[BLOG] Some Friday links

• Continuing on the Chelyabinsk meteor front, Bad Astronomy, Joe. My. God., and Towleroad all have more video and photos.
• 80 Beats confirms that cosmic rays–high-energy particle travelling the universe at the speed of light–are produced by supernovas.
• The Burgh Diaspora makes the point that higher density doesn’t necessarily translate to greater economic productivity.
• Centauri Dreams’ Paul Gilster speculates about the consequences of contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, pointing to the cargo cults of Melanesia.
• A Fistful of Euros’ Brent Whelan thinks that the left is poised to take over Italy in the coming elections.
• Geocurrents’ Asya Pereltsvaig maps ethnicity and political parties in Israel.
• In a pair of posts at Lawyers, Guns and Money, the long-term consequences of the timber economy in northwestern North America are explored, among which is the presence of pot farmers opposed to legalizing marijuana.
• Torontoist reports on a pedestrians’ lobbyist group recently formed in Toronto.
• Window on Eurasia advances the argument of some that Russia is preparing to cut off the North Caucasus, severing the ties of these largely non-Russian districts and making them into satellites on the model of Abkhazia.