U.N. OFFICIALS SAY U.S. PLANNING ‘TACTICAL ASSAULT’ ON IRAN AS TRUMP SENDS MORE TROOPS TO MIDDLE EAST(Source blacklistednews.com) The United States is sending 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East, amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran. The decision follows last week’s attack on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman that the U.S. blamed on Tehran, with the Pentagon releasing new images on Monday that officials said show Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members removing an unexploded mine from one of the ship’s hulls. “In response to a request from the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) for additional forces, and with the advice of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and in consultation with the White House, I have authorized approximately 1,000 additional troops for defensive purposes to address air, naval, and ground-based threats in the Middle East,” acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said in a statement. The additional personnel are mostly part of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and force protection units, a U.S. official told ABC News.

Diplomatic sources at the UN headquarters in New York revealed that they are assessing the United States’ plans to carry out a tactical assault on Iran in response to the tanker attack in the Persian Gulf.
According to the officials the White House has been holding incessant discussions involving senior military commanders, Pentagon representatives and advisers to President Donald Trump.
The military action under consideration would be an aerial bombardment of an Iranian facility linked to its nuclear program, the officials further claimed. 
“The bombing will be massive but will be limited to a specific target,” said a Western diplomat.

Iran Releases Video Of Drone-Downing, Trump Warns “You’ll Soon Find Out” If US Will Attack(Source Zero Hedge) Tensions between the US and Iran flared on Thursday when the Iranian Revolutionary Guard shot down an American drone that was said to have flown into Iranian airspace (the US claims the drone flew over international territory). The drone was reportedly flying over the Strait of Hormuz – that critical chokepoint for the global oil trade – not far from where two oil tankers were recently attacked. “We will defend Iran’s airspace and maritime boundaries with all our might,” Ali Shamkhani, secretary-general for the Supreme National Security Council was quoted as saying by state-run Islamic Students’ News Agency. “It doesn’t matter which country’s aircraft cross our airspace.

IRGC Commander Hossein Salami said shooting down the drone had sent a clear and strong message for the US: Iran’s borders are ‘red lines’ and though Iran doesn’t seek war, Iran is ready for war. The US, meanwhile, denies that the drone crossed into Iran’s airspace, and says it was in international airspace the whole time.

Hypersonic Weapons Are Almost Here (And They Will Change War Forever)(Source The National Interest)

A new technological competition has begun, one in which America’s rivals, particularly Russia and China, may be ahead. This is the race to build and put in the field super-fast or hypersonic weapons and vehicles. The military defines a hypersonic weapon as one that travels at least Mach 5 or five times the speed of sound. In comparison, commercial aircraft fly at around Mach 1 while some military jets can push themselves to around Mach 3, but only for a short time. There are two basic types of hypersonic weapons: super-fast cruise missiles, and boost-glide vehicles that are mounted on ballistic missiles. Hypersonic cruise missiles, which would most commonly be launched from aircraft, maintain powered flight from launch to impact. Boost-glide vehicles are lofted by a ballistic missile launched from an aircraft, ship, submarine or ground unit to the edge of space from which point they use their speed and aerodynamic design to skip along the top of the atmosphere for up to 10,000 miles.

For Countless Americans, Living In Their Vehicles Has Become “The New Normal”(Source endoftheamericandream.com) Once again tonight, countless numbers of Americans will sleep in their vehicles, and this is a problem that is getting worse with each passing year.  According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the homeless population in the United States hit 552,830 in 2018, but many believe that the true number is actually a lot higher.  Because in order to accurately count the homeless you have got to find them first, and many homeless do not want to be found.  But even if the HUD figure is accurate, it is still a great national tragedy to have such a high number of homeless, and a large percentage of those homeless Americans are living in their vehicles. Homeless Americans that are living in their vehicles often do not count as being officially “unemployed” and they often have a very difficult time receiving government benefits because they lack a permanent mailing address. In addition to the growing number of Americans that are living in their vehicles because they are out of options, the RV Industry Association says that there are also now a million Americans living in their RVs full-time. Of course a lot of Americans are living in their RVs by choice, but others are doing it because a traditional home is not an affordable alternative at this point. In recent years, housing costs have risen far more rapidly than wages have, and this has forced an increasing number of Americans on to the streets.  According to a report that came out earlier this year, the average American wage earner cannot afford to buy a home “in more than 70 percent of the country”.

China Is Buying More and More Gold as the Trade War Drags On(Source Bloomberg)

China extended its gold-buying spree, adding to reserves for a sixth straight month, as the protracted trade war with the U.S. hurts growth expectations and boosts demand for a portfolio diversifier.

The People’s Bank of China increased its bullion reserves to 61.61 million ounces in May from 61.10 million a month earlier, according to data released on Monday. In tonnage terms that’s a rise of 15.86 tons, after almost 58 tons of gold were added to the nation’s stockpile in the five months to April.

The rise reflects the government’s “determined diversification” away from dollar assets, Argonaut Securities (Asia) Ltd. analyst Helen Lau said, adding that retail demand has also picked up. At this rate of accumulation, China could buy 150 tons in 2019, according to Lau.

Trump Threatens Merkel With Pipeline Sanctions, U.S. Troop Cut (Source Bloomberg)

Donald Trump upped his criticism of Germany on Wednesday as he threatened sanctions over Angela Merkel’s continued support for a gas pipeline from Russia and warned that he could shift troops away from the NATO ally over its defense spending.

Echoing previous threats about German support for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Trump said he’s looking at sanctions to block the project he’s warned would leave Berlin “captive” to Moscow. The U.S. also hopes to export its own liquefied natural gas to Germany. “We’re protecting Germany from Russia, and Russia is getting billions and billions of dollars in money from Germany” for its gas, Trump told reporters at the White House during a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda.

The comments were the latest sign of how U.S.-German ties have eroded in recent years. The U.S. president has repeatedly rebuked Merkel’s government over the pipeline project, trade policies and defense spending. Germany, in turn, has criticized Trump’s moves to abandon international agreements, including on climate change and Iran.

Though he didn’t say which companies or governments could potentially face sanctions, Trump’s comments about the pipeline generated a swift response from Moscow, which said the American president was engaging in “nothing other than blackmail and a form of unfair competition,” according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Suspected tanker attacks risk sparking conflict: analysts(Source AFP)Suspected attacks on tankers at the mouth of the oil-rich Gulf threaten to block vital crude supplies to the world and trigger an all-out conflict involving Iran, analysts said. The latest incident left two tankers in flames on Thursday in waters near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a narrow channel that is a chokepoint for more than a third of the globe’s seaborne oil exports.

It comes just a month after another mysterious incident in which four tankers — two Saudi, one Norwegian and one Emirati — were damaged nearby off the Emirati port of Fujairah.

“We are in a dangerous moment in the region with this emerging pattern of attacks,” said Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst with International Crisis Group. “Any miscalculation or misunderstanding risks a spiral toward more direct confrontation,” she told AFP. “In the meantime, the region’s conflicts are increasingly polluted by the regional quagmire of tension between Iran on the one hand and the United States and its regional allies on another.”

Thursday’s attacks were the latest sign that geopolitical tensions were mounting, and there was a “significant and increasing risk that events morph into outright conflict,” London-based Capital Economics said in a commentary.

The Holy Roman Empire Revives in Austria(Source thetrumpet.com)  On January 11, Austria began celebrating the “Maximilian Year,” honoring the 500th anniversary of the death of Holy Roman Emperor Maximillian I. The Catholic Church and Austrian authorities are organizing over 100 celebratory masses and other events. The yearlong, large-scale, nationwide celebration marks a striking change in how modern Austria deals with its history. During the rule of the Holy Roman Empire, such venerations were common—though they always ended bloodily.

Emperor Maximilian’s ambition was to revive the empire of Charlemagne, who united all of Western Europe under the Catholic faith in A.D. 800. Daniel 2 prophesied that there would be four world-ruling empires. History clearly identifies these empires as the Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman empires. Daniel 7:23-24 show that the “fourth kingdom,” or the Roman kingdom, would have 10 successive kings or resurrections. The last seven are led by the Roman Catholic Church, forming the Holy Roman Empire. Revelation 17 describes the final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire. Correspondingly, it will also be led by the most qualified leader. Daniel 8:23 reads: “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.” This man who is about to emerge on the scene will be a man like Charlemagne. In many ways, he will be a man like Hitler. He will be a “king” sitting on the throne of the Holy Roman Empire! And the Bible makes clear, he will be led by Satan the devil! … I believe it will be a man like Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, who actually holds the title “Baron of the Holy Roman Empire.” Daniel 11 describes the European strongman as being eloquent and coming to power by flatteries. Merkel’s coalition in Germany is very weak; it is on the verge of failing. I believe when Merkel leaves office, you will see the strongman of the Holy Roman Empire get control.

The leader of this rising empire has to be Roman Catholic, grounded in the history of the Holy Roman Empire, and a dynamic leader that all of Europe can identify with. Guttenberg fulfills these qualifications and venerates the Holy Roman Empire as emperors before him did. Austria is already reviving the heritage of the Holy Roman Empire. But it won’t be until Germany fully embraces that history and has its Charlemagne-like leader that we will see the violent side of this empire in Europe. This will happen sooner than you might think.

Why China’s Payment Apps Give U.S. Bankers Nightmares (Source Bloomberg)

Wandering the streets of Shanghai to admire the architecture, the head of one of the largest U.S. consumer banks recently found himself surrounded by a gaggle of teenagers. Entranced by their phones, they hardly made way for the banker. The teens were messaging, shopping and sending money back and forth, all without cash. Instead, they were using Alipay and WeChat. The scary thing for the American: Banks never got a cut. The future of consumer payments may not be designed in New York or London but in China. There, money flows mainly through a pair of digital ecosystems that blend social media, commerce and banking—all run by two of the world’s most valuable companies. That contrasts with the U.S., where numerous firms feast on fees from handling and processing payments. Western bankers and credit-card executives who travel to China keep returning with the same anxiety: Payments can happen cheaply and easily without them. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. created Alipay in 2004 to let millions of potential customers who lacked credit and debit cards shop on its vast online marketplace. Tencent Holdings Ltd., similarly, debuted its payments function in 2005 in a bid to keep users inside its messaging system longer. Alipay and WeChat have since swelled in popularity, boasting 520 million and 1 billion monthly active users, respectively. Consumers sent more than $2.9 trillion inside the two systems in 2016, equivalent to about half of all consumer goods sold in China, according to the payments consultancy Aite Group. In contrast, U.S. consumers still rely on banks for most non-cash payments—whether it’s by check, debit, credit or a growing number of other payment systems tied to their bank accounts. Connected to that is a universe of wallets and payments systems operated by the likes of PayPal Holdings Inc., Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google. From the perspective of merchants, too much of the U.S. system siphons off enormous amounts of money.

Jerusalem Gay Pride draws thousands under high security(Source AFP)

Thousands took part in Jerusalem’s Gay Pride parade Thursday, waving rainbow flags and calling for tolerance in the Holy City under tight security following a 2015 knife attack by a Jewish extremist that killed a teenager. As crowds gathered for the march, police said they had arrested a man in the area who was acting suspiciously and a search turned up a knife. A total of 52 people were detained on suspicion of wanting to disrupt the event, police said without providing details. Police deployed some 2,500 undercover and uniformed officers for the parade that started at a park in the Holy City and continued through nearby streets. Crowds were festive, with live music and dancing before the march set off. “Despite the difficulties, it’s important to participate, especially in Jerusalem,” said Israel Lumbroso, a 28-year-old resident of the city who said he came out of the closet around a year and a half ago. This year marks the 18th Gay Pride march in Jerusalem, but due to the city’s conservative religious character, controversy and even violence have erupted at times. The city hung rainbow flags along the march’s route despite Jerusalem chief rabbi Aryeh Stern requesting it not be done to “avoid hurting the feelings of part of the population”.

City hall has also ordered the removal of posters denouncing the march and reading “Father and Mother = Family. The courage to be normal.”