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• blogTO notes that Canadian Backpackers Hostel is set to close down to make room for condos.
• Centauri Dreams looks at ways to use the Earth's transit of the Sun to find potentially watching extraterrestrial civilizations.
• Dangerous Minds notes the human zoo.
• The Dragon's Gaze looks at the packed planetary system of young HL Tauri.
• The Dragon's Tales ( Read more... )

• blogTO identify five neighbourhoods in downtownish Toronto with cheap rent.
• The Dragon's Gaze notes one paper suggesting Earth-like worlds may need both ocean and rocky surfaces to be habitable.
• The Dragon's Tales reports that Pluto's Sputnik Planum is apparently less than ten million years old.
• Geocurrents begins an interesting regional schema of ( Read more... )

• Centauri Dreams reports on the non-existence of Alpha Centauri Bb.
  
• The Dragon's Tales notes the exciting new findings from Pluto, including news that it supports a subsurface ocean.
• The Everyday Sociology Blog looks at the power of student protests at the University of Missouri.
• Joe. My. God. notes the promise of anti-viral injections in treating HIV ( Read more... )

• blogTO notes that Toronto has been ranked the 12th most expensive city in the world.
• Centauri Dreams is impressed by Pluto's diverse landscapes.
• The Dragon's Gaze notes that the debris disk of AU Microscopii hints at planetary formation.
• The Dragon's Tales observes Russia's fear of American hypersonic weapons.
• Joe. My. God. notes a GoFundMe campaign ( Read more... )

• blogTO notes Uber competition could mean lower taxi rates.
• Centauri Dreams notes the New Horizons data is starting to come in.
• The Dragon's Gaze links to some papers suggesting that the solar system is not exceptional.
• The Dragon's Tales reports on the linkage between Enceladus' surface features and its geysers.
• Far Outliers' Joel writes about efforts ( Read more... )

Al Jazeera America's Ned Resnikoff reports on the tension between the EU institution of posted workers--workers sent from one, low-wage, country to work in a high-wage country at the wages of the native countries--and the Nordic welfare state.

“The question is under what circumstances the services offered by a Latvian, Polish or German firm should ( Read more... )

Bloomberg's Leonid Ragozin visits Kaliningrad during the celebrations of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany to find a population that is cautiously accepting official mythology.

Tanks and ballistic missiles lumbered past thousands of spectators gathered in Kaliningrad on Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of the Allied victory in Europe, an ( Read more... )

• Al Jazeera captures the mood of Tunisia on the eve of elections, looks at the sufferings of ISIS' sex slaves, reports on Kenya's harsh response to American criticism of anti-terrorism legislation, and notes that Florida surpasses New York as the United States' third most populous state.
• Bloomberg reports on the absence of well-heeled Russian ( Read more... )

Mansur Mirovalev and Denis Sinyakov's Al Jazeera article takes a look at illegal amber mining in Russia's Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad. Faced with economic collapse locally, the mass export of Kaliningrad's amber--legal or otherwise--is a tempting alternative even for professionals. The Russian state is involved in this.

Amber has become post- ( Read more... )