Heading out soon.

Updates...

In my life:
I've moved again, this time for keeps, to a luxurious apartment complex inhabited principally by senior UNMIL staff, clustered around a beautiful, clean swimming pool. The pool is used surprisingly little. My first move, of course, was to start swimming every evening in the dark. Day one I swam straight into the side and raised a big bump on my head that's still healing five days later. Of all the dangers in Liberia, I bump my head in a swimming pool. They don't call it the world's safest post-conflict country for nothing.

Sunday morning I will leave Monrovia for a week to visit Sapo National Park and nearby community development pilot projects undertaken by the extension and community support staff at the Forestry Development authority. I'm pretty excited to escape the city and see the high forest for at least a few days.

Less personally and more news-worthy:

The Charles Taylor trial has resumed. The ex-president himself finally appeared in the courtroom after "boycotting" the trial to date. He claims he is indigent, though UN Security Council reports suggest he may still be worth as much as 80-100 million dollars. In spite of that the court has been shockingly tolerant. They say he has no right to non-appearance but have allowed it to continue. In light of his claim of indigence they initially allowed a budget of $50,000 per month to pay for his defense. He claimed this was not enough and will now be allowed $100,000 per month in court funding. Legitimacy can be expensive. The special court for Sierra Leone in which Taylor faces trial is funded by voluntary international contributions.

In the "other" Charles Taylor trial, Judge Cecilia Altonaga ruled for the prosecution on a motion to dismiss in the Federal prosecution of the former president's son "Chuckie" under the Anti-Torture Statute. It's a seldom used federal law and will be significant trial to watch for its legal and precedential value, even outside of the interest in truthful fact-finding about atrocities committed during the Liberian conflict.

Here in Liberia, the Firestone Plantation workers vote in Union Elections tomorrow. Firestone is an enormous employer, and has been accused of maintaining wage and working conditions akin to indentured labor on the plantation and encouraging child labor. The attempt at serious union reform is therefore highly politically charged.

Locally, gas prices have gone up, which means taxis are now adding L$5 (US$.08) to most local fares. I've been meaning for a while to just post a list of prices of Liberian and imported goods here, since the latter can be almost shockingly expensive. Email to prompt me if you're getting bored with my slow rate of posting. But don't expect anything before the 14th, and then hopefully I'll have stories of forest adventures and pygmy hippos.