{"id":9435,"date":"2014-12-25T18:35:49","date_gmt":"2014-12-25T23:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/?p=9435"},"modified":"2014-12-25T18:35:49","modified_gmt":"2014-12-25T23:35:49","slug":"aprils-fools-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/?p=9435","title":{"rendered":"APRIL’S FOOLS FOR CHRISTMAS"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This story may not do much for East West relations.<\/h2>\n

Russia Shoots Down Santa\u2019s Sleigh Near North Pole<\/h2>\n
Dec 24, 2014<\/span><\/div>\n
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\"santa_russia_sleigh_downed_missile\"Russia shot down Santa Claus\u2019s sleigh today in international airspace over the Arctic Ocean.<\/p>\n

According to local reports, the sleigh was beginning its annual Christmas Eve journey around the world when it was struck by a surface-to-air missile fired from the Russian island of Novaya Zemlya – just a few hundred miles from the North Pole. Santa and nearly all of his reindeer were killed instantly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Norwegian fisherman soon located the debris field in the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean. Images of the debris aired on CNN and other international news networks show broken limbs, teddy bears, and gift wrapping strewn throughout the sea.<\/p>\n

Although Russia has officially denied involvement in the incident, American intelligence forces say they have proof the missile was fired from a Russian military installation on the island. Several ultra-nationalist politicians in Moscow have praised the downing, which targeted an\u00a0popular Western celebrity.<\/p>\n

\u201cSanta Claus is a symbol of Western decadence and consumerism,\u201d said Alexi Onnatopp, leader of the far-right Golden Bear party,\u201dWhoever killed this fat, corrupt man is a patriot and a hero.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s events bear striking similarities to the downing of Malaysian Flight 17, which was\u00a0shot down\u00a0<\/a>by pro-Russian rebels in Eastern Ukraine this summer using a similar surface-to-air missile. All 285 passengers and 15 crew were killed aboard that flight travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n

Remarkably one reindeer survived today\u2019s blast and is currently being treated for his injuries at a hospital in Norway. Authorities have yet to officially release its name, but sources close to the investigation confirm that it is Rudolph — the crimson-snouted misfit immortalized in an eponymous 1939 song.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were able to rescue him first because of his red nose,\u201d says Lars Sommerhielm, an admiral in the Royal Norwegian Navy, \u201cIt stood out amongst the ocean waves. The others we couldn\u2019t get to in time.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a speech from the oval office President Obama vowed an appropriate response to the tragedy, which may include tightening sanctions on an already\u00a0crumbling\u00a0<\/a>Russian economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday Russia has gone too far,\u201dhe told reporters,\u201cVladimir Putin has threatened the hopes and dreams of children around the world. He will be brought to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

A funeral for Mr. Claus has been set for December 28th at the North Pole. President Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande and other international dignitaries are scheduled to attend.<\/p>\n

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This story may not do much for East West relations. Russia Shoots Down Santa\u2019s Sleigh Near North Pole Dec 24, 2014 Russia shot down Santa Claus\u2019s sleigh today in international airspace over the Arctic Ocean. According to local reports, the sleigh was beginning its annual Christmas Eve journey around the world when it was struck … Continue reading APRIL’S FOOLS FOR CHRISTMAS<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2216],"tags":[2502,1079],"class_list":["post-9435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christmas-2","tag-christmas","tag-santa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9435"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9436,"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9435\/revisions\/9436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}