Saudi Bank Warning: U.S. Debt Ratio Same As Italy’s

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ABU DHABI — Saudi Arabia has warned the financial community of a decline of the U.S. dollar.

Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank said the debt burden of the United States has reached the same ratio of Italy, deemed a default risk. In a report, the Jedda-based bank warned that the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating from triple A status would reduce energy demand and prices, a move expected to harm the Saudi kingdom.

“Foreign central banks maintain a large share of their foreign currencyreserv es in U.S. treasuries because it is the deepest and most liquid bond market,” the report said. “But, international funds that limit their investments to AAA-rated bonds may dump the U.S. holdings, causing the U.S. dollar to depreciate. Yet, mutual fund investment guidelines do retain some flexibility regarding the handling of such matters.”

The report, titled “The Standard and Poor’s Downgrade of U.S. and Its Implications on the Saudi Economy,” however, said the Gulf Cooperation Council state could withstand the decline of the U.S. dollar. NCB said Saudi Arabia wielded a large reserve to ensure government programs over the next few years.

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Germany Accused of ‘Deporting’ Its Elderly: Rising Numbers Moved to Asia and Eastern Europe Because of Sky-High Care Costs

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German pensioners are being sent to care homes in Eastern Europe and Asia in what has been described as an ‘inhumane deportation’. Rising numbers of the elderly and sick are moved overseas for long-term care because of sky-high costs at home.

Some private healthcare providers are even building homes overseas, while state insurers are also investigating whether they can care for their clients abroad.

Experts describe a time bomb’ of increasing numbers unable to afford the growing costs of retirement homes. And they say the situation should be a warning to Britain, where rising numbers of pensioners are forced to sell their homes to pay for care.

The Sozialverband Deutschland (VdK), a socio-political advisory group, said the fact that many Germans were unable to afford the costs of a retirement home in their own country was a huge ‘alarm signal’.

‘We simply cannot let those people, who built Germany up to be what it is, be deported,’ VdK’s president Ulrike Mascher told The Guardian. ‘It is inhumane.’

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Federal Report Lambasts China for Breaches of Trade Rules

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China is still flouting World Trade Organisation rules 11 years after it first joined, misusing the complaints machinery for tit-for-tat retaliation, said US Trade Repesentative Ron Kirk.

“China’s trade policies and practices in several specific areas cause particular concern for the United States,” said Mr Kirk in his year-end report to Congress.

“China’s regulatory authorities at times seem to pursue anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations and impose duties for the purpose of striking back at trading partners that have exercised their WTO rights in a way that displeases China,” said the report.

A range of policies raised “increasing concerns that China has not yet fully embraced the key WTO principles of market access, non-discrimination and transparency. China’s incomplete adoption of the rule of law has exacerbated this situation.”

The report accused Chinese officials of running rough-shod over foreign firms, forcing them to give up trade secrets in clear violation of WTO rules.

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Obama Gives Cold Shoulder to Egypt’s Secular Democrats

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Last July when Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Egypt she was met with widespread protest from Coptic Christians and secular activists objecting to what they all believed was the Obama administration’s role in helping the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) ascend to power in Egypt.

The secretary had requested to meet with ten Christian leaders, myself included. All of those invited refused to meet with her and boycotted her visit. Most of us had been both publicly and privately warning members of Congress and the administration of the danger the Muslims Brotherhood poses and about their desire to turn Egypt into a theocratic Islamic fascist country. Yet we were ignored.

Going back to April 2007, Democrats made special efforts to link up with the MB when visiting then-House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., met with Dr. Saad el-Katatni, the MB’s parliamentary leader, at former U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone’s home, at a time when then-Secretary Condoleezza Rice has publicly refused to meet with the Brotherhood.

Mr. Ricciardone, who I can call a friend, once told me that his friendship with another MB leader, Essam El- Erain, extended for close to 30 years. Perhaps that was the catalyst for this meeting and subsequent meetings that took place at his residency.

A stream of meetings as well as public and private contacts followed between current U.S. Ambassador Ann Paterson and members of the Brotherhood since her arrival to Egypt shortly after the revolution. The ambassador seemed to favor the Brotherhood and the hardliner Salafis over the rest of the secular players in Egypt.

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Ho, Ho, Ho: United Nations Wants 5% Budget Increase

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Late yesterday, the United Nations General Assembly approved a 5% budget increase for 2012-2013–with half of the additional spending going towards the UN’s “political missions,” which typically handle peacemaking and conflict resolution. In a time of global austerity, the UN’s career diplomats have decided they deserve more cash.

The spending is particularly concerning given the fact that the UN is hardly known for running a tight financial ship. Last week, the Associated Press published an article headlined: “Santa Arrives Early at UN,” referring to the newly renovated office of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who also received a “new armored car wrapped in a red ribbon with a big bow.” A significant amount of UN spending is also wasted on controversial propaganda, such as a recent art display depicting the proto-state of Palestine as encompassing all of the State of Israel.

The United States is responsible for 22% of the UN’s regular budget, including the political missions.

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The Changing Face of Old St Nick: How Santa Claus’s Image Has Evolved Through the Past 700 Years

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After more than 700 years, quite a lot has changed in both the meaning and appearance of Christmas.

But when it comes to Old St Nick, ironically with his age, the one thing that may not have changed could very well be his big white beard as this unique collection of historical pictures show.

First pictured in the 4th century, in one seen example of a Russian icon dating to 1294, as history tells, St Nicholas Lipensky was a real man and bishop who would launch the many faces and stories we know today.

Born in Asia Minor, he is remembered for his charitable giving, notably to children, in one instance providing anonymous dowries to three young girls to prevent them from entering prostitution.

For three nights he is said to have walked by their home, tossing a bag of money through an open window for them to find in the morning.

Today he is buried in the Italian city of Bari where his tomb is visited by thousands every year.

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American Troops Share in the Holiday Spirit over Christmas Eve Dinner in Afghanistan

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U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan took a short break from the frontline to celebrate Christmas Eve dinner among what many call their ‘second family,’ some 7,000-miles from home.

The men and women in Kabul’s U.S.-led coalition base dined among decorative paper snowmen, Christmas trees and Santa Clauses while underneath them their weapons temporarily rest, tucked beneath their seats.

Walking through the dinner line, some readily carried their assault rifles slung over their shoulders – a sign of work as usual – while outside some soldiers walked around wearing traditional red and white Santa hats.

American troops are serving their 12th Christmas in Afghanistan this year, with approximately 66,000 troops currently serving in Afghanistan.

‘When we’re here we try to put the family aside and not dwell on being away from them,’ Capt. Ray Davidson, the chaplain at outpost Arian told USA Today. ‘And then Christmas comes,’ he said of many soldiers’ shared pain at being away.

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Pope Benedict XVI: Find Room for God in Fast-Paced Modern World

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(Reuters) – Pope Benedict, leading the world’s Roman Catholics into Christmas, on Monday urged people to find room for God in their fast-paced lives filled with the latest technological gadgets.

The 85-year-old pope, marking the eighth Christmas season of his pontificate, celebrated a solemn Christmas Eve mass in St Peter’s Basilica, during which he appealed for a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and an end to the civil war in Syria.

At the mass for some 10,000 people in the basilica and broadcast to millions of others on television, the pope wove his homily around the theme of God’s place in today’s modern world.

“Do we have time and space for him? Do we not actually turn away God himself? We begin to do so when we have no time for him,” said the pope, wearing gold and white vestments.

“The faster we can move, the more efficient our time-saving appliances become, the less time we have. And God? The question of God never seems urgent. Our time is already completely full,” he said.

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A ‘Dad’ is Tenth Most Popular Christmas List Request for Children

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When it comes to Christmas, it might be safe to assume children will ask Santa for an extensive list of toys, games and treats.

But a survey of their typical lists for Father Christmas has shown many have more serious concerns, requesting “a dad” instead.

A study of 2,000 British parents found most children will put a new baby brother or sister at the top of their Christmas list, closely followed by a request for a real-life reindeer.

A “pet horse” was the third most popular choice, with a “car” making a bizarre entry at number four.

Despite their material requests, the tenth most popular Christmas wish on the list was a “Dad”.

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Japan: On Path to Rearming?

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WASHINGTON – Despite what has been described as a “pacifist” constitution implemented following World War II, Japan is considering rearming to offset what is perceived in the East Asia region as a more assertive China, according to a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

That nation is throwing around its military weight to enforce its hegemony over the East and South China Seas.

Almost all the countries in the region are affected by China’s new assertiveness in the region, including Vietnam, the Philippines and even India, in addition to Japan. All have open and somewhat confrontational disputes with Beijing over jurisdiction over islands and potential maritime oil and gas resources.

For India, it has a number of contracts with Vietnam for offshore oil and gas exploration in the East and South China Seas to meet its increasing energy demands. In recent months, China and India have had disputes over access to areas where Beijing claims exclusive jurisdiction.

In addition to separate disputes between New Delhi and Beijing over land border disputes between the two countries, India has decided to enhance its presence in the East and South China Seas with an increased military naval presence of its own.

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