OrnluWolfjarl

Archive Link: https://archive.ph/1zsEr

The main points:

• Apparently, the direct cause was Japan raising its interest rates. Apparently investors globally used to borrow yen (which had low interest rates) and then invest elsewhere, turning a quick profit on the difference between the yen's interest rate and the return of the investment. When the yen's interest rate went up, a bunch of investors started selling off their yen assets, which carried over to the US market.

• The issue was exacerbated by recent reports of US economic shrinkage.

• Most stocks and all major indexes have dropped significantly

• Tech companies particularly affected. Especially Nvidia, Apple and Tesla. Also, US-based and Taiwan-based chip manufacturers.

• Cryptos are crashing, as investors are liquidating assets

• Japanese and Korean stock markets were also severely affected directly, with similar downwards spirals.

• European markets started getting affected as well.

I have no idea about the yen actually being the culprit to this. I'd say it's probably a contributing factor or a catalyst. But we've been seeing the US tech companies faltering for some time now, after the US initiated a trade war with China. Chinese tech companies have been making huge strides in the past year alone, while Western tech companies remained stagnant or regressed.

My interpretation, at least as far as the fire-sale involving US tech companies, is that they've been losing ground to China for some time, and they've been underperforming in the stock market for a while (recall that Nvidia's stock has been dropping for the past 2 weeks or so). Whatever arbitrary event caused Wall Street investors to start dumping their stocks, the recent poor performance of American tech companies made them a prime target for unloading stocks first. In essence, the US tried to start a tech and trade war with China and ended up shooting its own foot. Meanwhile, China yet again proven to be taking the right actions.

Worth noting, that there's talks that the US Federal Reserve could have taken actions to prevent this crash being so severe, but they didn't. The Fed says there's still time to act and there's nothing to worry about, without elaborating further.

This is entirely my own speculation, but it's quite possible that a crash was expected and was allowed to unfold to blow up in Trump's face when elected. It just happened a few months earlier than expected.

Edit: I'm not an economist, and I'm not involved in finances, so if anyone would like to correct me on anything, feel free. Also, apologies for using CNBC, but it was the only place I found that listed the events neatly, without dressing them up (and with minimal intrusion of Cookies notifications)

In a significant move to reshape its immigration policies, Germany is set to implement a new citizenship law on Thursday that explicitly requires applicants to acknowledge Israel's right to exist. This reform, spearheaded by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's socially liberal government, aims to streamline the naturalization process while simultaneously addressing growing concerns about antisemitism and far-right sentiment in the country.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser emphasized the dual nature of the new law, stating, "Anyone who shares our values and makes an effort can now get a German passport more quickly and no longer has to give up part of their identity by giving up their old nationality." However, she also underscored the stringent requirements, adding, "But we have also made it just as clear: anyone who does not share our values ​cannot get a German passport. We have drawn a crystal-clear red line here and made the law much stricter than before."

The reform, which allows dual citizenship for first-generation migrants and reduces the waiting time for naturalization to five years, comes amid a complex political landscape. Germany has witnessed a surge in antisemitic incidents, with Felix Klein, the government commissioner for fighting antisemitism, reporting an alarming 83% increase in hate crimes against Jewish people in 2023, totaling 4,782 incidents.

To address these concerns, the interior ministry has introduced new elements to the citizenship test. "New test questions have been added on the topics of antisemitism, the right of the state of Israel to exist, and Jewish life in Germany," a ministry spokesperson confirmed. The test will also assess applicants' commitment to gender equality, democracy, and Germany's historical responsibility towards Judaism in light of its Nazi past.

However, the government's approach has not been without controversy. Its handling of criticism towards Israel's actions in Gaza has sparked a heated debate on free speech, particularly among artists and academics. The resignation of Sabine Döring, junior minister for higher education, following her ministry's exploration of defunding researchers who criticized police actions against anti-Israeli protests, highlights the delicate balance the government is trying to strike.

The new citizenship law has also become a contentious issue for young Muslims in Germany, with officials expressing concern about potential radicalization due to perceived limitations on freedom of expression.

As Germany implements these changes, it faces the challenge of maintaining its commitment to inclusivity while addressing complex geopolitical and social issues. The success of this reform will likely depend on its ability to navigate these tensions and foster a sense of shared values among its increasingly diverse population.

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I use Firefox on PC. I tried turning off add-ons. I've tried through Opera too.

I'm trying to upload memes on DankLeft. I am uploading from my computer.

The Times has come under fire from family members of Gal Abdush, the so-called “girl in the black dress” who features as Exhibit A in Gettleman and company’s attempt to demonstrate a pattern of rape by Hamas on October 7. Not only have Abdush’s sister and brother-in-law each denied that she was raped, the former has accused the Times of manipulating her family into participating by misleading them about their editorial angle.

“The police are having difficulty locating victims of sexual assault from the Hamas attack, or people who witnessed such attacks, and decided to appeal to the public to encourage those who have information on the matter to come forward and give testimony. Even in the few cases in which the organization collected testimony about sexual offenses committed on October 7, it failed to connect the acts with the victims who were harmed by them.” Why are the Israeli police struggling to find witnesses of sexual assault which your paper confidently described on October 7 as so widespread that it demonstrated “a pattern?”

You describe a 24-year-old accountant identified as “Sapir” as “one of the Israeli police’s key witnesses.” Yet one of Sapir’s key claims undermines the rest of her testimony. According to the Times, “she saw three other women raped and terrorists carrying the severed heads of three more women.” Given that no record exists of women being beheaded on October 7, why did you include this claim from Sapir? Does such an assertion not undermine her credibility and raise doubts about the rest of her testimony? And why, at minimum, did you not mention that there is no forensic evidence to support Sapir’s claim? According to Haaretz, “investigators were unable to identify the women who, according to the testimony of [Sapir] and other eyewitnesses, were raped and murdered.” Israeli Police Superintendent Adi Edry told the paper, “I have circumstantial evidence, but ultimately my duty is to find evidence that supports her testimony and to find the victims’ identity. At this stage I don’t have those specific corpses.”

Select excerpts and emphasis mine.