Another Scenario On What Might Happen If North Korea Launched A Nuclear Weapon

Business Insider: Here's what might happen if North Korea launched a nuclear weapon

Tensions between North Korea and the United States have escalated during the Trump presidency, with threatening tweets and talk about the size of each country's nuclear "button." But what would happen if North Korea actually decided to follow through on its threat and launch a nuke? We spoke with a few experts on North Korea and missile defense to get a detailed look at the early stages of a nuclear war with the hermit kingdom. Following is a transcript of the video.

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Mass Graves Discovered In Myanmar. U.N. Says Evidence Of Genocide

Business Insider/AP: UN says Myanmar's treatment of Rohingya Muslims has the 'hallmarks of genocide'

* The U.N. special envoy on human rights in Myanmar said Thursday that the Myanmar military's violent operations against Rohingya Muslims bear "the hallmarks of a genocide."
* Nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled their villages into Bangladesh since the Myanmar military's crackdown following Aug. 25 attacks by Rohingya insurgents.
* An Associated Press report Thursday detailed a massacre and at least five mass graves in the Myanmar village.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.N. special envoy on human rights in Myanmar said Thursday that the Myanmar military's violent operations against Rohingya Muslims bear "the hallmarks of a genocide."

Yanghee Lee told reporters in Seoul, where she is based, that she couldn't make a definitive declaration about genocide until a credible international tribunal or court had weighed the evidence, but "we are seeing signs and it is building up to that."

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WNU Editor: My gut is telling me that this is probably just the "tip of the iceberg".

More News On Reports That Mass Graves Have Been Discovered In Myanmar

AP Exclusive: AP confirms Myanmar massacre and 5 mass graves -- AP
Evidence of Rohingya mass graves uncovered in Myanmar -- Aljazeera
Myanmar: evidence of Rohingya mass graves uncovered -- Euronews
Mass Graves Discovered In Myanmar Evidence Of Rohingya Persecution, Report Finds -- International Business Times

Teacher Calls The U.S Military 'The Lowest Of The Low' In A Classroom Rant That Has Made A Lot Of People Upset

L.A. Times: Pico Rivera teacher's remarks about military spark backlash

A Pico Rivera teacher and councilman is under investigation by the school board after the release of recordings in which he disparaged members of the military.

The remarks by Councilman Gregory Salcido, a teacher at El Rancho High School, have triggered a backlash in a community that local leaders say has strong ties to the armed forces.

"This is not something that we are taking lightly," said Pico Rivera school board President Aurora R. Villon. "I cannot discuss it because it is a personnel matter, other than we are conducting a full-blown investigation. We are moving very diligently."

In one of the video recordings posted on social media, a man whose voice was identified as Salcido's tells a classroom that members of the military were "not talented people."

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WNU Editor: Just the profanity that he uses in the classroom is enough for me to tell him or any other teacher that they should not be in a classroom teaching children. It is also very revealing that he is not denying his remarks .... but instead is playing the victim card because he feels threatened. But aside from that and his comments .... the sad part is that they are a lot of people who are probably in agreement with him. The video is here .... El Rancho High School Teacher Gregory Salcido bashes military (YouTube).

More News On A Teacher Calling The U.S Military 'The Lowest Of The Low' In A Classroom Rant

A teacher called members of the military 'the lowest of our low.' The video made people furious. -- Washington Post
Veterans, Residents Sound Off About Teacher On Leave After Anti-Military Rant -- CBS Los Angeles
Student who triggered military-hating California teacher gives his side of the story -- FOX News
Did a California Teacher Call Military Members 'the Lowest of Our Low'? -- Snopes

It Looks Like The Vaunted German Leopard 2 Tank Has Some Shortcomings

ISIS claimed it destroyed 10 of the Leopard 2 tanks, dubbed invincible in some quarters, and while the terror group's estimates are regularly exaggerated, analysis of fighting around al-Bab in Syria puts the figure at 'at least eight'. Pictured: The remnants of one of the German-built tanks as shown in a January 20, 2017 Isis video recorded near al-Bab. It was reportedly blown up by a mine. In the background is a destroyed Kobra armoured personnel carrier

Daily Mail: The £4million German tank dubbed 'one of the best in the world' is shown up in Syria: Leopard 2 bought by Turkey to fight British-backed Kurds has numerous faults exposed in lethal fashion

* The German government has come under domestic pressure after images showed Turkey deploying the tanks
* From the late 1970s to today, more than 3,000 of the tanks have been built at a cost of around £4million a unit
* Turkey bought 354 of them, and has started using them to fight Kurdish fighters in cities in northern Syria
* But they are proving to be ineffective, with the tanks being picked off by allied forces as they are sent in alone

A German-made tank, which Berlin once dubbed one of the best in the world, has had its shortcomings embarrassingly exposed on the battlefield in Syria.

Photos from the Turkish military operation dubbed 'Euphrates Shield', which began in August 2016, show the charred remains of one of the Leopard 2 tanks which was reportedly blown up with mines.

The images - taken from an ISIS video published in January 2017 - show the tank with its turret completely blown off.

Other pictures from the same conflict show Leopard 2s standing idle in ditches and snow after being severely damaged.

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WNU Editor:  I guess the Leopard 2 is .... in the end .... not invincible.

A Look At How The U.S. Is Using Terrorists' Smartphones And Laptops To Gather Intel

USA Today: How the U.S. is using terrorists' smartphones and laptops to defeat them

BETHESDA, Md. – Smartphones helped terror organizations grow and communicate. Now the devices are contributing to their downfall.

In a nondescript, highly secured building in this Washington suburb, a group of U.S. government technicians and linguists are downloading massive amounts of data from phones, hard drives, CDs and other devices, providing a huge boost to the U.S. intelligence community as it hunts terrorists.

Many of the devices have been captured from battlefields in Iraq and Syria, where the Islamic State has lost virtually all the territory it captured in 2014.

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WNU Editor: Even though every terror group knows that their cell phones can be used against them  .... I am still surprised that these groups just cannot let go of their cell phones.

The Pentagon May Ban Personal Cell Phones

CNN: Exclusive: Mattis seeking to ban cell phones from Pentagon

Secretary of Defense James Mattis is actively considering banning US military and civilian personnel from bringing their personal cell phones into the Pentagon, the world's largest office building, according to three US defense officials familiar with an ongoing review of the issue.

The officials told CNN that while the issue is under review and a final decision has not been made, the recent revelations that a fitness tracking app that maps people's exercise habits could pose security risks for US troops has only underscored the need for the review.

The officials added that the review was ordered after Mattis expressed his intent to ban personal cell phones in the Pentagon.

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WNU Editor: This has clearly gotten the Pentagon spooked .... Strava's Fitness Tracking Map Highlights Secret U.S. Military Bases Overseas (January 29, 2018).

More News On The Pentagon Considering A Ban On Personal Cell Phones

Mattis considers cellphone ban at Pentagon -- Defense News
Defense secretary considering ban on personal cell phones at Pentagon -- CNBC
Personal phones could be banned at Pentagon as result of Mattis-ordered review -- Stars and Stripes
Cellphone Ban at Pentagon Possible after Exercise Tracker Disclosures -- Military.com
Pentagon Reviewing Electronic Device Policy -- Nextgov
Jim Mattis considers banning cellphones at the Pentagon -- Washington Examiner

Tweets For Today

For 3,000 years, the lion sculptures of Syria's Ain Dara stood as testaments to the Iron Age. But as Turkish bombardment pounds the region, they have little left but their paws https://t.co/IZa0MXelz4 pic.twitter.com/WNK0xT6IBK

— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 31, 2018

BREAKING: White House: 1 death and 1 serious injury after crash involving a train with GOP lawmakers and a truck, but "there are no serious injuries among members of Congress or their staff."https://t.co/l1iAPNzniZ pic.twitter.com/Jj7VNVFrIa

— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 31, 2018

Seeking closer ties, Qatar to expand base used by US troops https://t.co/3JbNAoy47w pic.twitter.com/kzYx56uFSh

— Military Times (@MilitaryTimes) January 31, 2018

Is this Chinese Navy ship equipped with an experimental electromagnetic railgun?:https://t.co/lCUMg5yYtk

— The War Zone (@thewarzonewire) January 31, 2018

GDP per Capita in Europe in 1890 (in 2017 $) - https://t.co/RsQShdK8Z1 pic.twitter.com/18u0iqsofk

— Brilliant Maps (@BrilliantMaps) January 31, 2018

Russian girl is in Guinness Book for the fastest AK assembly record. I like a something looking like bazooka casually standing in the corner of her room. pic.twitter.com/Pr5yew7oF5

— English Russia (@EnglishRussia1) January 31, 2018

Can The Pentagon Handle A War Against China And Russia At The Same Time?

On display during a People's Liberation Army Air Force parade are Shenyang J-16s, foreground, and J-11Bs, background. (China's Ministry of National Defense)

Defense News: The Pentagon is planning for war with China and Russia — can it handle both?

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is in the opening stages of “redesigning the force” around the challenges of Russia and China, the department’s No. 2 uniformed official said Tuesday — while warning that America may not be able to afford preparing for two unique problem sets.

The recent National Defense Strategy identified great power competitors as the major challenge facing the Pentagon, but Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted that the plans required to counter each nation are naturally “in tension with one another” for resources.

“Here’s why they will be in competition with each other: They are not the same,” Selva explained during an event hosted by the Defense Writers Group. “There are two unique competitions that we have to deal with, and the elements are overlapping but not the same.”

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WNU Editor: This national security expert says no .... National security expert to Congress: US not ready for warfare’s future (C4ISRNet)

Picture Of The Day

A horseback parade celebrating the Law Enforcement Day in Moscow. © Sputnik/ Mikhail Voskresenskiy

WNU Editor: The above picture is from this photo-gallery .... Girl Power: Female Cops From Across the World (Sputnik).

Russian Ambassador: North Korea Would See A Blanket Ban Of Oil Supplies As A Declaration Of War

In this photo taken on July 21, 2017, a petrol station worker walks past a fuel truck in Pyongyang. Sanctions are reducing the amount of oil North Korea can import. (AFP PHOTO / Ed Jones)

RT: N. Korea would see blanket ban of oil supplies as declaration of war – Russian envoy

Imposing a total ban on oil exports to North Korea would mean a full blockade and will be considered as a declaration of war by Pyongyang, Russia's ambassador to North Korea has cautioned.

The UN Security Council (UNSC) unanimously approved a new round of sanctions on the North in December last year, slashing the country’s oil and petroleum imports. The move was in response to Pyongyang's latest ballistic missile test launch.

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More News On Russian Reports That North Korea Would See A Blanket Ban Of Oil Supplies As A Declaration Of War

Russia warns totally cutting oil supplies to North Korea would be seen by Pyongyang as act of war -- South China Morning Post
Russia Warns Against Cutting North Korea’s Oil Supply -- VOA
North Korea will declare WAR on US if Donald Trump imposes further sanctions, Russia warns -- Express
Russia Warns Against Cutting Off North Korea's Oil -- OilPrice.com