Catching Up

Back from holiday and now trying to catch up on email, phone messages and blog posts that I missed during the past fortnight. Meskel Square offers a guide to Sudan’s year ahead

The wildcards The International Criminal Court This is the only thing people are talking and thinking about in Sudan right now. What will happen when, as widely expected, the global court turns Sudan’s president into a wanted man? Expected: Any day now President Obama Will he follow President Bush’s lead and keep the "normalisation" talks going with Sudan? Or will he follow President Clinton’s lead and start ordering missile strikes on pharmaceutical factories? Expected: 20/01/2009

I’ve been enjoying Wronging Rights: Very serious commentary on very important issues for some time now. There are frankly enough pompous, self-serving blogs about genocide, misery and African development so Wronging Rights always brings a refreshing new take. If you can’t laugh about human suffering, what can you do? Take this recent example… Because Sometimes an Anti-Genocide T-Shirt Just Isn’t Enough

Does your distaste for the targeted slaughter of entire groups of people compel you to do more than wear one of our (oh-so-trendy) "I [do not heart] Genocide" t-shirts? Do you feel the need to take a bolder, more committed stance? Will your justifiable feelings of outrage carry you through the arduous process of clicking on a link, waiting for a page to load, and then clicking on a "vote" button?

Primal Sneeze always makes me smile too…

For a couple of months now I have been hearing pub-talk about signs appearing on building sites in Poland saying “No Irish”. A kickback to the “No Irish need apply” signs that appeared in the UK after the war and the “No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs” signs on boarding houses in the 1960s.

As does Ourman in Cameroon, who’s experience of Africa seems eerily similar to mine (albeit with worse food)

Things to look out for if you want your Spotter’s Badge: * The roadside second hand clothes store – you want clothes here – they’re going to be second hand. * The dust – it’s everywhere right now and will only get worse. My colleague swears it will not rain again till March 15th. If that’s when it’s due then I’ll imagine it won’t actually start till April. People here are still organising New Year parties. * The furniture maker and his sofas (where I got mine). * The (also) second hand kitchen appliances * The Nesquik van

So that’s Google Reader almost cleared. Now for the 47 messages on my phone…