• blogTO shares media exploring how Toronto was marketed internationally in the 1980s. This decade apparently saw less concentration on landmarks and more on cultural activities.
• The Map Room Blog links to a National Geographic collection of the childhood maps of cartographers.
• Marginal Revolution notes that the loosening of China's one-child policy ( Read more... )

• Language Hat reports on the Wenzhounese of Italy.
• Language Log writes about the tones of Cantonese.
• Lawyers, Guns and Money writes about the costs of law school. (They are significant, and escalating hugely.)
• Marginal Revolution reports on the problems facing the Brazilian pension system, perhaps overgenerous for a relatively poor country facing rapid ( Read more... )

The Globe and Mail's Mike Hager notes how the lack of official statistics on foreign buyers of real estate in Toronto means, among other things, that less reliable data metrics like search engine hits need to be used. This just proves how modern societies need good data to address real problems.

‘Up! Up! Up ( Read more... )

• blogTO notes the amazing spike upwards in temperatures for this weekend.
• Dangerous Minds shares photos of some stark war memorials of the former Communist world.
• The Dragon's Gaze reports on brown dwarf HIP 67537b.
• The LRB Blog looks at Donald Trump's interest in a Middle Eastern peace settlement that looks as if it will badly disadvantage the ( Read more... )

• blogTO looks at deserted Mirvish Village.
• Crooked Timber reenages with the Rachel Carson and DDT myth.
• The Crux looks at the Mandela Effect, exploring false memories.
• Dangerous Minds makes the case for the musical genius of Bobbie Gentry.
• From the Heart of Europe's Nicholas Whyte recounts his visit to Albania's bunker museum.

The Globe and Mail's Josh O'Kane describes how, in an era of incipient protectionism in the United States, the city of Toronto has set up a new agency to attract investment.

Toronto and its surrounding municipalities are doubling down on efforts to entice foreign investment, with a new agency designed to pull new business and money into the region ( Read more... )

Wired's Davey Alba argues that the high concentration of immigrants, even refugees, in Silicon Valley made a hostile reaction to the Trump presidency very likely even before the announced border control policies.

Any thought that Silicon Valley might work with President Trump ended when the tech industry took a decisive stand against his Muslim ( Read more... )

The Toronto Star carried the Canadian Press report about Demographia's latest international survey on the affordability of housing.

An annual international survey rates Vancouver as the third least affordable housing market on the planet and it also has a warning about Toronto housing ( Read more... )

CBC News' Pete Evans reports on this deeply symbolic move by President Trump, marking the end of an effort to build a US-centered trade network in the Pacific and the beginning of a new threat to North American integration.

The new U.S. president made good on one of his campaign promises Monday, formally withdrawing the United States from the ( Read more... )

The Toronto Star shares Mike Blanchfield's report about how the Canadian government wants to negotiate a free trade agreement with China. Especially now, given the uncertainty in our relationship with the United States, I'm strongly for this. Diversifying our options is almost always a good thing.

Canada and China are launching exploratory talks ( Read more... )