Just another dent in the damage…

I’m not much of a New Year’s Resolution type person but last year I did write a list of 25 things I wanted to do in 2009. I thought it’d be worth going over what I did and didn’t do ready to prepare a new list of 26 things I want to do in 2010. So let’s see:

1) Set up an Etsy store and start selling small crafts: Well, I got the Etsy store bit sorted but getting the stuff to sell has been harder. I thought it’d just be a case of make a load of stuff and get it listed but it turns out a lot of the patterns I’ve been using to make consumables are all copyrighted and you can’t sell the stuff you make using them. Turns out I need to start writing my own patterns if I want to sell anything I make. The only things I really have for sale are my SSCS crochet whales as it’s OK to make money you intend to donate to charity, but a store with only one item to sell would be pretty naff right? I’ll work on this one. Promise.

2) Make more use of sewing machine and create at least one skirt from scratch: Again I kinda half did this. I reorganised my craft room so I can actually get at my machine without having to carry it about everywhere and I sorted out all the stuff I need to get on with making things – I just didn’t get round to making the skirt. But, I did make a lovely cushion (and embroidered it) and ploughed through one of my sewing books so I can learn more about what my machine does. I think this coming year will be my skirt making year so watch this space!

3) Learn to dive: CHECK! I actually did this one. This year I not only got my PADI Open Water but I completed my PADI Advanced Open Water and got qualified in Enriched Air diving. I’ve got about 20 dives logged now and am super excited about getting out and seeing more of the world’s oceans. At Christmas I went to Malaysia and got to play about with my new camera, here’s Nemo:

4) Learn Photoshop basics to improve photographs: So Photoshop is harder than I thought and there is definitely a lot to learn on this… but I’ve made a start. I’ve managed to cut three people out of one image and put them in to another, I’ve rubbed out plastic bottles and lamp-posts and learnt about image size and how to crop (ya’know – the simple stuff). My cutting out skills definitely need working on though. Max also showed me how to open my eyes – i.e. cut out Claire’s open eyes and stick them over my closed eyes!

This is a photo taken of Claire and I with Todd Kowalski from Propagandhi. On the original picture we were outside a pub and my eyes were closed. Here we are in Hawaii with my eyes open (if you look very closely you’ll notice they’re very similar to Claire’s eyes).

5) Take more photos and get uploading to Flickr: My new camera has helped with this one. On my last holiday I took about 1000 photos! Can you ever imagine doing this with an old camera that needed film? Crazy! Anyway I’ve slowly been making more use of Flickr and you can go and see my photos any time – lexrigby’s Photostream.

6) Make Donna a big granny blanket: Yes yes I did this. It got completed on March 18th for her birthday. Here is a picture of me admiring the finished product:

7) Print some Moo cards: Totally failed on this one. I figured I didn’t really need any if I didn’t get the store up and going. They’ll come eventually when I’m all business like.

8) Get funding for the IATUL conference in Belgium: I failed this too but it was kinda out of my hands. I wrote my statement about why I should be awarded the funding but at the last minute one of my bosses decided to write the entire thing himself on my behalf. I don’t blame him for not getting it or anything as I was told the application was exceptional, just not exceptional enough. Life goes on.

9) Design a cross-stitch pattern to raise more funds for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society: This was another one of those half did/half didn’t ones. Whilst I didn’t get around to design the pattern I longed to do I did get all subversive after buying Subversive Cross Stitch and started writing some cross stitch patterns inspired by Propagandhi lyrics.

10) Organise another SSCS fundraiser: This one is another ’still to do’. I think time ran away with me on this one. Whilst I didn’t organise a fundraiser myself I did volunteer at a number of events this year (including the International Dive Show at the NEC) and completed the first round of volunteer training. I’m now listed as an official volunteer on the Sea Shepherd UK website, so it’s all good in the hood still.

11) Make sushi: No making but plenty of eating. I’m going to get Donna to show me how to do this, she makes amazing sushi!

12) Finish Ursula tattoo: Yep, done and dusted. This is on my back:

13) Start work on Kali tattoo: I didn’t do this but I did get a whale instead, I think Kali needs more thinking about. This one is on my left inner arm – it was pretty swollen so excuse the chubbiness, I think the photo is a bit squished too (I got it off Myspace because I couldn’t be bothered to take a photo):

14) Keep up the weekly postings on my work blog: I did this! Want proof? See Librarians’ Blog for Science and Engineering.

15) Master the art of false lashes (just because there’s got to be at least one vanity thing in here): I did this too but none of my pictures are close enough for you to see them clearly. I’ll work on getting proof of this.

16) Keep up with the personal training sessions: After a year I figured these were just getting far too expensive to continue. I went from about August 2008 to August 2009. I fully intended to restart them but really £120 a month on top of my £42 a month gym membership… really.

17) Tick off the to-do list and write up results: I guess the result of this is this blog post. I did tick items off in my book and did refer back to my list to remind me what I needed to do, I just didn’t do as much as I wanted. I had planned to do a scrap book but I definitely think a blog post is more my thing.

18) Start open uni short course on marine biology: The Open Uni course I wanted to do is a short module called Life in the Oceans: Exploring our Blue Planet. It looks like the greatest short course of all time but a las I’ve not had a spare £150 to do it yet. I will though, studying Richard Attenborough’s Blue Planet sounds like the best thing ever.

19) Prepare for Cilip (this is the professional association of librarians) chartership: I simply changed my mind on this one I’m afraid. I just don’t know if I want to charter just yet. The chartership means doing a lot of work I just don’t want to do at the moment. Career development portfolios and all that malarky… snore.

20) Cook for Max at least once a month: I managed this one I think for a few months. I mainly make him puddings like cookies and cake. This will change this year though as I’ve a new cook book and it’s amazing. I won’t tell you anything else yet as I’m working on a post for this beauty that stands alone.

21) Visit Stef in Canterbury: Sorry Stef, you just come home too much. I’ll visit her this year for sure.

22) Read Moby Dick: I didn’t do this either, but I did read a lot about other whales!

23) Cycle to work at least twice a week in the Summer: This is my main regret I think. I should have done this, but I didn’t. Curse me.

24) Watch a broadway show: For my 25th birthday Sarah got me some gift vouchers for a London show and after loads of faffing about she never got to come with me. Instead, Max and I went to see Wicked… and it was wicked. I’d already read the book (and thought it very strange) so was interested to see how it would translate to stage. I liked it, it worked well and luckily they kept all the sexy scenes out.

25) Finish decorating the kitchen: YES, YES and YES and it’s the greatest kitchen of all time.

I’ve already written this year’s list… I might put it up later but in the meantime, thanks for reading.

The Facts:

More than 90,000 are believed to have been killed during conflict with a further 200,000 thought to have died from conflict related causes (estimates of the total death toll thus far ranges between 300,000 – 450,000);

A further 2.7 million people are said to be displaced living in camps for refugees or internally displaced people (IDPs), squatting in shacks, living with relatives or sheltering in the bush. Few others have fled further afield claiming asylum;

90% of Darfur’s villages have been destroyed;

3.6 million people are dependent on international humanitarian aid.

The Cause:

Low-level conflict has simmered in Darfur for years, characterised primarily by disputes between nomadic and sedentary groups, because of increased competition for resources – grazing grounds for cattle and livestock.

Nomads were accustomed to move south during the dry season after the harvest to graze their herds on the fields of sedentary farmers; this provided food for the animals of the nomads and manured the fields of the farmers. This system, which was always delicately balanced, began to break down as a result of increased population, desertification and changes in lifestyle.

Farming groups began to herd their own animals and wanted to stop nomads from grazing on their lands. At the same time, nomads tended to leave part of their group farming during the rainy season and increasingly wanted land to farm on.

Clashes between farming groups and nomads were regular, as was the use of traditional reconciliation mechanisms. If someone was killed, for example, it was customary for the group or family which had caused the killing to pay diya (blood money) to the group or family of the person killed.

Timeline:

February 2003: Angry at what they perceived to be a lack in government protection against village attacks and the marginalisation of Darfur the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) take up arms. The government of Sudan responded by exploting the existing tensions in the region, supporting the militias from largely Arabic-speaking nomadic groups;

July 2003: Janjaweed militia with support from the government begin offensive attacks murdering, raping and driving people out of their homes;

March 2004: Mukesh Kapila (the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan) called Darfur the “world’s greatest humanitarian crisis”;

April 2004: An African Union-brokered ceasefire is signed in N’Djamena (Chad’s capital) but later repeatedly violated by all sides;

July 2004: UN Security Council gives Khartoum 20 days to disarm the Janjaweed, bring its leaders to justice and allow humanitarian assistance. but with no enforcement the conflict continues;

September 2004: George W Bush declares the Darfur crisis ‘genocide’;

October 2004: The AU expands its mandate to protect civilians and sends in a peacekeeping force of 7,000 troops;

January 2005: Government attacks on civilians decrease, partly due to the majority of targeted villages already being destroyed and their inhabitants displaced;

31 January 2005: The UN releases a 176-page report saying that while there were mass murders and rapes of Darfurian civilians, they could not label the atrocities as “genocide” because “genocidal intent appears to be missing”;

March 2005: The UN Security Council refers the war crimes committed in Darfur to the International Criminal Court for investigation;

December 2005: Chad declares itself ‘in a state of war’ with Sudan following violent clashes along the Darfur-Chad border;

May 2006: The Darfur Peace Agreement, brokered by the AU is signed by the Government of Sudan and a faction of the SLA rebel group. All the other rebel leaders including the JEM reject the deal, claiming it doesn’t address key issues such as power sharing and disarmament of the Janjaweed. Fighting continues on all sides;

August 2006: UN Security Council passes resolution 1706, calling for a 23,000-strong UN-led peacekeeping force in Darfur by January 2007. But the resolution ‘invites the consent’ of the government, and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir states ‘there will not be any international military intervention in Darfur as long as I’m in power’;

September 2006: The first ‘Global Day for Darfur’ is held by campaigners around the world;

November 2006: The government agrees in principle to allow a ‘hybrid’ force into Darfur with enhanced UN support for AU forces. The government subsequently adds many restrictions to delay the hybrid force becoming operational;

December 2006: The conflict is increasingly spilling over into Chad, as Chadian rebels supported by the government of Sudan clash with Darfurian rebels supported by the government of Chad. Tens of thousands of Chadians are displaced. Militia attacks on refugee camps in Chad increase, displacing some Darfurians for the third time;

February 2007: The International Criminal Court (ICC) indicts two people – Sudanese Minister for Humanitartian Affairs, Ahmad Muhammad Harun, and Janjaweed commander Ali Kushayb – for crimes against humanity in Darfur. This is the first time someone who is currently in government has been indicted by the ICC. Khartoum declares that it will not co-operate and instead will try Kushayb in its own ’special criminal court’ – a clear attempt to pre-empt independent prosecution. Some Jajaweed leaders, concerned they may also be tried by the government, start switching allegiance to the rebels;

April 2007: Under pressure from China, Khartoum removes its opposition to 3,000 UN peacekeepers entering Darfur as part of the ‘hybrid’ force;

September 2007: 12 African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) peacekeepers, whose mandate is to protect civilians, were killed in Haskanita, apparently by forces from armed opposition groups;

May 2008: Unprecedented assault by the JEM on Khartoum;

14 July 2008: The ICC serves a warrant (issued March 4 2009) for the arrest of Omar al-Bashir outlining five counts of crimes against humanity and two of war crimes in Darfur (a further three for genocide were dropped due to insufficient evidence of a specific intent to destroy ethnic groups in Darfur);

November 2008: President Bashir announces a ceasefire;

November 2008: The ICC calls for arrest of three rebel commanders;

February 2009: A ceasefire is agreed by the JEM with a committment to end conflict with the Sudan Government in three months;

March 2009: The ICC’s arrest warrant for Bashir is filed but is unlikely to make any difference as the ICC does not have a police force and the warrant will be delivered to Sudan’s government, who are not likely to execute it.

Sources: Amnesty International, New Internationalist, BBC etc.

This is not the end.

If you ever needed any more proof that Propagandhi are the best band in the entire world. look no further. March 10th sees the release of their new record Supporting Caste, but if you can’t wait that long (I can’t) you can download two exclusive tracks from their website, providing you donate to one of three organisations:

• Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organisation);
• Partners in Health (provides a preferential option for the poor in health care);
• Peta 2 (the youth division of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

Needless to say my donation goes to the Sea Shepherds and I think YOURS SHOULD TOO (although all are seriously worth while)! These guys need more money to succeed in shutting down the illegal slaughter of whales. Help them out!

I have a treat in store for all you Sheffield peeps!! My friend Donna and I are organising a showing of Rob Stewart’s Shark Water (click image for details). It’s going to be a great evening of entertainment. For those coming expect a short talk from Giles Lane (ex-SSCS crew member), vegan fish and chips (electricity permitting) and plenty of cakes, a little craft and lots of fun! All money raised will go directly to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to continue in our struggle to protect the seas.

For filmmaker Rob Stewart, exploring sharks began as an underwater adventure. What it turned into was a beautiful and dangerous life journey into the balance of life on earth.

Driven by passion fed from a lifelong fascination with sharks, Stewart debunks historical stereotypes and media depictions of sharks as bloodthirsty, man-eating monsters and reveals the reality of sharks as pillars in the evolution of the seas.

Filmed in visually stunning, high definition video, Sharkwater takes you into the most shark rich waters of the world, exposing the exploitation and corruption surrounding the world’s shark populations in the marine reserves of Cocos Island, Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.

The best thing about living in Sheffield is that there’s always cool stuff happening! This past weekend I managed to visit the Hurtful Essences bunch, watch the use of wacky bikes at the eco/mobility fest (a mini festival to encourage people to use bikes/public transport instead of their cars) and pat pigs at the Nether Edge village fair. Brilliant.

The one thing I’m really liking about Uncaged’s latest campaign is how good it all looks. The Hurtful Essences demo on Fargate involved a giant inflatable shampoo bottle and campaigners dressed as rats. The leaflets are a far cry from the usual shocking images animal rights groups use, simply because they’re still in-keeping with the whole orgasmic Herbal Essences advertising. Look a little closer though and you just might see some little lab ratties in those bubbles. I like it because it quite literally exposes all the bad s**t behind the ‘pleasurable’ experience of washing your hair.

Saying yes to Herbal Essences means saying yes to the ugly reality of animal testing.

And quite frankly I think it is time to ’start saying no’. Please visit the website, sign the petitions and learn more about Procter and Gamble. You can also get yourself a nice 10% off at Lush… but make sure you get yourself a Shark Fin Soap while you’re at it.

Please please please support the Sea Shepherds by buying some delicious fin soap from Lush.

When [sharks] are caught they are pulled from the water, their fins are sliced off, and they are kicked back into the ocean, so they sink to the bottom and suffer a slow death. Fins are the most lucrative part of the shark, which explains the massive escalation in the numbers of sharks killed in the last few years.

Sharks are being killed at a shocking rate of a hundred million a year, partly to sell on as ingredients for Shark Fin Soup. That’s disgusting… and stupidly expensive too! Why bother? BUY SOME SOAP INSTEAD.