L.T.Smash has a great summary of current events: It's not over yet.

A good sign: the Baghdad Bulletin begins publishing.  "The Baghdad Bulletin is Iraq's only English-language newsmagazine and one of the country's only independent publications."  [ via Jeff Jarvis, who is contributing an article about how to start a weblog... ]

The Supreme Court rules on the University of Michigan case: Narrow use of affirmative action preserved in college admissions.  Sigh.  This is absolutely racist - how can discrimination based on race be defended?

From the majority opinion:  "The Constitution does not prohibit the law school's narrowly tailored use of race in admissions decisions to further a compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body."

In other words, you may be racist as long as your intentions are good?

[ Later: Philip Greenspun agrees.  And he claims affirmative action teaches people to be prejudiced.  So - may you be racist with good intentions if it doesn't work? ]

Razib discusses prejudice.  "Different forms of prejudice are held to different levels of disrepute.  Race is the most heinous one.  Sexism is the most acceptable.  And others like religious bigotry fall somewhere in the middle."  Interesting that so many people confuse race, a genetic characteristic, with religion, a belief system (e.g. "Jewish").

The WP notes Love for the Bug Runs Out.  "The iconic Volkswagen Beetle, the most popular car ever made, will cease production this summer, 69 years and more than 21 million sales after Adolf Hitler's Third Reich first commissioned the durable, dome-shaped little 'People's Car.'"  So long, Herbie!  [ via Tim Blair ]

This is too cool - lawmakers in Bellevue, Washington, are considering auctioning stickers which enable single drivers to use diamond lanes.  What a great use of markets.

I'm still recovering from watching the Apple WWDC conference.  I'm scheming to get a G5.  Surely Aperio needs to port our image processing tools!

The Polynesian Island of Niue, owner of the .nu TLD, has completed an island-wide WiFi network.  They are the first nation with full WiFi coverage.  I am not making this up - and I want to go there!