PigIronMalt

AP - Salvation Army Major Richard Hathorn knew when and where it would happen, but he still doesn’t know who slipped the $1,000 bill into one of the charity’s Christmas kettles.

Reuters - Seeking a novel remedy to revive its
rickety economy, the tiny ex-Soviet state of Kyrgyzstan has
declared itself the new home of Santa Claus.

Reuters - President Vladimir Putin said on Monday
he was keen to use Russia’s planned global positioning system
GLONASS to look after his black Labrador Koni.

Reuters - Germans are losing their taste for beer,
according to the German brewery association.

Reuters - After nearly 400 years, a few killings
and scorned pleas from a king, two powerful clans have settled
one of the longest-standing feuds in Korean history, over
ancestral burial grounds.

AP - A baby Jesus statue here is getting a Global Positioning System for Christmas. The statue, part of a nativity scene, will be equipped with the device after the previous statue went missing, even though it had been bolted down.

AP - Less than two weeks after a man put 30 $100 bills into a Salvation Army kettle, someone decided to do one better.

AP - Art Conrad has an issue with the commercialism of Christmas, and his protest has gone way beyond just shunning the malls or turning off his television. The Bremerton resident nailed Santa Claus to a 15-foot crucifix in front of his house.

Reuters - Asian Cup holders Iraq were confused
and annoyed when they were made to listen to the wrong national
anthem before their opening match of the King’s Cup tournament
in Thailand on Saturday.

Reuters - Spain’s “El Gordo,” the world’s biggest
lottery, gave out 2.2 billion euros (1.6 billion pounds) in
Christmas prizes on Saturday.