Slovenia Ratings Cut by Moody’s on Concern Nation’s Banks May Need Funding - by John Detrixhe and Boris Cerni

Slovenia had its credit rating lowered one step to A1 by Moody’s Investors Service on the potential need for the government to support its banking system amid Europe’s debt crisis.

The euro-area nation’s banking industry has assets that are about 136 percent of gross domestic product, which is “relatively large when compared to other systems in eastern Europe,” Moody’s said yesterday in a statement. It assigned a negative outlook to Slovenia’s credit grade, the fifth-highest. Standard and Poor’s ranks the nation AA-, one level higher.

For more: Slovenia Ratings Cut by Moody’s on Concern Nation’s Banks May Need Funding - Bloomberg

Italy’s austerity budget gets final approval

Italy’s Senate passed a vote of confidence in the government of Prime Minister Mario Monti on Thursday that put the final seal on an emergency austerity budget rushed through to restore market confidence in the euro zone’s third biggest economy.

The upper house voted 257 to 41 for the government, following a similar easy win in the lower house last week.

For more: Italy’s austerity budget gets final approval - The Globe and Mail

Canada could pay into IMF Europe fund, Flaherty says

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says Ottawa would be open to paying into a bailout fund for Europe administered by the International Monetary Fund — as long as it was supported by the other G20 countries.

"There's some sense around the world that if at the end of the day we have to provide some help somehow, that we would not turn a blind eye to it because of the world consequences of the collapse of the eurozone," Flaherty said Thursday on CBC-TV's Power; Politics with Evan Solomon.

"If at the end of the day all of the other G20 countries were going to provide more resources to the IMF, and let the IMF deal with part of the situation in Europe, then I think there would be support for that overall, because of the fear, quite frankly, around the world of a global economic crisis."

For more: Canada could pay into IMF Europe fund, Flaherty says - Business - CBC News

Europe's Perishing Parishes: Dutchman Helps to Liquidate Dying Churches - by Benjamin Dürr

A drastic exodus from the church is underway in the Netherlands. With two churches shuttered each week, one man has become the country's top advisor on how to repurpose the once holy buildings.

Some are demolished, while others find new life as mosques, stores and even recreation centers.

Marc de Beyer is an art historian in Utrecht, located about a half an hour by train from Amsterdam, but one could also call him a liquidator. He's a man who shuts down churches. When a parish is dissolved, when a church is shuttered, de Beyer is there. And he has a lot to do.

Some 4,400 church buildings remain in the Netherlands. But each week, around two close their doors forever. This mainly affects the Catholics, who will be forced to offload half of their churches in the coming years. "And that's just the beginning," says de Beyer.

His voice echoes in the vaulted building, where the dim autumn sunshine falls sideways through the window panes. De Beyer stands behind a block as large as a freezer chest. Until July 1, 2006, it was the altar at the St. Lawrence church in Bilthoven, north of Utrecht. But on that day the church became real estate and the altar where believers had been blessed, married and mourned became a hunk of cement.

For more: Europe's Perishing Parishes: Dutchman Helps to Liquidate Dying Churches - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

Turkey moves far beyond Europe – by Soner Gagaptav

The Turks are selling pasta to the Italians, educating Papua-New Guineans in their universities, building airports in Egypt, running schools in Nigeria and establishing diplomatic missions in Latin America. Turkey has not felt and acted like the confident global player it is today since the heyday of the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century.

After the decline of the Ottoman Empire in the eighteenth century, the Turks tried to belong to Europe in hopes of eventually becoming an ordinary country subsumed by it. That dream has passed. In the past decade, a new Turkey was born, shaped by unprecedented political stability, domestic growth and new-found commercial and political clout overseas. This has instilled a sense of global confidence in the Turkish people, not seen since Suleiman the Magnificent ruled in Constantinople. "And the new Turkey is here to stay," says Namik Tan, the Turkish ambassador to Washington.

Like a Eurasian China, the new Turkey is interested in building influence across the globe and is no longer confined by a regional, European rubric.

Cagaptay: Turkey moves far beyond Europe – Global Public Square - CNN.com Blogs

Black day for Dutch soccer

"Madness”, “Match abandoned after bizarre incident” and “We’ve never had this before” – the banner headlines in today’s national newspapers echo the outcry among the general public, following a major incident at Wednesday night’s last-16 Dutch Cup tie between Ajax Amsterdam and AZ Alkmaar.

The match was abandoned after Alkmaar's Costa Rican goalkeeper Esteban was sent off for kicking a fan who had run on to the pitch to attack him with a karate kick. Tempers flared after the red card was shown, prompting Alkmaar coach Gert Jan Verbeek to order his men to leave the pitch and the match was called off with Ajax leading 1-0.

For more: Black day for Dutch football | Radio Netherlands Worldwide

Banks give Europe shares a lift, U.S. data eyed

Easier European bank-to-bank lending rates and hopes a batch of U.S. data would confirm an improving economic picture, lifted world stocks and the euro on Thursday, but concerns that Europe's debt crisis could intensify kept a lid on the rises.

U.S. stock index futures also pointed to a higher open on Wall Street with the key S&P 500 index on track to record its third straight day of gains.

For more: GLOBAL MARKETS-Banks give Europe shares a lift, U.S. data eyed | Reuters

French parliament passes Armennian genocide law

French lawmakers easily passed a measure Thursday to make it a crime to deny the mass killings of Armenians in 1915 by Ottoman Turks amounted to genocide. Turkey swiftly retaliated, ordering its ambassador home and halting official contacts, including some military cooperation.

The Armenian Diaspora has turned the genocide issue with the Turks into a world-wide "industry". Does it make any sense in this time and age to proclaim political resolutions? Just imagine if the Algerians or Vietnamese did the same with the French. Or the Angoleans with the Portugese or the American Indians with the Americans, or India with the British, or Indonesia with the Dutch, etc. etc. Just about every country in the world has some "human drama" hidden in their closet. Passing a vote in a parliament means very little. One can never turn the clock back on history. Even enshrining human rights as a basic principle in a countries constitution does not guarantee that this will never happen.

EU-Digest

ESA astronaut André Kuipers on his way to the International Space Station

After their launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 13:16 GMT (14:16 CET) today, ESA astronaut André Kuipers and crewmates Oleg Kononenko and Don Pettit are circling Earth every 90 minutes aboard the Soyuz TMA-3M spacecraft as they make their way to the International Space Station.

During the next two days, the spacecraft will circle the globe 35 times, performing three major engine burns as its orbit is adjusted for docking with the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, 23 December at 15:22 GMT (16:22 CET), according to current planning.

With their arrival, the Space Station will resume full operations – the occupancy has been reduced to three for about three months as a result of the Progress cargo vessel launch mishap in August.

For more: ESA Portal - ESA astronaut André Kuipers on his way to the International Space Station

Libya: Gadhafi’s jailed son Seif al-Islam tells Human Rights Watch he hasn’t seen lawyer, family

Moammar Gadhafi’s captured son and one-time heir apparent, Seif al-Islam, is being treated well but has not had access to a lawyer, an international rights group said Wednesday after visiting the prisoner in a mountain stronghold of Libya’s ex-rebel fighters.

Seif al-Islam, who has been charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, was captured in November by fighters from the town of Zintan in Libya’s western mountains, one of the key centers of the rebellion against Gadhafi. The Zintan fighters continue to hold him, and Libya’s national leadership in Tripoli is insisting on trying him at home, though they have yet to establish a functional court system.

Seif al-Islam “had no complaints about the physical conditions of his detention” but “his main concern was the lack of access to family and to a lawyer,” said Fred Abrahams, a special adviser with the rights group who visited the prisoner on Sunday.

For more: Gadhafi’s jailed son Seif al-Islam tells Human Rights Watch he hasn’t seen lawyer, family - The Washington Post

European soccer: David Beckhams move to Paris has estate agents battling for his favors

Beckham has become a target for Paris Saint Germain with the club's owners, Qatar Sport Investments (QSI), said to have offered the former England midfielder a lucrative deal to help turn their under-achieving side into one of Europe's top clubs.

A fortnight ago reports from the capital said PSG had stepped up their bid by finding a school -- the British School of Paris -- in the outskirts of the capital for the three school-aged of his four children.

Now estate agents in and around the capital are in a race to find a property which suits both Beckham and his wife Victoria, who rose to fame as 'Posh' in the successful girl band the Spice Girls but who is now a respected fashion designer.

For more: AFP: Paris estate agents battle to lure Posh and Becks

Finland 'finds Patriot missiles' on China-bound ship

Police are questioning the crew of the MS Thor Liberty after what were described as 69 Patriot anti-missile missiles were found aboard. Interior Minister Paivi Rasanen said the missiles were marked "fireworks".

The MS Thor Liberty had docked in the Finnish port of Kotka after leaving Germany last week.

Dock workers became suspicious after finding explosives poorly stored on open pallets, and the missiles were then found in containers marked "fireworks".

For more: BBC News - Finland 'finds Patriot missiles' on China-bound ship

Moody's says euro crisis danger to UK top-debt grade

The continuing crisis in the euro zone is also posing a threat to Britain's top debt rating as further shocks to the country's economy could derail the government's efforts to balance the budget, ratings agency Moody's said on Tuesday.

"The currently stable outlook on the UK government's Aaa rating depends in part on the assumption that the government will stay on track with its fiscal consolidation programme," Moody's said in its annual credit report on the country.

Finance minister George Osborne had to propose further austerity measures beyond the previously planned five-year time horizon in his autumn statement as weak growth is hitting his efforts to protect the country's top-credit rating by erasing the country's budget deficit of nearly 10 percent.

For more: Moody's says euro crisis danger to UK top-debt grade - Reuters -

US Politics: Payroll Tax Battle With G.O.P. Gives Lift to Obama - by Jackie Calmes

After a long stretch of high unemployment, legislative turmoil and, in turn, slipping public approval, President Obama seemed to regain his political footing this week with the help of House Republicans, whose handling of a standoff over payroll taxes had even leading conservatives accusing them of bungling the politically charged issue.

But the impasse was not without risks for Mr. Obama. Democrats fretted that Mr. Obama’s vow to stay in Washington through Christmas and New Year’s to get a deal would backfire should he join his family in Hawaii before a resolution. Also, though House Republicans were bearing the brunt of criticism for the latest show of Washington dysfunction, Mr. Obama could be hurt if the tax break and jobless aid are not extended and the fragile economy sours, as nonpartisan economic forecasters have warned it will without the continued stimulus measures.


For more: Payroll Tax Battle With G.O.P. Gives Lift to Obama - NYTimes.com

Germans Ponder If Europe Behaves Like Them Would That Backfire - by Rainer Buergin and Simone Meier

Germany’s drive to mold the rest of Europe into its economic image may come at a cost for the country’s export machine.

As governments from Italy to Spain and Ireland seek to convince Chancellor Angela Merkel and bondholders that they can fix their balance sheets, officials are pushing through policies designed to restore their competitiveness.

The risk to Germany, whose exports account for almost half of gross domestic product, is that transforming the region’s struggling nations into blueprints of itself may work too well. Efforts by euro-region governments to cut labor costs may help exporters across southern Europe challenge the dominance of German competitors, ranging from Siemens AG, Europe’s largest engineering company, to carmaker Bayerische Motoren Werke AG.

For more: Germans Ponder If Europe Behaves Like Them Would That Backfire - Bloomberg

Vaclav Havel: Thousands honour late Czech leader

Thousands of people have accompanied the coffin of late Czech leader Vaclav Havel to Prague Castle where he lies in state.

The procession marked the start of three official days of mourning for Havel, who died on Sunday aged 75.

Many applauded as the hearse carrying the dissident playwright, who led the 1989 overthrow of communism, passed through Prague's historic centre. The procession through the heart of the medieval Old Town following what is known as the Royal Route - used by kings and emperors for centuries.

For more: BBC News - Vaclav Havel: Thousands honour late Czech leader

The Real History of 'Corporate Personhood': Meet the Man to Blame for Corporations Having More Rights Than You - by Jeffrey Clements

In 1971, Lewis Powell, a mild-mannered, courtly, and shrewd corporate lawyer in Richmond, Virginia, soon to be appointed to the United States Supreme Court, wrote a memorandum to his client, the United States Chamber of Commerce. He outlined a critique and a plan that changed America.

The roots of Citizens United lie in Powell’s 1971 strategy to use “activist” Supreme Court judges to create corporate rights. “Under our constitutional system,” Powell told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “especially with an activist-minded Supreme Court, the judiciary may be the most important instrument for social, economic and political change.”

Powell’s call for a corporate rights campaign should not be misunderstood as a “conservative” or “moderate” reaction to the excesses of “liberals” or “big government.” Rather, to understand the perspective of Powell and his allies is to understand the difference between a conservative and a corporatist.

For more: The Real History of 'Corporate Personhood': Meet the Man to Blame for Corporations Having More Rights Than You | | AlterNet

Growth Is Not an Easy Solution for Europe's Woes - by Megan McArdle

I've seen a bunch of commentators today saying that "the fundamental problem Europe needs to solve is growth, not budget deficits." In some sense this is true--enough growth would solve many of the problems in the periphery. (Usual caveat: Greece is a special case.)

But while it's true, I'm not sure it's useful. For one thing, the euro itself is a major contributor to the lack of growth. Italy and Greece, especially, used to rely on serial devaluation to keep their relatively low-productivity tradeable sectors competitive. Do we have a way to dramatically increase productivity in their small, family-owned farms and firms? Keep in mind that a preponderance of such firms is not simply a historical accident; it's generally thought to be a symptom of fairly low trust levels which make it problematic to hire strangers or invest your money in them.

Growth Is Not an Easy Solution for Europe's Woes - Megan McArdle - Business - The Atlantic

Strauss-Kahn: Euro Collapse Not a Solution - by Bob Davis

Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, looking to re-establish his credentials as a global political presence after a sex scandal, sharply criticized Europe's handling of its debt crisis and predicted as many as seven years of subpar European growth unless the Continent's leaders changed policies.

Europe's political shortcomings are "bleeding away, day by day, the remaining confidence investors may have in politicians being able to solve the crisis," Mr. Strauss-Kahn said. A €640 billion rescue fund (about $833 billion) being assembled by the European Union and the IMF is "in limbo" because it requires political approvals that may take months to obtain, he added.

He chose a conference in Beijing organized by a Chinese Internet company, NetEase.com Inc., to make his remarks, the first since he resigned under pressure earlier this year. Neither Mr. Strauss-Kahn nor the conference organizers would say how much he was paid for the address.

In his speech, He said Europe's leaders had focused too heavily on the Continent's debt problems and insufficiently on growth—though the IMF under his leadership had insisted that European nations cut social spending in exchange for IMF loans.

For more: Strauss-Kahn: Euro Collapse Not a Solution - WSJ.com

Britain: not sitting at the table with the EU anymore but on the menu

In Britain—where many politicians and the eurosceptic media are celebrating Mr. Cameron’s "show of strength", and the consensus seems to be that the nation is wisely distancing itself from a collapsing edifice—this new reality has yet to sink in. Few, it appears, are giving much thought to the frustration and rage set off in Europeans—and how this welling anti-British sentiment might manifest itself in the coming weeks and months.

Britain’s financial sector isn’t the only asset Brussels is considering going after. European officials are openly talking about no longer paying Britain its annual rebate check, which last year amounted to 2.7 billion. “The British check … is now up for question,” stated European People’s Party leader Joseph Daul on Tuesday. “Tax monies should be spent on someone else rather than compensating selfish nationalism.”

Asked if he was declaring financial war, Daul haughtily responded: “There will be no tanks, no Kalashnikovs before Christmas.”

 

Europe has other means of making life uncomfortable for Britain too. For example, European corporations, many of which are simply extensions of national governments, own a disconcerting number of Britain’s strategic assets and resources. The baa (formerly British Airports Authority), owner of Heathrow Airport, is owned by the Spanish Ferrovial group. Arriva, which operates a large number of Britain’s bus and train services, is owned by Deutsche Bahn. edf Energy is one of Britain’s largest gas and electricity firms, and is owned by the French government via the state-owned edf sa. Npower, another electricity firm, is owned by the German energy giant rwe. Even the car division of Rolls Royce is owned by Volkswagen and bmw. Just last weekend, the Sunday Times reported that German state-owned company dfs is bidding for the British government’s stake in Britain’s air traffic control company.

As relations deteriorate and competition with Britain intensifies, don’t think Europe won’t bring its dominance of these strategic assets into play. 

One of the most arresting diatribes came from Guy Verhofstadt, Belgium’s former prime minister and an mep. “When you are invited to a table,” he told Britain, “it is either as a guest or you are part of the menu.”