via velocity kernel module does not raise events when link status changes. Also, it is incorrectly set to "up" when there is no cable in when the module first loads. I've submitted a patch referrenced above to the kernel bugzilla which has been accepted into the netdev kernel.
Created attachment 89889 [details, diff] raises events on link status change Please include this patch in gentoo-sources :)
Fixed in gentoo-sources-2.6.17-r1 / genpatches-2.6.17-1