China’s Big Day: With the Olympics just three days away, China’s gearing up for it’s big reveal to the world. Unfortunately, it’s not all going swimmingly. There’s that pesky pollution problem, which is back, after a few days of “blue” skies. There’s those attacks killing 16 and wounding 16 others (blamed by the Chinese authorities on Muslim militants.) There’s the second earthquake in six months; though minor. There’s the horrible record on human rights—which a new Amnesty International report is saying, has actually gotten worse in the lead up to the games, not better; the gagging of free speech; the mass killing of kittens; and the treatment of the poor as detritus to be hidden away. Then, there’s the suspicions that the government is lying about the age of its best gymnasts. No wonder people aren’t keen on the place. You have to wonder, what the IOC was thinking when they gave the Games to China. Well, at least the stadium is pretty.

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No, Online Journalism isn’t a misnomer. The Online Journalism Awards Finalists have been announced: There are some of the usual, expected big guns on the short list: the New York Times, Huffington Post, and Reuters, all get nods. But so do some upstarts, most notably, Politico.com, which is nominated in the General Excellence category for a large site, and receives notice in the category recognizing Specialty Site Journalism. Other stories to receive notice: the LA Times’ breaking coverage of the wildfires using multimedia tools. Salon.com, once the apple of the Internet’s eye, reemerged with a nod in the Investigative category for Mark Benjamin’s piece on the CIA’s “Black Sites.” All proof that journalism can defeat empty blogging in its own platform.

McCain steals back some of the spotlight. For perhaps the first time in ages, this past week has not been soley about the “One.” Journalism.org is reporting that McCain made as much news as Obama this past week in journalism shocka. Coupled with Drudge Report’s breathless headline, “‘Approving Roar’ For McCain in Heartland,” you’d think McCain was up by 24 percent in the polls, which are still, inexplicably, neck and neck.