All this Wii talk has me wanting one, but I don't feel like paying above retail on ebay, or holding my wee. When should I plan on it being on amazon for normal ordering?

Ex Microsoft guy goes to the Falkland Islands, takes great pics of penguins there!

Only in NYC: Fainting dieters cause subway delays.

Finally! Am I the only one who has been thinking in 2007 for weeks if not months?

In any case, happy new year, all, and happy new beer to all who enjoy that sort of thing!

The anti-Carter campaign is predictable but off the mark. Anyone who follows the Israeli-Palestinian debate knows that the the term "apartheid" is commonly used by opponents of the wall that divides Palestinian communities in the West Bank. (Or the "separation barrier" as the Israelis call it.)

It's a good idea to have a fence - but the fact that the Israelis have used it to unilaterally declare borders inside the Palestinian areas, and have extended the policy to roads inside Palestine, has meant that Israelis and foreigners in the West Bank are treated materially differently from Palestinians solely on the basis of their race and religion, and if that's not discrimination, I don't know what is.

Security is important, but if that is the case, Israel should get rid of the settlements and withdraw to internationally recognized borders. Then they can - and should - build as big a wall as they would like.

Is Governor Vilsack's campaign too clever by half in choosing the V for Vendetta (or maybe Nineteen Eighty-Four) style graphics and typeface for his campaign?

It's very memorable, but they'll be drinking Victory Gin at the election night party if this sends the wrong message to the proles.

Not the Supreme Court case, the football game.

I pick the Saints to win, but this might be a good one.

Bo Schembechler, 1929-2006. Rest in peace and GO BLUE!

Update: Nice remembrance by Chris McCosky of the Detroit News.

If you've got about an hour to kill on YouTube comedy, give this a try. It's split into seven parts and the longer I watched it the funnier I thought it was.

For a brief moment I was actually worried that things were about to change for the better. But it hasn't even been a week and already the circular firing squad's up and the Republican 2008 campaign material is being primed.

Would you be so kind to the electorate as to at least attempt to not fall apart?

I think this has to be one of the best awful electioneering stories I've read about lately -- not only because of the degree of its offensiveness, but also because of the multiple ways in which it manages to offend. Though if you happen to know a worse story offhand (I don't care about party/country/election cycle) I'd love to read it.

Does anybody compile a nonpartisan list of political dirty tricks?

The always insightful Fareed Zakaria on what we should do in Iraq: secure Kurdistan, fight Al Qaeda, and contain rather than pretend to prevent sectarian violence while the Sunnis and Shiites fight it out. Korea is cited as an example - I would also include Bosnia which is peaceful now after the Dayton accords.

Waterboarding is a no-brainer, says Cheney to some right wiing talk show host.

US bans Vegemite. WTF?!

China holds the key.