Happy New Year

Let's hope it is a good one. Here are some links to divert on this lazy (wet in Portland) day.

Here is Conor Friedersdorf discussing why the Cheesecake Factory is such a bad place.

Did you know there is a group of civil peace protesters trying to raise awareness about Gaza? Neither did I, but Stephen Walt is on the case.

The NY Times has a nice round up of people discussing which books they are discarding. This is useful to me now, as I am unloading a large number myself.

And I know Paul Krugman isn't for everyone, but he is wearing his economic, rather than his political hat in this great piece on China.