did anyone else choke up at...

...the sight of jesse jackson with tears streaming down his face and his fingers in his mouth, like a child?

not to mention the scene at NBC election central afterward, when tom brokaw, ann curry, AND chuck todd all had to fight back tears of emotion. only brian williams stayed calm, but that's because he's brian fucking williams.

seriously—tom brokaw.

employment update

i am now a writer for NY1. i am very happy.

hard times in new york town

so, in case you hadn't already heard, the new york sun, where i was working up until this week, is in dire financial straits and may well close before the month is out.

i don't have anything to say here, so i'll just let you see what's out there for yourself:

the editor's open letter announcing the problems.

the new york observer's story on it.

gawker's analysis of it.

the wall street journal's article on it.

romenesko's brief on it.

i hope the paper pulls through.

actually, even better context

thanks to this post from user "k8t" over at metafilter.

Georgia and Russia fight over South Ossetia. The Caucasus never seem to settle down. Georgia, a "beacon of democracy" since its Rose Revolution in 2002 (which has seemed to turn into a benevolent dictatorship since), and its northern neighbor, Russia are fighting over South Ossetia. South Ossetia declared itself independent in 1991 although in Soviet times it had been part of Georgia. After an 18-month war that killed 1,000 (of a population of 60,000) between 1990 and 1992, South Ossetia is now propped up by Russia. Its citizens have Russian citizenship as well. In the past week, violence has escalated. Reports vary as to what exactly is going on, but it is certain that people have died and bombing is happening on both sides. Many argue that the timing is intentional, with August being prime holiday time in the Former Soviet Union and the Olympics beginning.

This is a very difficult situation for Georgia as S.O. isn't the only breakaway republic is is dealing with. There is also Abkhazia along the Black Sea coast. Russia has been meddling in these republics for years, and it's not likely Georgia would be inclined to grant them independence, as that would only allow Russia to move its sphere of influence even closer. Georgia's aspirations toward EC and especially NATO membership were also items with which Moscow has not been happy. Finally, the completion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline has meant that oil can now move from the Caspian oil fields of Azerbaijan without going through Russia. So, it is not entirely surprising that Russia has bombed the Georgian oil port of Poti and also near the pipeline. Any disruptions in this supply chain will only increase the price of oil and enrich Russia even more - another example of how increasing worldwide demand for oil subverts democracy.

I was in Georgia last weekend and everything seemed perfectly fine. It is amazing how quickly things can change.

Background reading:
An excellent Slate piece on South Ossetia from earlier in 2008
Eurasianet coverage
Radio Free Europe coverage
Civil.ge (English language Georgian website - on and offline)
Global Voices Online

things are really, really bad

like, really bad.

don't underestimate the significance of what's going on in the caucasus right now. read the NYT coverage of it after you read that link, to get the context, but basically, here's what you need to know: the kremlin just ordered an invasion of a foreign country. the last time they did that, they invaded afghanistan. and we all know how well that turned out for everyone. not a perfect analogue, of course, but still.

and bernie mac's dead. and john edwards announced his affair. at least no one blew up the olympics yet.

downloaded firefox 3.0

it sure looks pretty! go on down and download it—it's all ready to go, with the mozilla seal of approval!

so far, i can tell you that it looks pretty, that the "smart location bar" feature is quite lovely, and that it runs very quickly. here are some other big changes.

and if you, like me, already had firefox 2 on your computer, fear not—3.0 automatically replaces all of your old settings and such onto itself.

hey! i leave for new york tomorrow! see you all soon!

update on my stupid analysis of russert's death

so far, the only paper of record to really acknowledge the capital-d Democratic part of tim russert's life is the washington post, who start their obit as follows:

Tim Russert, the Democratic operative turned NBC commentator who revolutionized Sunday morning television and infused journalism with his passion for politics, died this afternoon.

for what it's worth.

party politics, death, and the city room

within a couple hours of the time of death, the NYT city room had a story up about various local new york politicians' responses to the loss of tim russert—a buffalo man at heart.

it's a good piece, but it raises two interesting questions. why is it that, recently, the NYT city room only seems to be at the forefront of breaking, local new york stories when there's a celebrity death? heath ledger being the other example, of course (and both stories were done by the ever-talented sewell chan).

the other question (which probably has an obvious answer, but should be raised nonetheless): why aren't any of these immediate stories pointing out that his work with moynihan and cuomo were on Democratic campaigns? the obvious answer, of course, is that obits and quasi-obits are no place for partisan bickering... but still, it's a bit misleading to talk so much about his work with those two stalwarts of new york Democratic politics, and not even mention the word, "Democrat." this omission goes for all the stories breaking right now.

let me put it this way: if he were anyone other than a man with a reputation for being non-partisan, would that crucial partisan detail be left out?

ugh i'm probably being a jerk right now.

sweet lord no

in case you didn't hear somehow, tim russert is dead, out of nowhere.

gchat commentary from a friend:

Mike:
DEATH KOMES 2 US ALL
=(



UPDATE:

Mike: friday the 13th

me: oh shit, you're right