Politics

The US Navy fired three shots at four Iranian vessels on Sunday night after they closed in at high speed in the Strait of Hormuz.  According to US defense officials, the ‘USS Mahan’ attempted to establish contact with the approaching vessels belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and asked them to reduce their speed, but as they did not respond they fired three ‘warning’ shots towards them. Rt.com reports: According to Reuters, Iranian ships came as close as 800 meters (2,624ft) to the ‘USS Mahan’, which had been guarding other US vessels.

Pakistan conducted its first nuclear-capable missile test on Monday, launching a Babur-3 cruise missile from a submarine in the Indian Ocean. The Pakistan Armed Forces say the Babur-3 misssile is able to deliver a wide range of payloads and would allow Islamabad to counter a potential nuclear attack against Pakistan. “Pakistan conducted its first successful test fire of Submarine Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM) Babur-3 having a range of 450 kilometers [some 280 miles], from an undisclosed location in the Indian Ocean.

The US Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter has claimed that the US and its coalition partners are alone in the fight against ISIS and that Russia has achieved “virtually zero” in Syria. In an interview with NBC, Carter said: “They haven’t done anything…..They came in, they said they were going to fight ISIL, and they said they were going to help in the civil war in Syria.” “They haven’t done either of those things. As a consequence of course, we’re fighting ISIL ourselves” he added.

Is Goldman Sachs Taking Control of the Trump Presidency?

Pam and Russ Martens have compiled an amazing roster of present and former Goldman Sachs executives ensconced in the Trump transition team and announced as Trump appointees. http://wallstreetonparade.com/2017/01/heres-how-goldman-sachs-became-the-overlord-of-the-trump-administration/

This is discouraging.

On the other hand, the Senate is unlikely to refuse confirmation to Goldman Sachs personnel.

In what amounts to an 11th hour "gift" by the outgoing Obama administration to Tehran's leadership to keep the country, which on Sunday was involved in yet another shooting incident with a US destroyer, content and compliant with Obama's landmark "Nuclear deal", the AP reported that Iran is to receive a huge shipment of natural uranium from Russia to compensate it for exporting tons of reactor coolant. The move was approved by the outgoing U.S. administration and other governments "seeking to keep Tehran committed to a landmark nuclear pact."