Christopher Savoie's case is playing out dramatically over the airwaves and in the blogosphere - an American man with sole legal custody of his young children, jailed in Japan for trying to bring his abducted children back to the U.S.

But if you're Japanese, you've never heard of Savoie, because the story hasn't been on a newscast or in the newspapers.

Based in Tokyo, among our first calls was to the local press in Fukuoka. The newspaper told us "This isn't news." When we asked if they would cover it because of the growing international interest, the paper flatly said, "No."

That response is a window into the Japanese mindset of the privacy of the home, and helps explain the cultural and legal clash in which Savoie is trapped.

Invading into the domicile is considered taboo, where issues like domestic violence and child abuse still culturally remain private matters.

Japanese family law follows suit, hesitant to order families to recognize joint custody. It prefers to obey the cultural norm of the woman having primary custody, which often means the father never has any contact with the children. That would be unthinkable in a U.S. court, which sees joint custody as a matter of course in divorce.

The Americans I've interviewed in this story say they're flabbergasted by Japan's archaic and rigid laws. But in this culture, there's no discussion about it. They don't even consider it news.

MANILA, Philippines — It was the speed of the flooding that left so many shocked in Manila. Many knew that a tropical storm was on its way, but few were prepared for the sudden swirling water that rose up from drains, sewers and rivers choking the streets with brown, filthy water.

A boy wades through the waters in Marietta Romeo, a middle-class neighborhood in eastern Manila.

People say it came up so quickly before they realized what was happening - their cars were underwater, then the ground floor of their houses.

Many panicked and ran upstairs, but the water followed until they had no option but to climb onto the roof.

Some stayed there for days getting hungrier and thirstier.

A man sits among the debris left after floods rushed through Marietta Romeo.

This perhaps explains some of the anger that is gradually being directed at the government.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been the focus for much of the criticism, but she has so far not held a news conference or given an interview.

Instead, she has issued statements and sound-bites, perhaps mindful of the awkward questions that would be asked about the apparent lack of government planning or preparedness.

Her anointed successor, Defense Minister Gilberto Teodoro, has been the face of the government during this disaster, and the government is now scrambling to show it is on top of the aftermath.

The Presidential Palace was partially opened to allow volunteers to pack supplies for affected areas and some food was handed out to those lucky enough to hear about the aid distribution.

But by the time we arrived, hundreds were waiting outside with a growing sense of disappointment, as they realized they had gotten there too late. In reality, the use of a couple of rooms in the museum of the Presidential Palace was nothing more than an attempt to give local TV stations something to film.

With some 2 million people affected by the flooding, it will take more than biscuits and potato chips to get a grip on the storm and flood aftermath.

International Aid agencies are now here in force, concentrating on water and health issues. Power is still out in many neighborhoods, adding to the misery. Throw into this chaotic mix another stack of tropical storms lurking menacingly out in the Pacific – and this might not be over just yet.

HONG KONG, China – Details of Sarah Palin's trip to Hong Kong - in what is being billed as her first speech outside North America - have been kept under wraps.

When I interviewed a spokeswoman for the event she will speak at, the 16th CLSA Investors' Forum, she said she didn't know when Palin would land in Hong Kong or when she would leave, and the former Republican vice presidential candidate's keynote address would be closed to the media.

Contacts put me in touch with people attending the speech, and I asked if I could interview them afterward about what Palin said: They both declined, though one was open to it if it was off the record.

CLSA head of communications Simone Wheeler told me: "She (Palin) has chosen to come here to speak to our clients on the condition that it would be closed to media so she could therefore have a candid conversation with investors as opposed to using this as a PR trip to promote herself globally."

She had earlier said: “She is coming to present to our investors, not to seek publicity. I think she really understands the value of presenting to a room of 1,000 global fund managers who really can influence the markets. We are really glad that she sees the value of that and that she’s not using this as a publicity-seeking exercise.”

I wondered, “Why the secrecy?” What do you think?

CALAIS, France (CNN) - "The Jungle," the notorious makeshift camp set up in the woods on the outskirts of Calais, looks very different to when I was here last in June.

There are only about 200 Afghan men instead of the 600 we saw here last. Many seem to have gotten through to the UK.

Local charity workers tell us that rumors of an imminent closure and total destruction of the camp by French police means the majority of migrants fled in the first week of September.

The raid was rumored to take place Tuesday morning at dawn. We arrived at the camp at 4am, and found a group of 100 or so migrants huddled around a bonfire.

And then the wait began... At 7am, the police arrived - approximately 600 or so.

Local human right protesters formed a circle around the migrants and, as the police swooped in, there were some clashes between the activists and authorities. Read more about the police raid

Some protesters were arrested and carried off violently.

The Afghan migrants did not resist. Many were in tears as they were led away by the police.

The migrants seemed to be processed and separated in groups of minors and adults.

What do you believe should happen to the migrants? Add your comment below

Scuffling continued between the police and protesters. Then, eventually, the police pushed out the protesters and journalists as they cleared out the camp and blocked it off.

The question now remains as to what the French government will do with the arrested migrants.

The Calais police chief who spoke after the raid maintains that the operation was a success, as the mafia and human traffickers who ran "the Jungle" camp have been stopped.

The police also confirmed the minors would not be sent back to Afghanistan.

The camp has now been bulldozed. While the immediate problem may have been moved out of the Calais area, it is obvious to everyone from the migrants to the activists to the authorities that moving the problem on is not the solution.

I don't know about you, but anytime I look at art, I want to know, what does it say?

Most artists say, it is what it is! In a word, it's what you make of it. There's no agenda. Yet, I still can't stop asking myself that question.

And I did it again when I interviewed San Francisco artist Andres Amador. He makes art that disappears just a few minutes after it's created!

Andre's canvases are the beaches of San Francisco, his paintbrush a huge rake. He goes to work at low tide, etching intricate geometric designs. By the time he's finished, the high tide is lapping at the edges of his sand creations. Just enough time for him to take a picture, before it's all swept away. Gone!

Now why would he do that? He actually had an answer! He wanted us to stop and "smell the roses." Enjoy the moments we miss out on in the everyday rush of life!

A great thought to start the work week with. Even if we forget, as soon as we plunge back into the weekday rush of life!

What do you think, should art have a purpose? What draws us to art?

Send me a tweet twitter@RALITSACNN or post a comment on this blog.

Icebergs are incredibly beautiful things to film.

Each with a unique character, with hidden depths. Some are an ethereal blue; the ice compressed over thousands of years. Others are a sinister grey, full of rocks scraped from beneath the glacier.

Getting to grips with shooting on Greenland's Sermilik Fjord.

I was recently incredibly fortunate to travel to Greenland, reporting on the effects of global warming in the Arctic.

Correspondent Phil Black and I joined the crew and scientists aboard the Greenpeace icebreaker Arctic Sunrise for four days on their expedition around the coast of Greenland, monitoring the effects of climate change.

To make the most of this rare opportunity I took a full-size High Definition camera to get the best possible pictures. With the exceptional clarity of the unpolluted air, the results from the camera have been amazing. Click here to see some stunning shots from the trip.

The highlight of our report was to fly by helicopter to the Helheim Glacier. We were taken to see the effects of climate change on the glacier by glaciologist Gordon Hamilton. Filming from helicopters is always exciting, with door open, and leaning out with the camera.

To make things even more challenging, add freezing air temperatures. We were wrapped up well in our down jackets and ski gear, but I find shooting with gloves almost impossible. My left hand was on the lens, with the cold air blowing in from the open door. By the end of the flight my hand was painfully cold.

From the helicopter, the Helheim Glacier is huge, a massive frozen river of ice that slowly flows out from the Greenland Ice Sheet. Below us were huge, jagged crevasses.

We eventually landed on a smooth area of the glacier by a blue river of melt water. After jumping across a narrow but deep crevasse, I filmed the water snaking across the cold barren landscape, and eventually disappearing down a hole into the depths of the glacier.

One slip in the river, we were told by Gordon, and we would slide down to an icy death within the glacier. A chilling thought.

The next day we went out to film on a Greenpeace inflatable in the Sermilik Fjord, with scientists recovering monitoring equipment left the year before. All around us were huge beautiful icebergs.

Of course it is essential when filming in the polar region to have a polarizer filter. The filter reduces the glare from the light reflecting off the sea and ice. The effect is deeper blue skies and greater contrast. It can reduce the reflections on the water when filming icebergs so that it is possible to see the huge mass of submerged ice below the surface.

On our way back we hauled in a small chunk of ice, smooth and elegantly shaped, almost like an ice sculpture, quite possibly ten thousand years old. This was to be the ice in our whisky that night as we toasted farewell to the crew of the Arctic Sunrise.

For more from CNN's trip to Greenland visit Eco Solutions

I've never read anything by Dan Brown. It’s a deliberate choice. I'm not ashamed of it.

But here I am outside a London bookshop before dawn talking to hardcore Dan Brown fans lining up for a copy of his new novel "The Lost Symbol." I've had better days.

Fans line up for copies of new Dan Brown thriller.

"I’m so excited," one says.

"I love his writing," says another.

They're all openly proud, loyal and passionate. All except one. "I’m here to get a surprise present for my wife." Yeah, right. Sure you are, mate.

For this group of fans, Dan Brown's first book since "The Da Vinci Code" is a very big deal. But this group isn’t very big. There are only about 12 people in the line when the shop doors open. None appears to have come dressed as their favourite Dan Brown character. But I could be wrong. Several are wearing beige.

This small group probably isn't representative of Dan Brown’s enormous fan base in Britain. The biggest selling adult paperbacks in this country’s history were written by Brown. And publishers expect "The Lost Symbol" will do well here too. The initial British print run is one million copies.

Just a few minutes after the book shop opens it's empty again. Dan Brown's army of fans clearly aren't as impatient or theatrical as the masses who lined up in costume for new "Harry Potter" books. Instead they're prepared to sleep until a reasonable hour, visiting book shops at their leisure where they’ll probably pay a heavily discounted price.

I interview a book shop spokesman who's stayed up all night reading all 509 pages of "The Lost Symbol."

He loves it. So much so I’m convinced to buy a copy "for my wife."

TOKYO, Japan - Miyuki Hatoyama is unlike any first lady to hit Japan: A divorcee, a former actress, and an outspoken woman who demands equality from her husband.

Local media call the soon-to-be premier 'the alien,' but it’s his wife who is making out of this world comments.

It’s the “outspoken” part that is generating some unusual press for the soon-to-be Prime Minister of Japan.

In a book called “Very Strange Things I’ve Encountered," Hatoyama indeed writes a very strange thing.

“While my body was asleep, I think my soul rode on a triangular-shaped UFO and went to Venus. It was a very beautiful place, and it was very green.”

In an interview on a Japanese talk show, Hatoyama makes another unearthly claim, saying she “eats” the sun.

“Like this, like this,” she said, gesturing as if eating something from the sky. “It makes me feel good and my husband does it too.”

Hatoyama also claims that she knew actor Tom Cruise. Not in this life, but in a prior life.

“I know Tom Cruise was Japanese in a previous life. I know that I was with him in the previous life. So, when I meet him and say, ‘Long time no see,’ he will understand what I mean. Isn’t it cool?”

These comments might be brushed off as an eccentric ex-actor’s musings if she didn’t have the ear of the most powerful man in the world’s second largest economy.

The DPJ, led by Yukio Hatoyama, pledges to shake up Japan’s politics, from economics to international relations.

Japan, for now, appears more amused than alarmed. While the Western press rants on about the odd ramblings of Mrs. Hatoyama, the Japanese press is brushing off the comments as peculiar but harmless.

Comments in YouTube under the clips from the Japanese talk show were divided, between people writing Mrs. Hatoyama was “crazy” to “who cares?”

Ex-Ministry of Foreign Affairs official Tomohiko Taniguichi calls the first lady “fun for now.”

“It’s actually helping her husband’s popularity,” says Taniguichi. “Whether a first lady who believes in UFOs affects world policies - we just have to wait and see.”

What do you make of Mrs. Hatoyama's comments?