Link: https://www.rt.com/business/413449-bitcoin-tops-20000-dollars/

The value of bitcoin has shot up to 20,000 US dollars, double the milestone 10k mark it hit in late November.

The cryptocurrency has surged in value once again, having doubled its value over the past three weeks and reached over twenty times its worth a year ago. This is despite a number of crashes along the way, from which it has bounced back dramatically. Bitcoin’s seemingly unstoppable growth has excited investors, all the while some financial experts have continued to warn of a bubble that will inevitably burst.

Link: https://www.rt.com/news/413459-putin-trump-cia-information/

Russian President Vladimir Putin has thanked his US counterpart Donald Trump for help in preventing a terrorist attack in St. Petersburg. Data provided by the CIA enabled Russian security services to find and detain terrorists

The Russian leader expressed his gratitude in a telephone call, adding that the Russian security services would also always share information with their US colleagues, were they to obtain data on any planned attacks on US soil.

Link: https://www.rt.com/news/413443-netanyahu-protest-israel-corruption/

Thousands of Israelis marched in Tel Aviv, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following corruption allegations. Protesters chanted “Bibi is an embarrassment” and held signs reading “Crime Minister.”

Some 10,000 anti-corruption protesters joined the so-called ‘March of Shame’ on Tel Aviv’s Rothschild Boulevard for a third consecutive week, Ynet news reported.

Link: http://govtslaves.info/2017/12/canadian-billionaire-found-hanging-from-railing-in-his-mansion/

Canadian billionaire and philanthropist Barry Sherman and his wife were reportedly found hanging in their mansion Friday, and police said they were investigating their deaths as suspicious.

Sherman, the founder of Apotex, and his wife Honey were found dead at their luxury mansion in an upscale neighborhood north of Toronto just before noon on Friday.

Link: http://govtslaves.info/2017/12/ireland-to-consider-housing-homeless-in-prison/

Dublin City Council is considering using a section of the Mountjoy prison campus to help deal with the capital’s homeless problem.

The Department of Justice has offered the training unit of Dublin’s largest prison to the local authority, which is now considering it to house homeless people..

Link: https://www.rt.com/usa/413411-trillions-dollars-missing-research/

The US government may have misspent $21 trillion, a professor at Michigan State University has found. Papers supporting the study briefly went missing just as an audit was announced.

Two departments of the US federal government may have spent as much as $21 trillion on things they can’t account for between 1998 and 2015. At least that’s what Mark Skidmore, a Professor of Economics at MSU specializing in public finance, and his team have found.

Link: https://www.rt.com/news/413397-eu-targets-bitcoin-anonymity/

The EU is targeting bitcoin anonymity, saying the measure is needed to tackle tax evasion and other crimes. Anonymity of the cryptocurrency holders is a built-in feature that the EU hopes to undermine.

The new rules concerning cryptocurrency passed on Friday by the European Parliament and the European Council are part of a larger package, which also target prepaid cards and trust funds. The agreement is meant to be enshrined in legislation within 18 months by EU members.

Link: http://tass.com/politics/981397

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: The Americans insist that 50,000 Kalashnikov rifles with munitions that were handed over to the Afghan security forces free of charge be removed from operational use and Afghanistan buy US-made rifles and submachine guns instead," question where these 50,000 rifles are to go.

Link: http://govtslaves.info/2017/12/engineers-create-plants-that-glow-illumination-from-nanobionic-plants-might-one-day-replace-some-electrical-lighting/

MIT engineers embedding specialized nanoparticles into the leaves of a watercress plant, they induced the plants to give off dim light for nearly four hours. “The vision is to make a plant that will function as a desk lamp — a lamp that you don’t have to plug in. The light is ultimately powered by the energy metabolism of the plant itself,” says Michael Strano, the Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT and the senior author of the study. This technology could also be used to provide low-intensity indoor lighting, or to transform trees into self-powered streetlights.

Link: http://www.blacklistednews.com/New_City_Ordinance_Outlaws_Giving_Money_to_Panhandlers%2C_Violators_Will_Be_Fined_%26_Jailed/62190/0/38/38/Y/M.html

City of Wichita made panhandling a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of $500 and 30 days in jail. The ordinance also fines motorists with the same fines and possible jail time if they choose to give to the homeless.

Link: http://www.thedailysheeple.com/california-legislators-appear-to-spend-every-waking-hour-finding-new-ways-to-tax-their-citizens_122017

California is number one in state income taxes, and number 10 in sales tax charges, but these do not include the vast number of other fees and charges. Mileage tax may require the state being allowed to track your cell phone without a warrant to be able to monitor and tax your travel. Over the past 20 years California has seen a large migration of both individuals and businesses leaving the state

Link: https://www.rt.com/usa/413327-trump-russia-help-nkorea/

President Donald Trump would like to have Russia’s help to deal with North Korea, he told reporters following his phone call with President Vladimir Putin.

"The primary point was to talk about North Korea, because we would love to have his help on North Korea. China's helping, Russia's not helping; we'd like to have Russia's help," Trump said at a briefing outside the White House.

On Thursday, Trump and Putin discussed the situation on the Korean Peninsula during a phone call initiated by Washington. Describing his conversation with Putin, Trump said it was “great."

Link: http://www.blacklistednews.com/Predominant_doctor_who_exposed_the_non-existence_of_Clinton_Foundation-promised_medical_care_in_Haiti_found_dead_with_knife_in_chest/62120/0/38/38/Y/M.html

A well-known surgeon who exposed major inadequacies in medical trauma care promised to the Haitian people by the Clinton Foundation after the non-profit raised over $30 million dollars in donations following the devastating 2010 earthquake was found dead in his upscale apartment Sunday with a stab wound to the chest.

Link: https://www.rt.com/business/412846-litecoin-growth-bitcoin-record/

While bitcoin’s 1,700 percent rally seems impressive, there is a cryptocurrency whose value grew much faster this year – litecoin. On Tuesday, litecoin set another record high of $341, up an astounding 85 percent in the last 24 hours. On January 1, the virtual currency was worth just above $4.

Link: https://www.rt.com/usa/412903-drug-company-vitamin-price-hike/

Following the lead of pharma-bro Martin Shkreli, a US drug company has hiked the price of a prescription version of vitamin B3 pills by over 800 percent. A drug used to treat respiratory ailments also got a price hike of nearly 2,500 percent.

Avondale Pharmaceuticals raised the price of Niacor, a prescription-only version of niacin (vitamin B3), by 809 percent last month. This means a bottle of 100 tablets went from costing $32.46 to $295.

While the drug is available over the counter, some doctors prefer to prescribe a version that has US Food and Drug Administration approval. The drug is used to lower cholesterol to reduce the chance of having a heart attack. The company also acquired another generic, SSKI, and increased its price by 2,499 percent, taking a 30ml bottle from $11.48 to $295.

Link: https://www.alternet.org/right-wing/la-burns-republicans-vote-tax-hike-victims

According to the Los Angeles Times, contained within theRepublican tax bill is a literal tax hike on people whose property is destroyed or damaged by “natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes." This will also affect "losses from fires, accidents, thefts or vandalism.” It turns out the Republicans decided to help pay for their tax cuts for the super-wealthy by eliminating the “casualty loss” tax deduction for victims of these natural disasters.

Link: http://govtslaves.info/2017/12/bank-of-america-secures-patent-for-cryptocurrency-exchange-system/

Bank of America‘s patent application for its proposed cryptocurrency exchange system has been accepted by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The system will enable automatic conversion of one cryptocurrency into another, and the exchange rates will be calculated based on external data feeds.

Link: https://www.rt.com/business/412684-bitcoin-soars-futures-trading-launch/

The price of bitcoin has soared by nearly a quarter to almost $17,000 in the past 24 hours after the Chicago-based exchange, Cboe, launched the first bitcoin futures contracts on Sunday. It increased 8 percent in less than 10 minutes after trading began.

Significant traffic around the futures launch triggered temporary delays and outages, with bitcoin maintaining a steady rise since the initial jump. The world’s number-one virtual currency was trading at over $16,900 at 8:26 GMT.

Link: https://www.rt.com/news/412690-putin-syria-comes-khmeimim/

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria. He announced the move during his first visit to the country, as he arrived with no advance notice at Khmeimim Airbase in Syria’s Latakia province on Monday morning.

A “significant part” of the Russian military contingent in Syria should return to Russia, Putin announced, addressing Russian military personnel at Khmeimim. The order to withdraw followed the defeat of “the most battle-hardened grouping of international terrorists” by the Russian and Syrian militaries in the space of two years.

Link: http://govtslaves.info/2017/12/46-earthquakes-shaken-california-past-24-hours/

Over the past 24 hours, California has been hit by 46 earthquakes. That is approximately twice the normal daily number.