Other Stuff

Looking back on 2024: 24 Things That Happened for the First Time This Year - The New York Times

Interesting international perspective: Top 10 major events that shook the world in 2024

A LOT of stories here: 2024’s Biggest News Stories, From Wars to the Election to AI, as Told by WSJ

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An annoyance for many shoppers, especially considering what a huge part of Christmas shopping is done on Amazon: Amazon faces strike as workers demand labor agreement | AP News

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I want to see these but I don't think I want to own one: LA Zoo hatches first-ever perentie lizards, one of largest lizard species in the world | AP News
(see video below)

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Upholding a previous ruling, a judge ordered Enel, a big wind power company, to remove its wind farm from land belonging to the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. It's an interesting story. The short version: Enel leased surface rights to put up the wind farm but did not lease sub-surface mineral rights. So when they started blasting big craters and crushing limestone for construction/installation of turbine towers, they were doing so without that right. They refused to secure a minerals lease and a judge ruled (and just reaffirmed the ruling this week) that the company has committed trespass and continues to do so. While the tribe didn't get a large monetary award, Enel is required to pay the legal bills for the federal government (a plaintiff against Enel after Enel ignored a judge's ruling for them to stop when the tribe was the plaintiff) and the tribe which, after 10 years of litigation, is estimated around $30 million. Plus another roughly $260 million in costs to remove the wind farm.

Osage Minerals Council Secures Landmark Legal Victory Over Enel for Trespass in Osage Mineral Estate | Sovereignty

So much for Enel (based on Rome) claims of “continuous harmonization with environmental, social and governance principles.”

As Robert Bryce put it: Osages Win Again,Judge Orders Ejectment Of 84 Wind Turbines

(A)n order to remove 84 wind turbines— by a federal judge, no less— is nothing short of gobsmacking. It is a colossal black eye for the wind industry, which has collected tens of billions of dollars in federal tax credits by claiming its landscape-blighting, bird-and-bat-killing, property-value-destroying turbines are an essential part of the effort to avert catastrophic climate change.

Stuff about Stonehenge: Britain's Stonehenge is yet again a source of fascination ahead of the winter solstice | AP News

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I shared the story of the Pelicot trial that gripped France and resulted in the conviction of 51 men...all for raping the same woman, and the ring-leader was her husband. One thing I didn't know was how the husband was caught. A couple of listeners knew the story...here it is: What led to Dominique Pelicot’s horrific crimes being uncovered? | The Independent

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Kylie Kelce (wife of Jason) has a new-ish podcast that, for now, is ahead of Joe Rogan on Apple's podcasting chart: Why Kylie Kelce’s Podcast, ‘Not Gonna Lie,’ Is a Breakout Hit - The New York Times

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Some things I didn't get to earlier this week:

This has been going on for four years, not just the last year, and the government kept it hidden from the public. This must never happen again, regardless of partisan considerations. How the White House Functioned With a Diminished Biden in Charge - WSJ

Chasing the green new dream is incredibly expensive: Electric grid that can take a surge of EVs, heat pumps will cost $5B

Offered without comment: Doctors reveal what happens to the human body when you don't have sex or masturbate for months | Daily Mail Online

Teens and young adults, warn your elders about online scams! 73-year-old woman scammed out of thousands of dollars by person posing as MSNBC host

I have to try this: Dyer's Burgers And Their Century Old Grease Are A Thing Of Memphis Legend

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It would be remarkable if scientists can make these transplants durable, i.e. that the recipient is expected to live roughly the same lifespan as someone who received a human transplant: Tired of long organ waitlists, these patients are hopeful for a pig organ transplant | AP News

Interesting economic story: Axios: Don't blame inflation for the price of new cars

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That's some really bad luck: Accused murderer caught by police after Google Maps image showed him putting a body in car trunk

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What counts for entrepreneurship in Russia: Russian Entrepreneurs Sell ‘Snowman Arms’ Online

Colorado's Morning News with Marty Lenz & Jeana Gondek