why he signed onto the Israel boycott.
- Torontoist and blogTO note John Tory's request that the TTC consider opening earlier on Sundays.
- Window on Eurasia notes the perils facing the Russian elite, wonders about the fate of Crimean Tatars, and speculates about the formation of a broad alliance in central and eastern Europe aimed against Russia.
At Open Democracy, Dzhemil Insafly writes about Russia's policy of keeping Crimean Tatars, traditionally Muslim, under tighter control than they were used to.
In late February 2014, just a few days before what became known as the ‘Crimean Spring’, several thousand Crimean Tatars assembled under Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian flags for a rally in the regional capital Simferopol. One of the speakers, mufti Emirali Ablayev, railed at those who supported the peninsula’s reunification with Russia.
‘Is Vladimir Konstantinov [a central figure in the regional government, one of the first to suggest the peninsula could secede from Ukraine – ed.] planning to hand our great motherland over to Russia?’ asked Ablayev. ‘I say to Konstantinov: if he loves Russia so much and wants to live there, we can give him one of the railway trucks that took our grandfathers to Central Asia when they were deported by Stalin in 1944, and God help him. Let him clear off to Russia, and take those Russians who have occupied in our families’ homes with him.’
The crowd received Ablayev’s speech enthusiastically. The Crimean Tatars spent half a century in exile before being allowed to return home to Crimea, and have come to see Russia, the successor to the USSR, as responsible for this terrible tragedy. It’s unsurprising they’ve been opposed to the peninsula’s annexation, but their religious organisations have had a far more difficult game to play.
After Crimea came under Russian jurisdiction, it didn’t take long for Ablayev to change his tune, toning down his speeches and calling for patience and unity from his fellow Muslims. At the same time, the body Ablayev is in charge of, the Spiritual Directorate of Crimean Muslims (SDCM), also known as the muftiate, started making overtures of friendship to the Muslim Spiritual Leadership of European Russia, and Ravil Gainutdin, the Chair of Council of Muftis of Russia, has become a frequent visitor to Crimea.
‘I went to Crimea not as a politician or a diplomat, but as a spiritual pastor,’ said Gainutdin after one such trip. ‘I wanted to meet my Muslim brothers, to hear their concerns and fears, and discover why they don’t want to be part of Russia and its 20-million strong Muslim community. “I have a certain status,” I told them, “I can take your hopes and fears, and any questions you want to ask, right to the top, and I shall do my best to help you.”’
[BLOG] Some Saturday links
Oct. 10th, 2015 05:15 pm- blogTO reports on five of the smallest libraries in Toronto. Two of them are near me.
- James Bow notes the odd recent Facebook slowdowns.
- The Broadside Blog's Caitlin Kelly notes there is no such thing as a low-skilled job.
- The Dragon's Gaze notes three recently-discovered hot Jupiters.
- The Dragon's Tales notes geological evidence of ancient atmospheric oxygen in rocks 3.2 billion years ago and reports on the discovery of water ice on Pluto.
- Geocurrents notes the lack of support for Catalonian separatism in Occitan-speaking Val d'Aran.
- Joe. My. God. notes that the kissing marine couple has married.
- Language Log celebrated Korea's Hangul Day yesterday.
- Lawyers, Guns and Money notes toxic masculinity in team sports.
- The Planetary Society Blog considers the role of telerobotics in space exploration.
- Towleroad notes the definitive arrival of marriage equality in Ireland.
- Window on Eurasia suggests Russia's Syria gambit is failing, with implications for tensions among Russia's Muslims, and notes Crimean Tatar institutions' issues with the Russian state.
[BLOG] Some Thursday links
Sep. 24th, 2015 08:08 pm- blogTO notes the report that the CBC might sell its holdings.
- Centauri Dreams observes another search for a Kardashev III civilization that ended in failure.
- Crooked Timber is fed up with Rod Dreher.
- The Dragon's Gaze and Centauri Dreams report on new orbital parameters for Beta Pictoris b.
- The Dragon's Tales reports the Permian extinction lasted sixty thousand years. Marginal Revolution looks at the dynamics of British inequality.
- pollotenchegg maps Russification in Soviet Ukraine in the 1920s.
- The Russian Demographics Blog notes reports of a brain drain from Russia.
- Spacing Toronto looks at the iconography of city signage.
- Torontoist reports on a documentary regarding Toronto's gun culture.
- Window on Eurasia warns of a crackdown on Crimean Tatar institutions, notes the opening of a new mosque in Moscow, reports on inter-Muslim violence in Russia, and suggests Belarus now is in the position of the Baltic States in 1940.
[BLOG] Some Wednesday links
Sep. 23rd, 2015 03:45 pm- blogTO notes that the Toronto Eaton Centre is set to be subtly renamed.
- Centauri Dreams notes the absence of evidence for extragalactic supercivilizations.
- The Dragon's Gaze observes a new observatory that should be able to detect Earth-like worlds around red dwarfs and links to a paper describing how dwarf planets can heat Kuiper belts.
- The Dragon's Tales notes evidence suggesting the solar system could have ejected a gas giant, notes Canada is on the verge of buying French Mistrals, and looks at a blockade of Crimea by Crimean Tatars and right-wing Ukrainian nationalists.
- Language Hat links to John McWhorter's history of Aramaic.
- Language Log looks at the controversy in South Korea on using Chinese characters in education.
- Languages of the World looks at how different languages address god.
- The Planetary Society Blog notes the current state of our knowledge and planning for Uranus and Neptune.
- pollotenchegg maps language identity in early Soviet Ukraine.
- The Power and the Money speculates as to why Russia is in Syria, and comes up with little that is reassuring.
- The Russian Demographics Blog notes statistics on Muslim pilgrimages to Mecca.
- Spacing Toronto suggests that an answer to the Gardiner East can be found in the rail corridor.
- Window on Eurasia looks at the Russian deployment in Syria, speculates about future intentions in Central Asia and actual issues with Belarus, and suggests a turn to China will not help Asian Russia.
- Zero Geogrpahy maps the generation of academic knowledge.
[BLOG] Some Friday links
Sep. 11th, 2015 05:08 pm- The Broadside Blog's Caitlin Kelly talks about what it means to be an international migrant or refugee.
- Centauri Dreams considers ways to detect nitrogen in the atmospheres of exoplanets.
- Crooked Timber notes the importance of being a teacher.
- The Dragon's Tales observes reports that China is building a third aircraft carrier.
- Geocurrents considers the extent to which support for national self-determination is an ideological issue, looking at Kurdistan and Balochistan.
- Languages of the World criticizes the advice of the Strunk and White Style Manual.
- Lawyers, Guns and Money notes that children of union workers do well.
- The Planetary Society Blog shares images of Ceres.
- Otto Pohl shares a new article on Crimean Tatars.
- The Power and the Money hosts a post by Logan Ferree talking about the role Trump may play in the Republican primary election.
- The Russian Demographics Blog notes the sphere of influence of the Russian language.
- Savage Minds has an anthropological take on turmoil in Taiwan.
- Spacing Toronto discusses strollers on mass transit.
- The Volokh Conspiracy suggests Kim Davis did not have to go to jail for contempt of court.
- Window on Eurasia suggests Ukraine can play a critical role for Russian dissidents and notes why Russia cannot annex the Donbas.
[BLOG] Some Tuesday links
Aug. 4th, 2015 04:13 pm- The Dragon's Gaze links to one paper suggerting that ocean worlds are likely to experience runaway glaciation and links to another looking at exoplanet WASP 14b.
- Will Baird of The Dragon's Tales is not fond of the new names for Pluto and Charon, and notes evidence that the Earth had a magnetic field from a very early point.
- Lawyers, Guns and Money considers the import of Donald Trump for the Republican Party.
- Marginal Revolution notes the uniqueness of Singapore on its upcoming 50th anniversary of independence and approves of the novel The Mersault Investigation.
- Peter Watts at his blog reports on sundry things.
- The Power and the Money's Noel Maurer speculates what might happen if Sanders get selected as Democratic candidate and black voters don't turn out.
- Towleroad notes how one homophobe in New York City made the mistake of attacking a married couple of West Point graduates.
- Understanding Society examines the social construction of technical knowledge.
- Window on Eurasia looks at the impact of Crimean Tatar activism in the diaspora.
[BLOG] Some Friday links
Jul. 31st, 2015 03:26 pm- blogTO notes that you can now LARP at Casa Loma.
- Centauri Dreams notes the odd reddish marks on the surface of Saturn's moon Tethys.
- Crooked Timber takes issue with David Frum's misrepresentation of an article on Mediterranean migration.
- The Dragon's Gaze notes the discovery of the aurora of a nearby brown dwarf.
- The Dragon's Tales notes evidence of carbonation on the Martian surface and suggests the presence of anomalous amounts of mercury on Earth associated with mass extinctions.
- Geocurrents maps the terrifying strength of California's drought.
- Language Hat notes that Cockney is disappearing from London.
- Language Log notes coded word usage on the Chinese Internet.
- Marginal Revolution links to a paper examining the effects of hunting male lions.
- The Map Room links to new maps of Ceres and Pluto.
- The Planetary Society Blog examines the Dawn probe's mapping orbits of Ceres.
- Progressive Download traces the migration of the aloe plants over time from Arabia.
- Savage Minds notes how hacktivists are being treated as terrorists.
- Window on Eurasia notes how the Ukrainian war is leading to the spread of heavy weapons in Russia, looks at Russian opposition to a Crimean Tatar conference in Turkey, suggests that the West is letting Ukraine fight a limited war in Donbas, and looks at the falling Russian birthrate.