RECORD SMASHED: Dow Gains 10,000th Point Since Trump’s Election

The stock market is a barometer for the economy, and the economy is good.

In fact, it’s better than good. It’s fantastic.

The United States has not seen explosive growth like this, well… ever.

FOX Business reports:

Dow gains 10,000th point since Trump’s election

The stock market has been unstoppable under the influence of President Trump.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed 28,332.74 on Monday, meaning it has rallied 10,000 points, or more than 54 percent, since Trump’s election victory on November 8, 2016. The benchmark S&P 500 has gained more than 46 percent.

“The rally has been driven by pro-growth measures, de-escalation of trade tensions, huge liquidity injections by central banks and a FOMO approach by investors worried about missing out on a remarkable U.S. market outperformance that has set one record high after the other.” Mohamed El-Arian, chief economic adviser at Allianz, told FOX Business.

https://americanlookout.com/record-smashed-dow-gains-10000th-point-since-trumps-election/

Apple, Tesla & other US tech giants sued over child labor deaths at cobalt mines in Congo

A civil lawsuit has been filed in a federal court in Washington DC against Apple, Google’s parent company Alphabet, Tesla, Microsoft, and Dell. They are accused of exploiting child labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of five children who were killed and 11 who were injured working in the mines of the DRC. They were aged between 13 and 17 when the incidents occurred.

The companies were part of a system of forced labor that allegedly led to the death and serious injury of the children, according to the complaint. Images in the filed court documents showed children with disfigured or missing limbs.

Six of the 14 children in the case were killed in tunnel collapses, and the others suffered life-altering injuries, including paralysis.

Child miners work for $2-3 a day “under Stone Age conditions for paltry wages and at immense personal risk,” the lawsuit said. It also alleged that the US tech giants know and “have known for a significant” amount of time that child workers are used in the “dangerous” mines where the cobalt, which ends up in their products, originates.

“These companies – the richest companies in the world, these fancy gadget-making companies – have allowed children to be maimed and killed to get their cheap cobalt,” Terrence Collingsworth, an attorney representing the families, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

https://www.rt.com/business/476110-apple-tesla-congo-child-labor/

Pakistan court sentences former military leader Musharraf to death for treason

A Pakistani court sentenced on Tuesday former military ruler Pervez Musharraf to death on charges of high treason and subverting the constitution, government officials said.

Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup and later ruled as president, is not in Pakistan and was not available for comment on the sentence, handed down by an anti-terrorism court hearing the high treason case.

“Pervez Musharraf has been found guilty of Article 6 for violation of the constitution of Pakistan,” government law officer Salman Nadeem said.

The court’s full ruling was not available but it said in a summary it had analysed complaints, records, arguments and facts in the case and had reached a majority verdict, with two of the three judges giving the decision against Musharraf.

The charges stem from Musharraf’s imposition of a state of emergency in 2007, when he was facing growing opposition to his rule.

Under the emergency, all civil liberties, human rights and democratic processes were suspended, from November 2007 to February 2008.

https://www.france24.com/en/20191217-pakistan-court-sentences-former-military-leader-musharraf-to-death-for-treason

Boeing 737 MAX crisis: production stops for first time in 20 years

Decision follows news that US authorities will not approve plane’s return to service before 2020

Manufacturer says it will not lay off any employees during production freeze

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3042367/boeing-halt-737-production-january-following-two

İzmir district mayor arrested over suspected FETÖ links

A mayor from Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) was arrested over his suspected links to the FETÖ, the group behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt, a prosecutor's office said on Dec. 17.

İbrahim Burak Oğuz, the mayor of Urla district in the Aegean province of İzmir, is the first head of a CHP-run municipality to be arrested since the March 31 local elections.

After giving testimony in İzmir chief public prosecutor's office, Oğuz was arrested by a criminal court of peace on the charges of membership to FETÖ terror group.

Deniz Yücel, head of the CHP's İzmir provincial group, rejected the accusation that the mayor belonged to any FETÖ network.

"There is no chance for FETÖ to survive within the CHP," he said on Twitter. The party condemns the judiciary removing from office those who were elected, he said.

The Urla municipality did not immediately comment.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/izmir-district-mayor-arrested-over-suspected-feto-links-149965

China launches 2nd aircraft carrier, to be deployed in South China Sea

BEIJING: China on Tuesday launched its second aircraft carrier from a key base in the South China Sea, boosting its military ambition in the region where Beijing's claims of sovereignty is challenged by the US and other nations.

The ship named after Shandong Province in east China was launched from Sanya, located in the South China Sea coast by President Xi Jinping, who is also the general secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and head of the country's military.

The aircraft carrier is China first domestically-built ship.

China currently has one aircraft carrier Liaoning, a re-fit of the Soviet era ship which was commissioned in 2012. It is largely used for training, specially to test the fighter jet J-15, which has been specifically developed to operate from the decks of the aircraft carriers.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/china-launches-2nd-aircraft-carrier-to-be-deployed-in-south-china-sea/articleshow/72851484.cms

US sanctions won't last: Iran's Rouhani

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Dec. 17, American sanctions against the Islamic Republic will not last for long.

Speaking at a press conference before flying to Malaysia, Rouhani said world countries are seeking to establish friendly relations with Iran.

"The American pressure against Iran will not last long and all countries of the world want friendly and close relations with Iran especially with countries we have had relations with in the past," he said.

In Malaysia, Rouhani will attend a summit to be attended by leaders of Islamic countries.

The Iranian leader said building close relations with eastern Asian countries, especially Malaysia and Japan, is a main goal in Iran's policy.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-sanctions-wont-last-irans-rouhani-149953

TIME Chooses Angry Teen Climate Actress For “Person Of The Year” Overlooks College Student Who Discovered Way For Bacteria to Eat Plastic

Last week, the far-left TIME publication named teen climate actor, Greta Thunberg, their “Person of the Year.” Their decision left many people scratching their heads, wondering what the teenager from Sweden has actually done to deserve so much recognition from the media while overlooking young women like Morgan Vague, who actually made a scientific discovery last year that could be one of the most significant contributions to our planet in recent history.

In July 2018, The Independent reported about Morgan Vague, a biology student at Reed College in Oregon, who may have found a solution to one of the most urgent environmental crises in the world. She discovered a breeding bacteria that can “eat” plastic and break it down into by-products that are harmless.

https://100percentfedup.com/time-chooses-angry-teen-climate-actress-for-person-of-the-year-overlooks-college-student-who-discovered-way-for-bacteria-to-eat-plastic/

11 More Examples of How Firearms Save Gun Owners’ Lives, Property

At a time when some gun control advocates appear intent on painting lawful gun ownership as a danger to society, and the Second Amendment as little more than an outdated protection of a person’s right to hunt, it’s important to remember the regular role armed citizens play in defending inalienable rights.

As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention affirmed in a 2013 report, almost all major studies on defensive gun uses have concluded that Americans use firearms in self-defense between 500,000 and 3 million times every year.

The vast majority of them will receive little or no media attention.

Every month this year, we have highlighted just some of the many times law-abiding citizens used their firearms to defend themselves or others. (You can read past articles here: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, and October). Unsurprisingly, November was also replete with similar stories of Americans using guns to save lives and livelihoods.

https://ninetymilesfromtyranny.blogspot.com/

>>7534294

Rare-earth rancor: Feds must stop Chinese purchase of US mine

By Jeff Ferry, opinion contributor - 06/26/17 06:20 PM EDT

Rare-earth rancor: Feds must stop Chinese purchase of US mine

© Getty Images

A U.S. bankruptcy court has decided to sell a California mine, the sole U.S. source of rare earth minerals, to a consortium including Chinese mining company Shenghe Rare Earth Shareholding Co. If the transaction goes ahead, it would turn over the unique domestic producer of these vital minerals, used in many high-tech electronics products, to a Chinese-affiliated company.

China already accounts for some 90 percent of world production of rare earth minerals and has demonstrated its ability to prioritize its own Chinese customers with export restraints on rare earths imposed in 2009, causing anger and consternation worldwide.

The $20-million sale of the Mountain Pass, California mine follows the 2015 bankruptcy of Molycorp, a public company that invested over $1 billion trying to build a U.S.-based producer of rare earths. There were two bidders interested in Molycorp’s assets: ERP Strategic Minerals, a U.S.-led consortium led by Tom Clarke, a Virginia-based entrepreneur and coal industry veteran and last week’s winning consortium, which includes JHL Capital Group and QVT Financial as well as Shenghe.

https://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/economy-budget/339528-Rare-earth-rancor%3A-Feds-must-stop-Chinese-purchase-of-US-mine

The Netherlands’ most wanted criminal arrested in Dubai

Ridouan Taghi (41), the Netherlands’ most wanted criminal, has been arrested in Dubai by local police, on Monday.

He is suspected, among other things, of ordering several murders in the criminal environment, and has been on the run from the Dutch police for years.

Taghi was one of the leading members of a criminal network that revolved mainly around cocaine trade. He is suspected of being involved in and ordering several murders, according to the Dutch police on Twitter.

He was arrested in Dubai on Monday. The public prosecutor’s office had promised a €100,000 reward for tips that would lead to his whereabouts, and is now requesting his extradition to the Netherlands, reports VRT.

The Dutch Minister for Justice congratulated the police and the public prosecutor’s office on Twitter.

https://www.brusselstimes.com/all-news/world-all-news/84209/the-netherlands-most-wanted-criminal-arrested-in-dubai-ridouan-taghi-nederland-cocaine-trade-murder/

PG&E Plays Its $13.5 Billion Hole Card

After taking a beating in a Friday letter from California Governor Gavin Newsom, bankrupt utility PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) on Monday fired back. The company announced Tuesday morning that it had amended its restructuring support agreement with “certain” representatives of wildfire victims “to reaffirm the parties continued support of the $13.5 billion settlement” proposed early last week by the company.

Newsom’s authority to exercise his “sole discretion” concerning whether the agreement met the requirements of state legislation (Assembly Bill 1054) has been erased from the restructuring agreement. The latest amendment “eliminates” Governor Newsom’s veto power over the agreement PG&E reached with shareholders and victims.

Under the legislation, Newsom never had the legal authority to approve or disapprove of any agreement between the company and its victims. His authority to terminate the $13.5 billion agreement was part of the agreement itself.

Now that Newsom has detailed his objections to the restructuring agreement, the company has filed an amended agreement deleting the paragraph that gives Newsom the right, “in his sole discretion,” to terminate the agreement automatically.

https://247wallst.com/infrastructure/2019/12/17/pge-plays-its-13-5-billion-hole-card/

Is SEC Enforcer Steven Peikin A Goldman Sachs Crony Protecting Corruption?

https://www.activistpost.com/2019/12/is-sec-enforcer-steven-peikin-a-goldman-sachs-crony-protecting-corruption.html

Customs officers seize US$9.8 million of crystal meth from Mexico in drugs bust at Hong Kong International Airport

Customs and Excise Department launched raid on December 5 and found 110kg (243lb) of drug in cargo terminal

Officials are investigating if drug was destined for Japan or Australia

Customs officers in Hong Kong have recovered HK$77 million (US$9.8 million) worth of crystal meth in a cargo shipment airmailed from Mexico via Alaska, their largest such seizure since 2010.

The 110kg (243lb) haul of the drug, also known as Ice or methamphetamine, could have been worth six times more in other countries, such as Japan and Australia, sources told the Post.

According to the Customs and Excise Department, the drugs were found hidden inside three cartons at Hong Kong International Airport’s cargo terminal on December 5, after officials exchanged information with their counterparts in Alaska.

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3042353/customs-officers-seize-us98-million-crystal-meth