First Weekend of 2015 Links

Well, it's a fresh, new year, but we seem to have the same stale politics.  Here are some stories for your enjoyment:

No More Bouts, but the Fight Goes On - Wall Street Journal

The Weirdness of the NHL's First Modern Outdoor Game - Deadspin.  An exhibition game in Vegas in September, 1991.

As Bourbon Booms, Demand For Barrels Is Overflowing - NPR

America's Top 100 Land Owners 2014 - Modern Farmer.  I missed making the list again this year.  Maybe 2015.

High-Tech Tools Help Irish Dairy Farmers Produce More Milk - Morning Edition.

Harvesting Crop Insurance Profits - WSJ Opinion. A proposal to tweak the crop insurance program to limit windfall payouts (h/t Big Picture Agriculture).

A Beautiful Salt Refinery That Looks Like Another Planet - Wired.  But see, National shame: 'A living hell' for slaves on remote South Korean islands. Salt field workers.

Falling Crude Prices Force Ethanol Makers to Take It on the Chin - Wall Street Journal

Our new pro-science pontiff: Pope Francis on climate change, evolution and the Big Bang - Wonkbook.  Also, see Pope Francis Has Declared War on Climate Deniers - The New Republic

The New Brand of Jesuit Universities - The Atlantic.  Notre Dame had a similar "what does it mean to be a Catholic University" discussion while I was there, but it was 85% Catholic students at the time.

The Man Who Invented Scotch Tape - Priceonomics

Say Goodbye To 'Made In China' - Bloomberg.  The sheer size of the Chinese steel industry is amazing.

Our New Politics of Torture - NY Review of Books.  On how Republicans have come to support torture.

The Steep Cost of America's High Incarceration Rate - WSJ Opinion (Two in one week. Crazy.)

What's Wrong With Georgia? - The Atlantic

Did Drought and Climate Change cause Middle Eastern states to collapse in 2014? - Juan Cole (Informed Comment)

Alaska's record-warm year in 2014 worries observers - LA Times