What Caught My Eye Today

Canada - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper shut down Parliament in an unprecedented attempt to keep his government in power, fending off a no-confidence vote he was all but certain to lose. Harper successfully asked the unelected representative of the head of state for the power to close down Parliament until the end of January, hoping to buy enough time to develop a stimulus package that could prop up the economy. Governor General Michaelle Jean, who represents Britain's Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, granted the unusual request to suspend parliament. Had she refused, Harper would have had two choices: step down or face a no-confidence vote Monday he was sure to lose. Can you imagine what President Bush could have done with that sort of maneuver here in the good old U.S. of A.? I can see almost as clear as day--"Well doggone it, things here at home and abroad just ain't turnin' out the way I wanted 'em to. And you just know that pesky Congress is going to crawl up my butt over it. Unless...yeah, that's it! I'll suspend Congress. I never liked those varmits anyway. So, shoot, I'll just shut 'em down. Yessiree bob. I reckon I might just do that."

Switzerland - Quick, someone get me a tissue. I'm not surely I'll be able to keep my composure on this one. The annual list of Switzerland's richest people shows even the Alpine tax haven's super-wealthy aren't immune from the financial meltdown. The 300 richest Swiss residents — half of whom are foreigners — together lost 70 billion francs ($58.5 billion) last year. Their combined wealth is now 368 billion francs ($307 billion). Still, there's always a bit of good news... Swiss tennis ace Roger Federer made it onto the list for the first time this year. His wealth is estimated at 100-200 million francs ($83-167 million). Atta boy, Roger. You just keep hitting that little yellow ball over the net, and we'll keep sending those prize checks your way.

Crystal - Of course, there is no guarantee that Federer will be getting trophies to accompany those checks. Debt-ridden crystal and china maker Waterford Wedgwood PLC reported falling sales and increasing first-half losses and warned it could be forced to shut down if a major new investor cannot be found to bail it out. Waterford Wedgwood said it had been forced to ask its chief creditors for "forbearance" because the company can no longer pay its loans on time or in full. Here's a bit of double talk. I'm not sure if this next statement was intended to instill confidence or fear. Maybe you can... In a statement, Waterford Wedgwood said it remained confident of negotiating new loan repayment conditions and securing more private investment. Failure to achieve either one, it warned, "would compromise the group's ability to continue as a going concern." See what I mean? I suppose I could try to be a bit more sympathetic to this companies plight, but it's rather difficult. See, I've seen their latest patterns and all I can say is--dreadful, simply dreadful.

Georgia - Reveling in his reputation for earthy language, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin unabashedly confirmed a crude outburst against Georgia's president and even took the tirade a step further. If it was anyone other than Putin, I'd say this was actual news. However, it is Putin, so I'm not sure I see what is so surprising about this. A French magazine reported that Putin told French President Nicolas Sarkozy that he would hang Georgian leader Mikhail Saakashvili by the testicles. The remark came during the August war between Russia and Georgia. Okay, that's a little extreme, even by Vlad's standards. In a recent interview with Russian citizens, a caller asked Putin whether he would like to see Saakashvili "hanged by one of his body parts." "Why by just one part?" Putin responded. He went to accuse the Georgian president of setting off a bloodbath by attacking the Russian-supported breakaway province of South Ossetia. In Putin's defense, he was on a roll. I'm thinking he just got caught up in the moment. On second thought, he probably meant what he said. Maybe given more time to collect his thoughts, Putin could have come up with something even more colorful. Yeah, that's a comforting thought.

Norway - Finally, a bit of good news to wrap things up. And this truly is good news. Ninety-three countries signed a treaty banning cluster bombs, as diplomats accepted the wishes of victims who begged them to bar the weapons that kill and maim civilians long after the conflicts end. Now you may have notice that 93 countries signed the treaty, which means some did not. Want to hazard a guess as to which countries where missing from this treaty signing? Some of the world's top military powers — including the U.S., Russia and China — refused to attend, arguing cluster bombs have legitimate military uses, such as repelling advancing troop columns. Go figure. Under the accord signatories agree not to use cluster bombs, to destroy existing stockpiles within eight years, and to fund programs that clear old battlefields of dud bombs. The pact leaves open the door open for new types of weapons that could pick targets more precisely and contain self-destruct technology. The group Handicap International says 98% of cluster-bomb victims are civilians. Nearly a third of all victims are children. I wonder if these statistics are included in the arguments for "legitimate military use". Those 2% of non-civilian casualties must be some fiercely intimidating troops.