Sasha's commentary for March 7, 2014 (Part I)

The New York State Department of Labor released the statistics on employment in New York yesterday. The state only added 5,400 jobs this January. I was saddened to see that there were job losses in manufacturing, an (is and should always be) important sector of the New York economy. 


I concur with Sergei Markov, to some extent. Civil war in Ukraine is inevitable because Ukraine truly is a fractured country (Crimea trying to be at peace with Ukraine is a lost cause). Of course, this is coming from the Moscow Times, so I'm aware of the bias. I do agree with his steps:

There is a political solution to this crisis. First, create a coalition government in Kiev composed of all parties, including those from the east and south of the country. The current government is dominated by anti-Russian extremists from western Ukraine.
Second, Ukraine needs to draft a democratic constitution that has guarantees for Ukraine's Russian-speaking population that would grant official status to the Russian language and establish the principle of federalism.
Third, presidential and parliamentary elections must be held soon. Independent election observers must play an active role in ensuring that the elections are free and fair. There is a real danger that they will be manipulated by the neo-Nazi militants who de facto seized power in a coup.

Ukrainian and Russian should be both official languages of Ukraine. End of story. Simple! And let's not forget this: it's embarrassing that Ukraine is now being in part run by neo-Nazis. Ukraine has truly turned into the black sheep of European nations, and as a Ukrainian-American, it's really embarrassing. Paranoia and fear accomplish nothing positive. There is no Jewish mafia running Ukraine. There are Jewish oligarchs who hold much power, but I wouldn't say they are unilaterally running the show. The eastern part of the country back in 2011 was more powerful than it had been in in years.

Climate change is real, and anyone who tries to deny it does not have our planet's best interests at heart. Infrastructure and climate change actually go hand-in-hand, and unless we as a species don't reduce our carbon footprint, infrastructure issues related could prove catastrophic. And I've been taking my own steps: I don't order as much meat when I'm dining out, I take public transit more often and I will never own a car with an eight cylinder engine. We need to prepare now, especially with the high price tags involved. Superstorm Sandy was an eery preview of what's to come.

And yet another reason I fear global warming: there are a ton of foods I like that might become wildly expensive or inaccessible if climate change gets any worse.

Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky was an amazing photographer at the turn of the twentieth century from Russia, and seeing some of these photos was truly a blast from the past. Those photos are part of a Russia that has not existed for ages. On another note, I forget the process used to colorize those photos. And his photo of Tolstoy in his final years is without words.

And I think the Huffington Post has given me an idea on how I should do my wedding invitations. Will I go for it? Heck yes, unless my bride would be against it.

While I will never regret my last romantic relationship, I should have known that it wasn't going to last forever, and if I did, it might have lasted an entire semester instead of just two and a half months. The signs were there: one being that her family received me a little chilly. And I did feel like I had to change, but then again, some of that change I could have pretty well used.

Oh, and there's a part II to this entry!