If you encounter a block error for util-linux from sysvinit:

[blocks B      ] <sys-apps/sysvinit-2.88-r3 ("<sys-apps/sysvinit-2.88-r3" is blocking sys-apps/util-linux-2.20.1-r1)

Update both independently rather than as dependencies:

# emerge --update sysvinit util-linux

If you then encounter a block error from e2fsprogs:

[blocks B      ] <sys-fs/e2fsprogs-1.41.8 ("<sys-fs/e2fsprogs-1.41.8" is blocking sys-apps/util-linux-2.20.1-r1)
[blocks B      ] <sys-libs/e2fsprogs-libs-1.41.8 ("<sys-libs/e2fsprogs-libs-1.41.8" is blocking sys-apps/util-linux-2.20.1-r1)

Just add it to the party:

# emerge --update e2fsprogs sysvinit util-linux