• Antipope's Charlie Stross wonders if the politics of Trump might mean an end to the British nuclear deterrent.
• Centauri Dreams shares Andrew LePage's evaluation of the TRAPPIST-1 system, where he concludes that there are in fact three plausible candidates for habitable status there.
• Dangerous Minds shares the gender-bending photographs of Norwegian ( Read more... )

• Centauri Dreams shares a proposal for the relatively rapid industrialization of space in a few short years using smart robots with 3d printign technology.
• To what extent, as Crooked Timber speculates, the Arthurian myth complex science fictional?
• Dangerous Minds shares a lovely middle-finger-raised candle.
• The Dragon's Gaze looks at the interactions ( Read more... )

• Bloomberg notes the closure of Poland's frontier with Kaliningrad, looks at how Google is beating out Facebook in helping India get connected to the Internet, notes British arms makers' efforts to diversify beyond Europe and examines the United Kingdom's difficult negotiations to get out of the European Union, looks at the problems of investing in ( Read more... )

• Astronomy Now notes a white dwarf star that is consuming what looks to be limestone debris from one of its planets. Is this a sign of marine life?
• Bloomberg notes Rolls-Royce's opposition to Brexit, notes how international sanctions are hurting Hezbollah, looks at China's massive spending on infrastructure, notes how Donald Trump has barred the ( Read more... )

• The Big Picture shares photos of a Shanghai neighbourhood that refuses to sell out to developers.
James Bow rates California rail.
• Centauri Dreams looks at the large dwarf planet 2007 OR10.
• Dangerous Minds notes a campaign by a 9/11 conspiracy theorist to raise funds to buy an airplane and a building.
• The Dragon's Gaze looks at the Kepler-223 system.
• ( Read more... )

• 3 Quarks Daily notes a Financial Times article on the rebirth of brutalism.
• Bloomberg looks at the Polish opposition's upcoming protest and notes the promise of North Korea's leaders not to use nuclear weapons first.
• CBC notes the likely permanent displacement of many from Fort McMurray and reports on the failure of Marvel's movies to be as ( Read more... )

• The Associated Press notes the hostility in many American communities to Muslim cemeteries.
• Bloomberg explores the revival of watchmaking in East Germany's Saxony, and touches on the new two-day public work week in Venezuela.
• Bloomberg View notes Japan's rising levels of poverty, looks at the politicization of the Brazilian education system, and ( Read more... )

Quite honestly, there is not much I can add to Evan Gough's Universe Today article apart from saying that news stories like these are why I can't take Russia very seriously. That this news story may well be true simply takes this to another level.

In a shocking announcement, Russian scientists say they want to test improved ballistic missiles on ( Read more... )

• blogTO answers the question of why Toronto has "Lower" streets.
• The Dragon's Gaze notes how exoplanets can lose their exomoons if they orbit too closely.
• The Dragon's Tales notes differences in American and Chinese rhetoric about nuclear weapons.
Geocurrents looks at Chavacano, a rare Spanish-based creole language in the Philippines.
• Lawyers, Guns and ( Read more... )

MacLean's carries an Associated Press article noting China's displeasure with North Korea's newest nuclear test. Angering North Korea's only ally cannot possibly be a good strategy, I'd think.

China sees North Korea’s claim to have conducted its first hydrogen bomb test as yet another act of defiance, and will likely retaliate by joining tougher ( Read more... )