Short bits

Best pictures from the Titan probe that I've found on the net are here - a collection from volunteers who've taken the raw images and done a lot of work to improve them and fit the pictures together like jigsaw puzzles. Hopefully the European and American space agencies will do something similar sometime. Best running commentary on Titan and space in general is at the Habitablezone.com.

Something that's received little coverage in the awful news about the tsunami is the role that mangroves and coral reefs played in protecting coastlines. Mangroves have been removed in many places, increasing the tsunami's destructiveness. Coral reefs have also been threatened - in the short run I believe the threat is more to their biological value than their structural integrity, but in the long run, the bleached, dead coral will break down, and allow destructive tsunamis to enter coastlines at full force. More info here.

Fascinating story in the New York Times about how some Ukrainian secret police officials prevented a bloody crackdown on demonstrators and facilitated the current blossoming democracy. Those officials saw the parallel between their situation and Tianenmen Square in China, where some government officials sympathized with demonstrators, and were determined to avoid repeating China's events. I'm very happy that the tragic heroism in China that seemed to be in vain has in fact led to some good results.