Poem of the Day Buck up. Life is resilient. Root Cellar by Theodore Roethke Nothing would sleep in that cellar, dank as a ditch, Bulbs broke out of boxes hunting for chinks in the dark, Shoots dangled and drooped, Lolling obscenely from mildewed crates, Hung down long yellow evil necks, like tropical snakes. And what a congress of stinks!-- Roots ripe as old bait, Pulpy stems, rank, silo-rich, Leaf-mold, manure, lime, piled against slippery planks. Nothing would give up life: Even the dirt kept breathing a small breath. Africa: Who Knows? Who Cares? At present, there are an estimated 42,000 refugees in Northern and Southern Nigeria fleeing from ethno-religious mob violence. You would think the international community would've learned something from what happened in Rwanda. You would think that the horrific news coming out of Nigeria would make all the newspapers, but there's no mention of it in the Google headlines or in any American newspaper. About a week ago, an estimated 400 Muslims were murdered in riots in Plateau State, and yesterday, an estimated 600 were killed in the northern city of Kano. Nigeria is the largest and richest nation in West Africa, and widespread unrest there would have worldwide implications. How can people come to care about what's happening if the papers don't report it? Nigeria Article from The Independent Shiver Me Timbers! Reuters reports: Greenpeace, charged with the obscure crime of "sailor mongering" that was last prosecuted 114 years ago, goes on trial on Monday in the first U.S. criminal prosecution of an advocacy group for civil disobedience. The environmental group is accused of sailor mongering because it boarded a freighter in April 2002 that was carrying illegally felled Amazon mahogany to Miami. It says the prosecution is revenge for its criticism of the environmental policies of President Bush, whom it calls the "Toxic Texan." Sailor mongering was rife in the 19th century when brothels sent prostitutes laden with booze onto ships as they made their way to harbor. The idea was to get the sailors so drunk they could be whisked to shore and held in bondage, and a law was passed against it in 1872. It has only been used in a court of law twice, the last time in 1890. Greenpeace says the decision by the U.S. Attorney's Office to prosecute the organization rather than just the activists who boarded the APL Jade freighter is a sea change in policy, and a conviction would throttle free speech everywhere. Reuters Headline