Some of the shit you should be aware of while pondering the Oscar noms and getting beseiged by tweets about the US State of the Union address.
I often try to look around the world to see what's happening while celebrity headlines occupy my Twitter stream and western media. Here's why.
There has rarely been more irony than watching a cast of singers gather on a stage singing "We Are The World" while hundreds of millions of people look on and effectively IGNORE the world which marches on with precious time to care for a dead entertainer.
Below are just some things that happened in the world on the day that the hordes sat transfixed watching what will probably be nominated for a daytime Emmy next year:
"Thousands of angry Han Chinese, many of them armed and seeking vengeance for deaths in rioting two days earlier, surged through the capital of the northwestern region of Xinjiang on Tuesday looking for Uighur targets... "It's your time to suffer," they shouted at some of the five and six-storey apartment blocks lining Xinfu Road, which protesters said saw some of the worst destruction in Sunday's riots that killed 156 people and injured 1,080.
"Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya on Tuesday accepted a U.S.-backed effort by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias to mediate in Honduras and said talks with his rivals would begin on Thursday."
"Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday the disputed presidential election was the world's "freest" vote, while opposition leaders criticized the "security state" imposed after the polls... Human rights activists say 2,000 people, including opposition leaders, academics, journalists and students may still be in detention
"Major economies tried on Tuesday to break the deadlock between rich and poor nations over 2050 goals for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions at a last-minute meeting before an expanded G8 summit in Italy."
"Benin has declared a state of emergency and called for international humanitarian aid after floods hit the south of the West African country. The government estimates that some 2,000 families have already been displaced by flooding caused by heavy rains and it appealed late on Monday for immediate help to prevent the imminent spread of epidemics."
"Along the road to Afgooye, west of Mogadishu, half a million people are living in temporary shelters made from sticks and plastic sheeting and there is very limited access to health care. There is a desperate shortage of food and water, and settlements of internally displaced people are overcrowded, posing a serious risk for epidemics, such as measles or cholera."
"Two bombs exploded in two restive areas in the southern Philippines on Tuesday, killing two people and wounding dozens , officials said, prompting authorities to step up security around state offices in the capital Manila."
