Nikkei Crashes 1000 Points, Tumbles Into Bear Market
Update: Japan's Nikkei and the broader Topix indices fell over 1,000 points, or 5% in Tuesday morning trading to a 20-month low on the heels of the worst S&P 500 Christmas Eve crash on record. The Nikkei average hit an intra-day low of 19,138.88, or -5.09%, while the broader Topix was also around 5% lower.
More:
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-24/nikkei-tumbles-sliding-bear-market
Broward Coward Sheriff Scott Israel Dodges Responsibility In Christmas Address
Those hoping for Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel to finally acknowledge his egregious lack of action during the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School earlier this year in his annual Christmas message will be sorely disappointed. Instead, Israel gave a mealy-mouthed and extremely general statement about it being a “trying year” for those in Broward.
Wonder if he thinks his year has been tougher than that of the families who will never see their loved ones again due to the crazed mass murderer who snuffed out so many lives? Or tougher than the horrid experience that dozens of students directly in the line-of-fire faced on the fateful day?
His men remained frozen outside of the school as the shooter unloaded his magazines, with students and faculty screaming for help to no avail. Lawsuits and subsequent investigations have revealed the severe incompetence of Israel in his leadership role as top-cop, along with the failure to act by his rank-and-file.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/12/broward-coward-sheriff-scott-israel-dodges-responsibility-in-christmas-address-video/
US Ambassador to Germany Accuses #FakeNews Mag Der Spiegel of Anti-American Bias
Top German reporter at the liberal mag Der Spiegel was fired last week.
Claas Relotius at Germany’s far left Der Spiegel magazine fabricated his stories.
He got caught after he trashed Trump supporters in a recent piece. It was a completely made up story.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/12/us-ambassador-to-germany-accuses-fakenews-mag-der-spiegel-of-anti-american-bias/
Sydney High-Rise Evacuated After Residents Hear "Cracking" Sounds
Some 3,000 residents of Sydney's Opal Tower, an apartment in the city's Olympic Park, are facing the possibility of spending Christmas in an emergency evacuation shelter after the building - and all buildings within a 1 kilometer "exclusion zone" - was evacuated following signs of "cracking" in the 33-storey building that have stoked fears about a possible collapse.
Emergency responders were called to the building Monday morning after residents on the tenth floor reported hearing loud "cracking" noises. An initial investigation determined that the building had moved one or two millimeters, according to the Guardian. Laser monitors are being used to scan for any additional movement in the building.
Though details about the evacuation are still trickling out, the Associated Press reported that police had to use heavy equipment to force open doors to allow residents to escape. Neighboring buildings have also been evacuated.
The tower has almost 400 one, two, three and four bedroom apartments, with two bedrooms selling for nearly $1 million. The tower is situated over the central site of the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Fire officials in the city said it was "too soon" to tell on Monday whether the building was in danger of collapse. Acting Superintendent Greg Wright said his department couldn't offer a time estimate for how long the inspections would take. Water, gas and electricity service to the building has been shut off.
"We don’t know that until the engineers assess the building and have a look at what caused the issue and if there is a major issue with the building…It’s not going to be done in minutes. Hopefully it doesn’t take much longer than hours," he said.
Residents had been taken to the Royal Agricultural Society Hall, but many have now been rehoused. Meanwhile, trains will skip the Olympic Park stop that runs near the building. Buses will serve the area instead, according to Channel 9 News.
The engineering firm that helped build the tower released a statement after the evacuation describing a potential complication that may have contributed to the "cracking" sounds.
Wood & Grieve Engineers, who worked on the building, said online: "The large structural offsets at the base of the towers created a particular challenge. The difficulty was in the coordination of transferring sewer and storm water services through the deep transfer beams and large transfer slabs."
"Due to the height of the building which imposes excessive pressures on the pipework and fittings installed on the lower half of the building, the WGE team came up with a unique dual stage pressure control concept and conducted a series of experimental tests to simulate the real working condition of the system before specifying it for installation in the building."
Roads have been blocked around the building, including both sides of Australia Avenue. But one event that hasn't been canceled is a BBL cricket match between Sydney Thunder and the Sydney Sixers, which will be held at Spotless Stadium. Fans have been asked to travel to the stadium by bus and enter through a side entrance.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-24/sydney-high-rise-evacuated-after-residents-hear-cracking-sounds
Judge Rules Illegal Immigrant Mother Cannot Be Deported While Her Daughter Is Still In Custody
A judge ruled Monday that the U.S. cannot deport a Honduran woman while her daughter remains in border security custody.
U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the U.S. from deporting a mother before she could appeal the ruling, which would leave her daughter, 15, alone and in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s custody, according to the Associated Press.
The two of them are being held together at a family detention center in southern Texas and have been since June.
While the daughter has an asylum suit pending, a judge denied the mother’s request to reopen her immigration case on Friday.
They entered the country 2 years ago after reportedly being held at gunpoint by a gang in Honduras.
“Her psychological well-being is in a critical state,” said the lawyer representing the family, according to the AP, who also said the daughter tried to take her own life while in custody.
Fluharty is also reportedly concerned that the daughter could be sexually assaulted or murdered should they be forced to move back to Honduras.
Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley met with the mother previously.
“This is a form of psychological pressure. We need to have the best interest of the child in mind, and that means not separating her from the mother and not keeping her in prison,” he said on Monday, according to Fox News.
https://dailycaller.com/2018/12/24/honduras-judge-mom-can-not-deported-daughter-custody-ice/
Queen Elizabeth Calls For Unity In Annual Christmas Message
"I believe his message of peace on Earth and goodwill to all is never out of date"
In her annual Christmas message, Queen Elizabeth II will be issuing a call for unity, asserting that the "message of peace on Earth" is "needed as much as ever."
According to Sky News, the Queen's message is being interpreted as a veiled attempt to cool passions in the ensuing chaos triggered by Brexit.
"In the message due to be broadcast at 3 pm on Christmas Day she will talk about the importance of treating others with consideration," reports Sky News.
In the brief transcript of the speech that Sky News obtained, Queen Elizabeth will emphasize treating people with respect despite having differences.
"Even with the most deeply held differences, treating the other person with respect and as a fellow human being is always a good first step towards greater understanding," the Queen will reportedly say.
The speech will also drive home a Christian theme and reference the Christmas story.
"I believe his message of peace on Earth and goodwill to all is never out of date," she will say. "It can be heeded by everyone; it's needed as much as ever."
Though the palace has not provided any indication as to the speech's meaning, several royal commentators say that Brexit is front and center.
"The UK has had two very significant referendums recently, first of all in Scotland and then on the Brexit question," said Sky royal commentator Alastair Bruce. "And always with referendums, they divide. It's very much the role of the monarch to steady the nation, and the Queen has done that here."
"She has taken a biblical reference about peace on Earth and encouraged people to tolerate and listen to the opinions of others and I think [this is] very much like her father did during the Second World War," Bruce added.
Further adding to the Brexit theme, the annual Christmas message was also filmed on December 12, the day after the House of Commons was to vote on Theresa May's Brexit deal.
Queen Elizabeth will also comment on the importance of family. "Through the many changes I have seen over the years, faith, family and friendship have been not only a constant for me but a source of personal comfort and reassurance," the Queen will say.
Despite rumors of rifts between the royals, the entire royal family is slated to be attending traditional Christmas day services.
Royal journalist Victoria Murphy added, "We certainly will see all four of them going to church on Christmas Day and of course it does come amid suggestions that they've not been getting on, amid rumours of rifts over the past few weeks, months. But certainly if there have been any of these behind closed doors we won't see any sign of that on Christmas Day."
Indeed, rifts in the royal family have erupted in recent days, most specifically between Prince Harry and Prince William after the newly-minted Princess Meghan Markle reportedly inspired her husband Harry into pulling out of a 40-year hunting tradition over animal cruelty.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/39659/queen-elizabeth-calls-unity-annual-christmas-paul-bois
Despite Stock Woes, Big Tech Toes the Line of Political Correctness=
Giant tech corporations like Google, Facebook, and Twitter have faced government scrutiny and losses in the stock market in 2018. Yet more uncertainty awaits as they finish the year committed to policing their users’ behavior ever more strongly—up to a standard that may prove to be untenable.
After having their executives grilled in three congressional hearings over bias, privacy, and ”Russian bots,” the companies finished the year with their stocks in a slump. Twitter and Google were down about 20 percent compared to their 2018 peaks, a decline mirroring the broader market. Facebook, on the other hand, crashed by some 40 percent, wiping out the gains of nearly two years.
The legacy media and Democratic lawmakers have largely focused on the companies’ struggles to purge from their platforms foreign actors (mainly Russian) that are meddling in U.S. elections, and to stop user data from getting hacked or improperly shared.
But conservatives, including President Donald Trump, have repeatedly accused the companies of political bias as a lineup of influential right-leaning users have been booted from the platforms.
Under pressure from both sides, the companies have plowed ahead on the course of heightened restrictions of content they deem harmful, aligning with the ideology of political correctness in general, with a focus on hate speech.
While the crackdown on hate speech is led under the banner of protecting people from being disparaged based on their identity, several experts have warned that the definition of hate speech is too vague and broad to be enforced consistently and evenly.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/despite-stock-woes-big-tech-toes-the-line-of-political-correctness_2747211.html
Syrian Army Strikes Militant Positions In Southeastern Idlib
On December 24, the Syrian Army and the National Defense Forces shelled several militant positions in the villages of Skaik, al-Taman’a and al-Khawin in southeastern Idlib, according to the Syrian state-run media.
Reports claim that the shelling came in response to previous violations of the ceasefire regime by local militant groups and caused multiple casualties among militants.
In northern Hama, militants reportedly carried out an attack on army positions from the direction of the villages of Lahayia, Bazam and al-Dahra. This attack was repelled.
According to pro-militant sources, the clashes resulted in deaths of at least several army servicemembers
https://southfront.org/syrian-army-strikes-militant-positions-in-southeastern-idlib/
All i want for Christmas is Justice!
ENJOY CHRISTMAS ANON'S
As I believe it's game on afterwards!
WWG1WGA
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