What Caught My Eye Today

Haiti - If this is the first you are hearing the horrific earthquake that hit Haiti last week, you need to seriously consider paying more attention to the world around you. We're barely two weeks into 2010, and the story of the year (perhaps even the decade) is revealing a human catastrophe that almost defies comprehension. A powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the poor island nation of Haiti last week, the strongest to hit the area in at least 200 years. The quake crushed thousands of structures, from shacks and hospitals to the National Palace and the U.N. peacekeeping headquarters. The International Red Cross said a third of Haiti's 9 million people were in desperate need of emergency aid. Troops, doctors and aid workers are pouring into Haiti even while victims of the quake that killed an estimated 200,000 people still struggled to find a cup of water or a handful of food. European nations pledged more than a half-billion dollars in emergency and long-term aid, on top of at least $100 million promised earlier by the U.S. Even if you are not able to contribute to the relief effort, take a few brief moments to reflect on all the good things in your lives, that all too often we seem to take for granted. And if nothing else say a short prayer for the Haitian people. No one deserves suffering like this. No one.

Okay, that was pretty deep. We need to lighten up the mood a bit, don't you think?

Nigeria - Thousands of protesters marched on the National Assembly building in the Nigerian capital demanding to know who was running the country. I ask myself that same question almost every day. Apparently, there are some folks in Washington who are allegedly attempting to run the country but, at the risk of stating the obvious, I'm skeptical. For the past seven weeks, President Umaru Yar'Adua has been in a Saudi Arabian hospital undergoing treatment for a hear condition and there have been rumors that he had died. Yar'Auda gave a BBC interview this week to assure his nation that he was "getting better" but gave no indication of when he would return home. Meanwhile, Nigeria has been in a constitutional crisis, because Yar'Auda has not officially turned over power to the vice president. Okay, I'll admit that I'm not much of an expert when it comes to Nigerian constitutional law, but one questions just how useful that constitution is when it provides no guidance on what to do when the president is incapacitated with a heart condition...outside the country, no less.

Canada - Depression among Canada's public servants has reach epidemic proportions, according to a recently released report from the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Mental Health. The report says that mental health claims account for nearly half of all disability claims by public workers, including teachers, nurses, police, military and government bureaucrats. The report suggests that depression can set in because bureaucrats often end work each day feeling that they have accomplished nothing. My apologies if this comes off sounding a bit insensitive...Get over yourselves, you wankers! Find me a job where someone feels as if they are actually accomplishing something, and I'll show you someone who has are really good stash of hooch. Lighten up for crying out loud.

Japan - Tsutomu Yamaguchi has died at 93. So what? you ask. Well I'll tell you. This was, depending on how you look at it, either the luckiest or unluckiest dude in the history of humankind. On August 6, 1945, Yamaguchi survived "Little Boy," the atomic bomb that killed 140,000 people in Hiroshima. Three days later, in Nagasaki, he lived through its successor, "Fat Man," wich killed another 70,000. Although there were believed to be about 165 people who survived both blasts, he was the only one officially recognized by the Japanese government. He died of stomach cancer, likely caused by atomic radiation. Rest in peace, my man. Rest in peace..

Humor - Finally, a quick joke that will hopefully leave you with a bit of a smile... A man walks by an old lady at an ATM. Removing and replacing her glasses, she's clearly having a hard time reading the screen. So she asks the man, "Please, dear, could you check my balance for me?" "Sure," he replied. Then he pushes her over. Until next time.