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How to Make Your Own Mask for a Pandemic

How to Make Your Own Mask for a Pandemic

It didn’t take long after the coronavirus hit the world before medical masks sold out in the United States. I’m not sure if they sold out before the first case arrived in an American hospital, but it wasn’t long after that they did.

People bought up masks as fast as they could, in an effort to protect themselves from the deadly virus.

This wasn’t the first time I saw this happen. It happened during the Ebola outbreak of 2014 as well. Pandemics are scary and so people panic easily. They don’t know what to do, so they do what they can. Part of what they can is to buy surgical masks, thinking that they will protect them from catching the disease.

But what do you do when there are no more masks to buy? The first thing that happens is that people run around buying any other kind of mask they can find, hoping it will be good enough.

So, all the dust masks in all the hardware stores and lumberyards sell out just as fast as the medical masks did.

Then what?

Then there’s nothing else to buy.

If you want a mask, the only thing left is to make one yourself.

Developing the Parameters

The idea behind wearing a medical mask is to catch airborne germs; both bacteria and viruses. But that’s somewhat of a misnomer, as there are very few diseases which are actually airborne.

Rather, those diseases are spread abroad by what is known as “aerosol;” droplets of spittle from coughing and sneezing. These droplets travel a maximum of either six or 12 feet, depending on which medical studies you believe.

In either case, they carry disease-causing germs within themselves, some of which can be breathed in by others, spreading the disease.

The standard medical mask is made of three layers of material, with the outer layer being plastic, so that water could not pass through it. The other two layers are absorbent.

The idea is that the absorbent layers will catch and absorb the spittle from any coughs or sneezes by the medical personnel wearing them, not that they will protect the doctors and nurses from any coughs and sneezes by their patients.

Nevertheless, since the outer layer of these masks is made of waterproof material, they will stop spittle from their patients, even though they won’t absorb it.

So, the masks are an aid in preventing medical personnel from contracting the disease.

The other common mask is the N95 mask that you’ve probably heard of. These masks are a hard cup-shaped mask, with a soft aluminum strip that forms over the nose.

Unlike the standard medical mask, these are intended to protect the wearer, as they filter incoming air. Molding the mask to the nose, with the aluminum strip, helps to ensure that no disease-laden droplets get around the mask and into the nose or mouth of the wearer.

The N95 rating actually means that the mask is expected to stop 95% of particulate matter; in other words, dust. However, because the outer layer of this mask is absorbent paper, it will also catch droplets of spittle.

So, whatever we come up with must be able to both filter our particulates and absorb spittle. The mask must also seal around the nose and mouth, preventing any stray droplets from getting around the edges and contaminating us.

Here’s what I came up with.

The Homemade Pandemic Mask

I wanted to limit myself to materials that would be readily available, even in the midst of a pandemic. I’m assuming that people can get to the grocery store and the hardware store, even though doing so is a risk.

But the materials must be readily available so that people don’t really have to hunt for them.

How to Make Your Own Mask for a Pandemic1

The basic materials consist of:

  • 3-liter soda bottle
  • 1-liter soda or water bottle
  • HEPA filters – such as are used in vacuum cleaners and home air purifiers
  • Carbon filter
  • Duct tape
  • Elastic (not shown)
  • Epoxy (not shown)

Building the Mask

I decided that the mask itself had to cover all openings in the face, including the eyes, nose, and mouth. In severely contagious situations, medical personnel wears full-face shields or goggles, so as to protect them from those germ-rich droplets of spittle. If we’re trying to protect ourselves from a pandemic, it only makes sense that we would need to do the same. Hence the 3-liter soda bottle.

How to Make Your Own Mask for a Pandemic2

I started by emptying the bottles, rinsing them out, removing their labels and drawing the lines where I was going to cut them. The 3-liter bottle is going to be the face mask and the 1-liter bottle the filter.

I’ll connect the two together with a coupling made from the two caps.

There are no exact measurements for the bottles. I found that the width of the opening in the larger bottle, and especially the line of the curve near the top, needs to match the curvature under the chin of the wearer.

What works for me, doesn’t fit right for my wife. For the smaller bottle, I chose the cut line where I did because the bottle narrowed a bit below that point, which would make it harder to install my filter.

Cutting these bottles is easy; it can be done with a hobby or utility knife. However, I found that it was easier to cut them, once I made an initial slit, with a small pair of scissors, something like those used for cutting hair.

The ones I used were serrated slightly, but I don’t think that made any difference.

Later, I decided to use the bottom of the 1-liter soda bottle as well, like a baffle for the filter. So, although there is no line shown in the picture above, I cut the bottom off that bottle and saved it.

How to Make Your Own Mask for a Pandemic3

Once I cut the outline I wanted in the 3-liter bottle, I taped the edges with duct tape, so as to make it less scratchy. I then punched holes in it with a hole punch and put elastic through the holes to hold the mask to my head.

Building the Coupling

The design concept I have uses two bottles; a large one for the mask and a smaller one for the filter. These two obviously have to be coupled together, in order for the mask to work. Fortunately, the bottle caps made it very easy to create a coupling.

How to Make Your Own Mask for a Pandemic4

To start with, I needed holes in the caps. Since I had left my drill at my workshop, I grabbed my pocket knife and used that as a drill, to make approximately ½ inch holes in both caps.

Be careful to not use too much pressure on the knife, as you could poke through and cut your hand. The cap material is soft and cuts easily, even when trying to drill through it in this manner.

How to Make Your Own Mask for a Pandemic5

The two caps need to be glued together for the coupling. For this, I went to my go-to glue, fast-drying epoxy. Epoxy is strong and can be used for just about anything. In this case, the bottle caps are probably polyethylene, which doesn’t glue well.

So I roughed up the surface with some 100-grit sandpaper, giving the epoxy something to grip onto.

How to Make Your Own Mask for a Pandemic6

To help ensure the strength of the coupling, I then wrapped it in a piece of duct tape, getting a couple of revolutions around the whole coupling. Then I cut the tape flush with the ends of the coupling. If necessary, the duct tape will be strong enough to hold the coupling together, providing an air-tight seal, even if the epoxy is unable to remain bonded to the plastic caps.

Making a Filter

This left me with the need to make a filter. I decided to use a two-stage filter design, for extra security. The first layer, which will be in the smaller bottle, making it replaceable, is a HEPA filter.

The HEPA (high-efficiency particulate absorbing) standard is one that has been developed for air filtration equipment. It must be able to remove 99.97 percent of all particles that are 0.3 microns in size.

Interestingly enough, this specification makes the HEPA filter roughly the equivalent of the N95 mask filter. Actually, I think it’s a bit better; although I won’t guarantee it, as the specifications are written in such a way that it’s a little like comparing apples and oranges.

The language just isn’t the same in the two specifications.

Nevertheless, a HEPA filter is supposed to be able to remove most bacteria and viruses, in addition to particulate matter, so it’s ideal for our purposes.

How to Make Your Own Mask for a Pandemic7

The HEPA filters I bought are actually designed for use in a home air cleaning system. I could have just as easily used one for a vacuum cleaner, but these were readily available and reasonably priced. By buying them online, I saved myself a trip to the store.

As you can see from the photo above, the filter itself is accordion folded and placed in a plastic housing that holds it that way. As the housing doesn’t match the shape that I need, I just removed the filter medium itself and cut off a section the right size to fit in my bottle. Let me stress – you can do this with any HEPA filter you can find; you don’t need the same filter that I used.

How to Make Your Own Mask for a Pandemic8

To make my filter unit, all I did was to hot melt glue that accordion-folded filter into the 1-liter bottle. That was actually a bit tricky, as it was hard to get the glue gun down into the bottle to work.

But it is essential that the filter is glued all the way around and that there not be any gaps where air can flow through, without flowing through the filter. You’re better off using too much glue, than not enough.

Finally, I took the bottom of the bottle and glued it to the bottom of my filter unit, inverted. It’s hard to see in the picture above, but the arrow is pointing at a gap in the plastic, where the base of the bottle was indented.

There are five of these gaps between the base and the upper part of the bottle, as installed, giving plenty of room for air to get in.

The idea behind installing the base like this is to act as a baffle, keeping droplets of aerosol from coming into the filter unit and hitting the filter medium itself. While it is still possible for droplets to get in, I felt that it was best to make it as difficult as possible, so that my filter would not become clogged from damp spittle.

How to Make Your Own Mask for a Pandemic9

I added a second layer of filtration, taping a double layer of activated carbon filter into the bottom of the mask, with duct tape. This is a backup to the other filter, should anything get through it.

Activated carbon has been used in a large number of different types of filters designed to capture microscopic pathogens of the type we are trying to protect ourselves from.

Using the Mask

In order to use the mask, the two bottles are screwed together by the coupling. Then your chin is the curve of the cutout in the mask and lifts the mask up to your face, pressing the top of it against your forehead.

Slip the elastic band around your head to hold it in place.

How to Make Your Own Mask for a Pandemic10

One of the good things about this design is that it allows you to change your filter element as needed. You can make one mask and several filters, changing them as needed.

This should be every eight hours at the most. If the filter seems to be becoming clogged, change it more frequently.


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WEEKLY THREAT ROUNDUP 2-4-18

From AlertsUSA

 

Scene from latest Islamic State video entitled. "Answer the Call." - ALLOW IMAGES

President Warns of Nuclear Threat from N. Korea

 

February 3, 2018

 

On Jan 30th the following related Flash SMS message
was sent to
AlertsUSA subscriber mobile devices:

1/30 – President Trump in State of the Union Address: N. Korea’s reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could very soon threaten the U.S. homeland.

What You Need To Know

On eight occasions this week AlertsUSA subscribers were notified via SMS messages to their mobile devices regarding safety and security matters. Most important for this report, on Tuesday, AlertsUSA subscribers were informed of a warning issued by President Trump during his State of the Union address within which he branded North Korea’s leadership as “depraved” and stated that Pyongyang’s pursuit of nuclear missiles could “very soon threaten our homeland.” The President vowed a continued campaign to prevent that from happening.

While most mainstream news coverage of N. Korea over the last few weeks has revolved around the hermit kingdom sending a limited number of athletes (along with hundreds of cheerleaders) to the upcoming Winter Olympics in S. Korea, behind the scenes, tensions are increasing as their nuclear and missile programs continue to advance.

According to the U.S. Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) published late this week by the Department of Defense:

“North Korea has accelerated its provocative pursuit of nuclear weapons and missile capabilities, and expressed explicit threats to use nuclear weapons against the United States and its allies in the region. North Korean officials insist that they will not give up nuclear weapons. Given North Korea’s current and emerging nuclear capabilities; existing chemical, biological, and conventional capabilities; and extremely provocative rhetoric and actions, it has come to pose an urgent and unpredictable threat to the United States, allies, and partners. Consequently, the United States reaffirms that North Korea’s illicit nuclear program must be completely, verifiably, and irreversibly eliminated, resulting in a Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons.

Note the head-on conflict between the two emboldened statements above. As consecutive N. Korean regimes have literally destroyed their country (and caused significant pain and hardship for their citizens) in the pursuit of a strategic weapons capability, it is inconceivable that they would, under any circumstances, voluntarily give up these weapons now that the baseline goal has been achieved. Similarly, S. Korea, the U.S., Japan and other nations repeatedly threatened by N. Korea are equally unlikely to tolerate a nuclear-armed N. Korea for much longer. The risk is perceived as much too great.

The NPR document goes on::

“Our deterrence strategy for North Korea makes clear that any North Korean nuclear attack against the United States or its allies and partners is unacceptable and will result in the end of that regime. There is no scenario in which the Kim (Jong-un) regime could employ nuclear weapons and survive.”

Proliferation Threat

Of equal importance is the threat of the proliferation of these weapons. The fact stands that N. Korea is financially in ruins and their situation is growing increasingly dire by the day. Their major benefactors are gone, numerous rounds of United Nations sanctions have reduced incoming revenue streams to a trickle, and the country is desperate for cold hard cash.

In this regard, the NPR also highlights the risk of North Korea selling its nuclear weapons and technology to other state and non-state actors, in turn increasing the pressure on still other nations to build their own nuclear arsenal in order to defend themselves from a nuclear attack.

One glaring example would be Iran, a very close ally of N. Korea. If Tehran were to acquire nuclear weapons, Saudi Arabia (a historic enemy of Iran) would acquire their own, as would most other Gulf nations.

North Korea already has a troubling history of selling advanced military technology, including that used in nuclear weapons, to Asian and Middle Eastern countries. In the 1990s, North Korean scientists taught Pakistan how to make Krytrons (cold-cathode gas-filled tubes used in nuclear triggers), as well as provided them with low-enriched uranium hexafluoride (UF6) which was then transferred to Libya. It is widely believed that North Korea provided Iran with nuclear technology. Pyongyang also helped Syria build a nuclear reactor (which was destroyed by Israel in 2007).

Then there are the numerous terrorist organizations seeking access to the ultimate weapon of war, which could generate both a significant cash haul for North Korea, as well as help them strike the U.S., albeit indirectly.

In 1998, al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden declared in a religious edict that acquiring and using weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) was his “Islamic duty.” In 2008, current al Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, released a book titled Exoneration within which he uses key Quranic themes (as opposed to an outright religious edict) to justify the use of such weapons.

While N. Korea’s participation in the Olympics is a nice step in engagement, keep this situation in perspective as it has little bearing on a peaceful resolution to the overall crisis.



IMPORTANT RESOURCE

Nuclear Posture Review cover - ALLOW IMAGES

The 2018 Department of Defense Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) is a sweeping analysis and reassessment of the U.S. nuclear weapons policy and doctrine. Thematically, the 2018 NPR shows a dramatic shift from that outlined in the 2010 version, including the loosening of the constraints on the use of nuclear weapons to cover significant non-nuclear strategic attacks. This includes, but is not limited to, attacks on the U.S., allied, or partner civilian populations or infrastructure, and attacks on U.S. or allied nuclear forces, their command and control, or warning and attack assessment capabilities.

Click here to visit the DoD Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) web page.

Click here to download the full Nuclear Posture Review (PDF).

Click here to download the Executive Summary (PDF).

AlertsUSA continues to monitor the domestic and international threat environment and will immediately notify service subscribers, via SMS messages, of new alerts, warnings and advisories or any developments which signal a change the overall threat picture for American citizens as events warrant.

 


 

AlertsUSA.com

OTHER SMS ALERTS FROM THIS WEEK
NOT DETAILED IN THIS NEWSLETTER ISSUE

2/2 – Pro al-Qaeda and Islamic State social media chatter increasing w/ threats & calls for new attacks flwg POTUS action to keep Guantanamo Bay military prison open.

1/31 – Local authorities designate Amtrak crash site a HAZMAT scene based on contents of trash hauler involved in collision. Monitoring…

1/31 – At least one confirmed fatality and numerous injuries in Amtrak train crash. Check national media for latest info.

1/31 – AlertsUSA monitoring crash of charter Amtrak train carrying GOP members of Congress in Crozet, VA. Collision with truck on tracks. Add’l alerts as warranted.

1/30 – Multi-casualty shooting, Concord Plaza Shopping Ctr, S. St. Louis Co., MO. Minimal info available. Police urge avoiding the area. Add’l alerts as warranted.

1/30 – Security increasing around Capital complex for tonight’s State of the Union address. Expect road closures & restricted access to some areas of downtown DC.

1/29 – Wave of bomb threats targeting 25 buildings in Moscow, incl Parliament and the stock exchange, results in mass evacuations and searches. AlertsUSA monitoring…

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* 24/7/365 Monitoring. No Hype. Just the Bad Stuff.
* Issued Hours and Days before the MSM.
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US Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN - ALLOW IMAGES

Security Tight for Super Bowl LII

 

February 3, 2018

 

What You Need To Know

The quarterback calling the plays for Super Bowl LII at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN is the U.S. government, and in particular, the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation. In addition, National Guard troops and law enforcement partners from across the country are patrolling festivities in the Twin Cities area until February 5th. Not so visible are the FBI hostage-rescue team, Tier 1 military counterterrorism assets, detection teams for nuclear, chemical, and biological hazards, as well as response and mitigation teams for those weapons of mass destruction.

Despite these assets, a cloud of concern covers the event, and most importantly, outside of the main security perimeter, given that Minneapolis-St. Paul, or “Little Mogadishu” as the locals call it, is home to the third highest number of terror prosecutions in the U.S. since 9/11.

Consider the following:

  • 12 area residents have been charged with providing support to the Islamic State.
  • 20 area residents have been arrested for alleged support of the Somali terror group al Shabab which pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda in 2012.
  • Between 2011 – 2014, 13 area residents died fighting for the groups.
  • In September of 2016, Somali refugee Dahir Adan walked into a Minneapolis shopping mall and started stabbing shoppers — after asking if they were Muslim — and shouting “Allahu Akbar!”
  • In May of 2017, two local men were arrested after police searched their car and discovered a hand grenade, handgun, several assault rifles, a large quantity of ammunition, and devices capable of igniting bombs.

These are just a few of the ties between the Twin Cities area and Islamic terrorism.

Readers are reminded that as AlertsUSA has warned, almost weekly, over the past two years, the Islamic State and al Qaeda have repeatedly called for followers to carry out attacks in the U.S. and other Western nations using any means available.

Caution and vigilance are urged.

 

 


 

Marines provide simulated security during a dive mission in Key West, Fla., Jan. 24, 2018. The Marines, assigned to Charlie Company, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, were preparing for an upcoming deployment. Marines Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brennon A. Taylor. - ALLOW IMAGES

 

World News Roundup

 

February 3, 2018

 

Other Developments We Are Following

AMERICAS

Ranking America’s enemies
Sea Cables in a Thawing Arctic
Trump signs order to keep Guantanamo Bay prison open

Pentagon ‘can’t afford the sustainment costs‘ on F-35
The Air Force Turned Off GPS To Rehearse a War Without It
New Army Precision-Guided 155m Round Destroys Targets Without GPS
Mattis seeking to ban cell phones from Pentagon
Tillerson: Latin America should not rely on China
Top Democrat questions US meeting with Russian spy chiefs
CIA Director Pompeo defends meetings with Russian spy chiefs
Trump grants 6,900 Syrians permission to stay in US
DoD Fears Rapid Adv. of Chinese, Russian Anti-Satellite Weapons
Castro freezes Cuban private sector, throws future in doubt
Hamas leader Ismail Haniya added to US ‘terror list’

EUROPE

Russia: If U.S. Navy pilots can’t handle buzzing, stay out of the Black Sea
Su-27 Buzzing: Video 1, Video 2, Video 3, Video 4
Russia: Halt spy plane flights near our borders or agree on rules
The Last 48 Hours Have Been Good for Putin
Is the Czech Republic moving closer to China and Russia?
U.S., Russia likely to meet nuclear treaty obligations by Feb. 5
Brexit: UK and EU on collision course over residency rights
Auditors say Britain can’t afford its 10-year defense equipment plan
U.S., U.K. to upgrade ballistic missile guidance system
Europe’s Migration Crisis is Anything but over

MIDDLE EAST

Iran says Jerusalem ‘unchangeable’ capital of Palestine
Abbas to address U.N. Security Council on Feb. 20 amid U.S. tensions.
US troops arrive for drill simulating massive missile attack on Israel
US officials say Syria’s Assad may be making new chemical weapons
Ankara uses Afrin campaign to showcase Turkish-made weapons
Kurds in Syria call on US support to rein in Turkish operations
Israel threatens Lebanon with ‘full strength’ invasion in case of conflict.
Israel, Lebanon clash over offshore energy, raising tensions
France’s Macron warns Turkey over Syrian operation

ASIA

Fears of US ‘bloody nose’ attack on North Korea on the rise
N. Korea would see blanket ban of oil supplies as declaration of war
China Wants New Nuclear Weapons to Keep Up With U.S. and Russia
Do the Americans know who they’re fighting in Afghanistan — or why?
Long Shadow of A.Q. Khan: How One Scientist Helped the World Go Nuclear
Australian Gov Secret ‘Cabinet Files’ Were Found In … An Old Cabinet
The Taliban is gaining strength and territory in Afghanistan
U.S. hails Olympics security plan; opposes North Korea military parade
Philippine guerrilla chief held after peace talks scrapped.
Duterte bent on rewriting Philippine constitution
Wanted: A Strategy to Limit China’s Plans for the S. China Sea

 


 

Travel Security

The U.S. Dept. of State Travel Website is the authoritative federal source for information on the security situation at travel destinations worldwide. With tensions rapidly increasing in most regions, readers planning international travel, even to such common destinations as Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean Islands, are strongly encouraged to do a little research on the security situation well prior to departure.

Major USGOV Travel Notices

Europe Travel Alert
11/16/2017

Worldwide Caution

12/06/2017

The Department of State’s Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides several resources to enhance the safety and security of the U.S. private sector abroad. Additional information can be found on OSAC.gov

Mariners and U.S. citizens considering maritime travel should also review information at the websites of the National Geospatial Agency, the Maritime Security Communications with Industry Portal, and the U.S. Coast Guard for information related to maritime and port security globally.

Additional Sources of Travel Guidance

Canada Dept. of Foreign Affairs

Australia Dept. of Foreign Affairs

UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office

 


 

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WEEKLY THREAT ROUNDUP 1-07-18

From AlertsUSA

 

 

Kim Jung Un along with North Korea's new Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile - ALLOW IMAGES

 

N. Korea: Entire US Within Range of Nuclear Weapons CDC to Brief on Preparing for Nuclear Detonation

 

January 6, 2018

 

On Dec 31st, the following related Flash SMS message was sent to AlertsUSA subscriber mobile devices:

12/31 – In New Year address, DPRK leader Kim Jung-Un declared all of the US mainland now in range of N. Korean nuclear missiles, calls for immediate mass production.

What You Need To Know

On nine occasions this week AlertsUSA subscribers were notified via SMS messages to their mobile devices regarding safety and security matters. Once again, leading off our reporting is N. Korea. On New Year’s Eve, AlertsUSA subscribers were notified of new threats made by N. Korean leader Kim Jung Un. During his New Year’s address to the N. Korean people, Kim stated the following:

“It should properly know that the whole territory of the U.S. is within the range of our nuclear strike weapons and a nuclear button is always on the desk of my office and this is just a reality, not a threat.”

Kim went on to point out that having accomplished the

“historic cause of perfecting the national nuclear forces, what remains at this point is to mass-produce nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles … to give a spur to the efforts for deploying them for action.”

On the surface, Kim’s provocative stance towards the US and others in the international community have been tempered over the last few days by gestures towards South Korea, including indications they may send a delegation to the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, as well as reopening a cross-border communications channel. Established in 1971, the two Koreas agreed to use an uninhabited border village named Panmunjom along the demilitarized zone to make phone calls to each other. In stand alone buildings on each side of the border, two phones and a fax machine sit on desks. A green phone for receiving calls and a red phone for making calls. South Korea calls the North on odd dates, the North calls the South on even dates. In early 2016, the calls stopped due to a dispute over a jointly-operated factory complex. The two sides have not spoken again until this week.

Readers are reminded that on multiple occasions in the past, N. Korea has used outreach and talks with the South in order to delay pressures and buy time to achieve new goals in their nuclear and missile programs.

This week U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, played down talks between the two Koreas, saying the U.S. “won’t take any of the talks seriously if they don’t do something to ban all nuclear weapons in North Korea. We consider this to be a very reckless regime, we don’t think we need a Band-Aid; we don’t think we need to smile and take a picture.”

On Friday of this week, Secretary of State Tillerson said, “I think the rhetoric that North Korea understands is that while it is our objective, and the president’s been very clear, to achieve a denuclearization through diplomatic efforts, those diplomatic efforts are backed by strong military option if necessary.”

CDC Briefing: Public Health Response to a Nuclear Detonation

In related news, late this week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the scheduling of a briefing for the public health community for later this month to outline how to prepare for a nuclear detonation.

According to the CDC, “While a nuclear detonation is unlikely, it would have devastating results and there would be limited time to take critical protection steps. Despite the fear surrounding such an event, planning and preparation can lessen deaths and illness.”

YOUR TAKEAWAY:

The USGOV is beginning the process of preparing the public health community for the possibility of a nuclear detonation. This CDC meeting is just one step. Most others you will not be made aware of, including bulk procurement and prepositioning of relief supplies, specialized training for first responders and medical professionals, assessment of facilities for possible use as shelters, etc..

If the government is making such preparations, it behooves readers to consider steps that can be taken to prepare themselves and families on the home front. During the Cold War, such proactive preparedness efforts were a no-brainer and widely practiced.

 

FREE INFORMATION RESOURCES

CDC: A Guide to Operating Public Shelters in a Radiation Emergency

FEMA: Radiation Safety in Shelters

Nuclear War Survival Skills (The Green Book)

 

AlertsUSA continues to monitor events on the Koren Peninsula and will immediately notify service subscribers, via SMS messages, of new alerts, warnings and advisories or any developments which signal a change the overall threat picture for American citizens as events warrant.

 


 

AlertsUSA.com

OTHER SMS ALERTS FROM THIS WEEK
NOT DETAILED IN THIS NEWSLETTER ISSUE

12/31 – Islamic State Al Hayat media group releases new nasheed video w/ English subtitles promising “we will break the cross” and a “war for eternity.” See email.

12/31 – Pro-Islamic State media outlets are circulating several new propaganda / threat posters warning of more attacks in the west. See email for more info.

12/31 – AlertsUSA monitoring ongoing active shooter situation near Denver. County Line Rd btwn Colorado Blvd and University Blvd. Multiple officers down. Avoid area.

1/1 – AlertsUSA monitoring response to active shooter report in area of 635 Wall St, Long Branch, NJ. Multiple causalities reported. Add’l alerts as warranted.

1/1 – AlertsUSA monitoring response to possible vehicular attack near Geary Blvd & 21st Ave, San Francisco, CA. Multiple injuries. Add’l alerts as warranted.

1/4 – AlertsUSA monitoring response to Amtrak train derailment, near Savannah (GA) Station, Seaboard Coastline Drive. 300+ on board. More to come.

1/4 – No injuries reported in Amtrak train derailment. Switch failure suggested as cause. Add’l alerts as warranted.

1/4 – AlertsUSA monitoring reports of shots fired, Colorado State Capital, Denver. Area around near Colfax and Sherman on lockdown. Add’l alerts as warranted.

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* Threat Info Direct to Your Mobile Device
* Get Away Early, Give Your Family Extra Safety.
* In Wide Use By Gov, 1st Responders, Travelers.
* 24/7/365 Monitoring. No Hype. Just the Bad Stuff.
* Issued Hours and Days before the MSM.
* On your Cell Phone, Tablet or Email.
* We Give The Clear Truth, Unlike the MSM.
* 15 Years in Operation!

We are NOT part of the government.
In fact, they are our customers!

 

 


 

Three F/A-18 Hornets rest on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in the Arabian Gulf on Dec. 22, 2017. Theodore Roosevelt and its carrier strike group are deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations to reassure allies and partners and preserve the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Spencer Roberts) - ALLOW IMAGES

World News Roundup

 

January 6, 2018

 

Other Developments We Are Following

AMERICAS

GOP senators request criminal investigation of Trump dossier author
Struggling Venezuela tried to buy medicine with diamonds, gold
Apple reveals ALL iPhones, iPads and Macs are at risk from chip ‘design flaws’
Canadian Mil still short thousands despite small increase in orce-members
How ready is the US for a North Korean missile attack?
Enhanced Patriot Missile Enters Full Rate Production
Air Force to upgrade Reaper drone fleet as the Predator begins retirement
Army Issues Tips for Operating Weapons in Extreme Cold
Former NSA contractor to plead guilty over claims he stole 50TB of data
Six Cyber Threats to Really Worry About in 2018
Trump’s National Security Strategy marks return to realism

EUROPE

Migrants in Europe linked to soaring violence and crime in Germany, duh
Anti-migrant attacks surge in Greece’s Piraeus
Latvia, a disappearing nation
Russia gained a ‘treasure trove’ of intel on the US’s best fighter jets in Syria
Germans believe Merkel’s best days are over
France’s Macron suggests EU partnership with Turkey
Catalan separatist leader Oriol Junqueras denied bail
What Would Really Happen If Russia Attacked Undersea Internet Cables
Russia Has Been Stalking US in Skies Over Syria, General Says
Where Russian Information Warfare Is Failing
Trump might get pushback from Gemany on NATO spending after all

MIDDLE EAST

US freezes payment to UN agency for Palestinian refugees
ISIS declares war on Hamas for failing to stop Trump’s Jerusalem move
Bin Laden’s 12-year-old grandson is dead, says al-Qaeda leader’s ‘heir’
Saudi Arabia: No evidence shows it had a hand in 9/11 attack
The Iranian rebellion the world wants to ignore
Protests in Iran Put Rouhani on the Spot
Is the end near for Iran’s theocracy?
Hard-line cleric says social media fed Iran protests, unrest
Saudi Arabia military camp targeted with ballistic missile fired from Yemen.
Erdogan accuses US, Israel of ‘meddling’ in Iran, Pakistan
As chaos and despair grow in Libya, Qaddafi son plans comeback

ASIA

US suspends security assistance to Pakistan
China Hasn’t Won the Pacific (Unless You Think It Has)
America Has Military Options for North Korea (but They’re All Bad)
The Real North Korea Disaster Isn’t War (But Collapse)
Pakistan’s Dangerous Slide to Extremism
There are signs of another India-China border spat
Japan’s defense policy decisions in 2018
In pictures: The South China Sea reef that became an island
North Korea Test Fail Sent Missile Crashing Over One of Its Own Cities
US, S Korea, Japan to Maintain Pressure on Pyongyang Despite ‘Truce’
Chinese Attack Drones Achieve ‘Record’ Missile Accuracy
Robots help China fire missiles three times faster
China Begins Construction of Third Domestically Made Aircraft Carrier

 


 

Travel Security

The U.S. Dept. of State Travel Website is the authoritative federal source for information on the security situation at travel destinations worldwide. With tensions rapidly increasing in most regions, readers planning international travel, even to such common destinations as Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean Islands, are strongly encouraged to do a little research on the security situation well prior to departure.

Major USGOV Travel Notices

Europe Travel Alert
11/16/2017

Worldwide Caution

12/06/2017

The Department of State’s Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides several resources to enhance the safety and security of the U.S. private sector abroad. Additional information can be found on OSAC.gov

Mariners and U.S. citizens considering maritime travel should also review information at the websites of the National Geospatial Agency, the Maritime Security Communications with Industry Portal, and the U.S. Coast Guard for information related to maritime and port security globally.

Additional Sources of Travel Guidance

Canada Dept. of Foreign Affairs

Australia Dept. of Foreign Affairs

UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office

 


 

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This nuclear-explosion simulator shows where radioactive fallout would go using today’s weather

image

(Missilemap)

  • Nukemap lets you simulate nuclear explosions on an interactive map.
  • A science historian created the tool years ago but recently updated it.
  • The new version uses real-time weather conditions to estimate a blast’s radioactive-fallout zones.
  • The new version can also export data to 3D mapping software like Google Earth.

Imagine a 150-kiloton nuclear bomb exploded in the city closest to you.

Do you know how the city, its surrounding region, and its inhabitants would be affected? If you can’t think of much more than “a lot of people would die,” you’re not alone.

“We live in a world where nuclear weapons issues are on the front pages of our newspapers on a regular basis, yet most people still have a very bad sense of what an exploding nuclear weapon can actually do,” Alex Wellerstein, a historian of science at Stevens Institute of Technology, wrote on his website, NuclearSecrecy.org.

To help the world understand what might happen if a nuclear weapon exploded, Wellerstein created an interactive browser app called Nukemap.

“Some people think they destroy everything in the world all that (sic) once, some people think they are not very different from conventional bombs,” he wrote. “The reality is somewhere in between.”

To illustrate that, Nukemap lets you build a hypothetical nuclear bomb and drop it anywhere on Earth. The software uses declassified equations and models about nuclear weapons and their effects — fireball size, air-blast radius, radiation zones, and more — to crunch the numbers, then renders the results as graphics inside Google Maps.

Preset options let you pick historic and recent blasts, including North Korea’s latest test explosion and Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear device ever detonated. The tool can even estimate fatalities and injuries for a given weapon yield, altitude, and location.

The first version of Wellerstein’s tool came out in February 2012, but he upgraded it to version 2.5 this month. Users thus far have set off more than 124 million explosions in Nukemap.

Nukemap 2.5’s new features let you see where a cloud of radioactive fallout might drift based on local weather conditions. Fallout refers to the dirt and debris that get sucked up by a nuclear blast, irradiated to dangerous levels, pushed into the atmosphere, and sprinkled over great distances. The updated tool also lets you export your scenarios, load them into mapping software like Google Earth, and explore them in 3D.

“I hope that people will come to understand what a nuclear weapon would do to places they are familiar with, and how the different sizes of nuclear weapons change the results,” Wellerstein wrote on his site.

Picking a bomb and a target

We decided to test Nukemap 2.5 using its preset for the North Korean government’s underground test blast on September 3.

Some experts think that device, perhaps a thermonuclear bomb, yielded an explosion of roughly 150 kilotons’ worth of TNT. This was the country’s most powerful nuclear explosion to date — about 10 times as strong as the Hiroshima bomb blast of 1945, which caused some 150,000 casualties.

We started with San Francisco, since according to Missilemap — Wellerstein’s companion tool to Nukemap — the city is within the estimated range of Hwasong-14, North Korea’s newest and farthest-reaching intercontinental ballistic missile.

image

Misslemap 1.0/Alex Wellerstein

Blast effects

By default, Nukemap assumed a 150-kiloton-yield warhead would explode 1.03 miles above the city.

An aerial detonation maximizes a nuclear bomb’s destructive power by allowing the blast’s energy to spread. If a bomb were to detonate on the ground, the soil would absorb more of that energy.

image

Nukemap 2.5/Alex Wellerstein; Google Maps; Business Insider

The main effects of the nuclear blast display as four colored zones:

  • Fireball (0.56 miles wide): In the area closest to the bomb’s detonation site, flames incinerate most buildings, objects, and people.
  • Radiation (1.24 miles wide): A nuclear bomb’s gamma and other radiation are so intense in this zone that 50% or more of people die within “several hours to several weeks,” according to Nukemap.
  • Air blast (4.64 miles wide): This shows a blast area of 5 pounds per square inch, which is powerful enough to collapse most residential buildings and rupture eardrums. “Injuries are universal, fatalities are widespread,” Nukemap says.
  • Thermal radiation (6.54 miles wide): This region is flooded with skin-scorching ultraviolet light, burning anyone within view of the blast. “Third-degree burns extend throughout the layers of skin and are often painless because they destroy the pain nerves,” Nukemap says. “They can cause severe scarring or disablement, and can require amputation.”

Clicking the “radioactive fallout” option didn’t produce any exposure zones for this hypothetical explosion. A note toward the bottom of our Nukemap results explained: “Your choice of burst height is too high to produce significant local fallout.”

Casualties and radioactive-fallout zones

When we switched the height to “surface burst,” a very different picture emerged: The thermal and air-blast zones shrank, but the fireball nearly doubled in area, and the radiation zone nearly tripled.

We also enabled the new radioactive-fallout settings based on local weather. And to see the human effects, we ticked the “casualties” option, too.

image

Nukemap 2.5/Alex Wellerstein; Google Maps; Business Insider

Luckily, local winds in this hypothetical scenario were moving west-southwest, blowing most radioactive fallout into the Pacific Ocean. If a person were to stand outside in a 100-rad-per-hour zone for four hours, they would get 400 rads of radiation exposure, which is enough to kill 50% of people by acute radiation syndrome.

According to Nukemap’s casualty estimator, however, this blast would still kill about 130,000 people and injure 280,000 over the next 24 hours. The tool says this does not include radioactive-fallout effects, among other caveats.

“Modeling casualties from a nuclear attack is difficult,” it says. “These numbers should be seen as evocative, not definitive.”

Google Earth’s view

We were eager to try the export feature, but it appears to need some work.

For example, the fallout zone appeared in an area different from the in-browser calculation — almost due south of San Francisco, instead of west-southwest.

image

Nukemap 2.5/Alex Wellerstein; Google Earth

But it was still useful — in a gut-wrenching way — to see the size of a nuclear fireball (the yellow half-dome in the image below) in 3D as it related to a major city, engulfing entire neighborhoods.

image

Nukemap 2.5/Alex Wellerstein; Google Earth

You can create your own nuclear-blast scenario and explore Nukemap 2.5’s options here.

Wellerstein and others at Stevens Institute of Technology — based in Hoboken, New Jersey — are working on a related project, called Reinventing Civil Defense, which aims to “develop new communication strategies regarding nuclear risk that have high potential to resonate with a public audience.” The project was awarded a $500,000 grant and is expected to debut in 2019.

 

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North Korea Begins Tests to Load Anthrax Onto ICBMs, Report Says

North Korea Begins Tests to Load Anthrax Onto ICBMs, Report Says

An unidentified rocket is displayed during a military parade marking the 105th anniversary of the birth of late North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung in Pyongyang on April 15, 2017. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on April 15 saluted as ranks of goose-stepping soldiers followed by tanks and other military hardware paraded in Pyongyang for a show of strength with tensions mounting over his nuclear ambitions. / ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images) Photographer: ED JONES/AFP

North Korea has begun tests to load anthrax onto intercontinental ballistic missiles, Japan’s Asahi newspaper reported Tuesday, citing an unidentified person connected to South Korea’s intelligence services.

The report said the testing involves ensuring the anthrax survives the immense temperatures generated during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. North Korea has a stockpile of between 2,500 tons to 5,000 tons of chemical weapons, and is capable of producing biological agents such as anthrax and smallpox, South Korea has previously said.

The Asahi report comes a day after the White House published its National Security Strategy, a document that said Pyongyang is “pursuing chemical and biological weapons which could also be delivered by missile.”

“North Korea — a country that starves its own people — has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that could threaten our homeland,” the report said.

North Korea claimed it had completed its nuclear force after it fired a new Hwasong-15 ICBM in late November. South Korea assessed the missile — North Korea’s largest yet — could potentially fly 13,000 kilometers (about 8,000 miles) and reach Washington, though additional analysis was needed to determine whether it was capable of re-entry.

Read North Korea Begins Tests to Load Anthrax Onto ICBMs, Report Says on bloombergpolitics.com

 

 

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via:  finance.yahoo.com


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WEEKLY THREAT ROUNDUP 10-22-17

From AlertsUSA

 

CIA: DPRK Perfecting Nuclear Arsenal Within Months

 

DPRK graphic  - ALLOW IMAGES

 

 

October 21, 2017

 

Between Oct. 18-21, the following related Flash SMS messages
were sent to
AlertsUSA subscriber mobile devices:

10/21 – Voice of America / Nelson Report: Sr admin officials warn, on background, of poss pre-emptive strike on DPRK, advises removal of personal assets from S. Korea. More via email.

10/20 – DPRK declares nuclear tests will continue, there will be no negotiations on nuclear program, and Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal is exclusively targeting the U.S..

10/19 – CIA Dir. Pompeo warns US sees DPRK “perfecting” its nuke capability within months. “We ought to behave as if they are on the cusp of achieving that directive.”

10/18 – N. Korean gov warns mil could stage an “unimaginable” strike on the US at an unimaginable time amid mobilization of nuclear strategic assets near the peninsula.

What You Need To Know

On eight occasions this week AlertsUSA subscribers were notified via SMS messages to their mobile devices regarding safety and security matters.

On Wednesday AlertsUSA subscribers were notified of a new threat issued via N. Korea’s Central News Agency warning the U.S. is “running amok by introducing under our nose the targets we have set as primary ones. The U.S. should expect that it would face an unimaginable strike at an unimaginable time.”The comments were made as dozens of U.S. warships, including the Nimitz-class supercarrier USS Ronald Reagan, began large-scale joint maritime exercises with S. Korea is waters off the Peninsula.

On Thursday CIA Director Mike Pompeo warned that N. Korea is only months away from perfecting its nuclear weapons capabilities. “They are close enough now in their capabilities that from a U.S. policy perspective we ought to behave as if we are on the cusp of them achieving” the objective of being able to strike the United States. The CIA Director’s comments were made during a presentation before the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, DC. Watch a video of the full session with Director Pompeo HERE.

On Friday AlertsUSA subscribers were notified of a declaration delivered by North Korea’s Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho within which he stated that N. Korea fully intends to continue carrying out nuclear weapons tests. Another foreign affairs official, Choe Son Hui, also publicly reaffirmed that there will be no negotiations concerning the country’s nuclear program and that Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal is exclusively targeting the U.S.. Both of these statements were delivered at the 2017 Moscow Nonproliferation Conference at the Center for Energy and Security Studies.

Readers are reminded that just four weeks ago, N. Korea threatened to carry out a hydrogen bomb test over the Pacific. U.S. analysts believe this may be a necessary next step for N. Korea as the steadily increasing yields of their six previous tests may have maxed out that which can be safely contained beneath the mountain at their Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility. In the latest test detonation carried out on September 3rd, international monitoring bodies estimate the explosive yield at a minimum of 120 kilotons (or about eight times the yield of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, and about six times that of the next previous test.)

Once again AlertsUSA warns that while the rhetoric between Pyongyang and Washington continues to heat up, it is important to keep in mind the following realities: 1.) N. Korea now possesses nuclear weapons, 2.) N. Korea now possesses ballistic missiles capable of intercontinental ranges, and 3.) without some form of definitive diplomatic or military intervention, it is almost assured that these nuclear and missile capabilities will be exported to other nations such as Iran, as well as sold to non-state actors with deep enough pockets.

AlertsUSA continues to monitor the overall domestic and international threat environment, and will immediately notify service subscribers via SMS messages of new alerts, warnings and advisories or any developments which signal a change the overall threat picture for American citizens as events warrant.


AlertsUSA.com

OTHER SMS ALERTS FROM THIS WEEK
NOT DETAILED IN THIS NEWSLETTER ISSUE

10/18 – 3 dead, 2 wounded in earlier MD mass shooting. Suspect at large: RADEE LABEEB PRINCE, DOB 11/5/79, 2008 Black Chevy Acadia, DE Tag PC064273. Photo in email.

10/18 – AlertsUSA monitoring response to mass shooting, Emmorton Business Park, Harford County, MD. At least 5 victims, shooter remains at large. Caution if in area.

10/17 – AlertsUSA monitoring response to reports of active shooter, Howard University, Wash DC. Campus on lockdown. Add’l alerts as warranted.

10/16 – DHS warns Wi-Fi WPA2 connection protocol no longer secure. Home, work and public Wi-Fi access points now vulnerable to snooping. See email for more info.

AlertsUSA Service for Mobile Devices - ALLOW IMAGES

* Threat Info Direct to Your Mobile Device
* Get Away Early, Give Your Family Extra Safety.
* In Wide Use By Gov, 1st Responders, Travelers.
* 24/7/365 Monitoring. No Hype. Just the Bad Stuff.
* Issued Hours and Days before the MSM.
* On your Cell Phone, Tablet or Email.
* We Give The Clear Truth, Unlike the MSM.
* 15 Years in Operation!

We are NOT part of the government.
In fact, they are our customers!

 


Jihadist - ALLOW IMAGES

DHS Warns ISIS, Al Qaeda Planning ‘9/11-Style’ Attack

 

October 21, 2017

 

On Oct. 17, the following related Flash SMS message
was sent to
AlertsUSA subscriber mobile devices:

10/17 – Overnight: Jihadist social media alight with calls for guerilla warfare style attacks in the West, others threaten 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

What You Need To Know

On Tuesday AlertsUSA subscribers were warned of new calls by the Islamic State for supporters to carry out guerilla warfare style attacks in the West, as well as threats made to attack the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia to played across 11 cities in Russia from June 14 through July 15.

While the Islamic State would appear to be on it’s heels following devastating battlefield losses, including that of the de facto capital, Raqqa, counter-terrorism professional in the West know the battle is far from over. Many of the more than ten thousand foreign fighters in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere could eventually make their way back to the home countries, including the U.S. and EU member states, bringing along well-honed battlefield skills. According to EU Security Commissioner Sir Julian King, thousands could make their way back to Europe to unleash mayhem.

Earlier this week at the U.S. Embassy in London, acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elain Duke warned the Islamic State and other terrorist groups are planning to target more aircraft in a devastating plot to carry out another major attack on the scale of 9/11.

“The terrorist organizations, be it ISIS or al-Qaeda or others, want to have the big explosion like they did on 9/11. They want to take down aircraft, the intelligence is clear on that.”

Duke went on to say that in the interim they need to keep their finances flowing and they need to keep their visibility high and they need to keep their members engaged, so they are using small plots.

“Creating terror is their goal and so a van attack, a bladed weapon attack, causes terror and continues to disrupt the world – but does not mean they’ve given up on a major aviation plot.”

According to Aaron Y. Zelin of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, “IS has a plan, and that is to wait out their enemies locally in order to gain time to rebuild their networks while at the same time provide inspiration to followers outside to keep fighting their enemies farther away.”


A service member jumps from a Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter during a mine warfare training event that U.S. and South Korean navy explosive ordnance disposal divers are conducting in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 19, 2017. Navy photo by Seaman William Carlisle. - ALLOW IMAGES

World News Roundup

 

October 21, 2017

 

Other Developments We Are Following

AMERICAS

G7, Facebook, Google, Twitter agree on plan to counter Islamist terror
U.S. says 24 people harmed from recent ‘attacks’ in Cuba
Puerto Rico continues to struggle a month after Hurricane Maria
Brazil prosecutors investigate plan to give reconstituted food to poor people
Canada granting asylum to U.S. border crossers at higher rates
Unacceptably high’ number of Afghans flee military training in U.S.
The Army’s Latest Spy Planes Are Flying Hundreds of Hours Overseas
US Army Preps for Underground & Urban Warfare on Korean Peninsula
Should US military be betting the farm on stealth?

EUROPE

Middle Europe turns its back on the EU
Spain plans new elections in Catalonia to end independence bid
EU ‘running out of money’ to stop migrants travelling from Africa.
Britain wants Brexit accord but prepared for a ‘no deal’
Italian regions go to the polls in Europe’s latest referendums on autonomy
Anger over Donald Trump’s UK crime (radical Islamic terror) tweet
France’s Macron says Raqqa fall not end of battle against Islamic State
Syrian refugee detained in Greece on terror charge

MIDDLE EAST

Iranian commander issued stark warning to Iraqi Kurds over Kirkuk
Iraqi forces complete Kirkuk province takeover after clashes with Kurds
UAE on the verge of splitting Yemen in two’
Turkey worried Kurdish influence will grow in Syria after Raqqa
CentCom Still Planning Joint Exercises in Mideast Despite Qatar Dispute
Hamas must disarm to join Palestinian unity government – US.
Niger raid highlights US forces’ growing Africa role
Inside the Raqqa jail where ISIS held their betrayers (Must Watch)
35 Egyptian police officers killed in shootout in Giza
Malawi cracks down on ‘vampire’ lynch mobs.

ASIA

When ‘The Donald’ meets ‘Duterte Harry’
China’s Xi Jinping consolidates power with new ideology
China’s : Xi Jinping Has Quietly Chosen His Own Successor
Top Chinese officials ‘plotted to overthrow Xi Jinping’
China’s communist party congress stirs echoes of South Africa
North Korea ‘rant’ letter shows sanctions are biting, says Australia’s PM
South Korea to push ahead with nuclear power plants.
NATO Is Building a ‘Silver Bullet’ to Destroy Russia’s New Tanks
Russian warships dock in Philippines as Manila cultivates new ties
North Korea is Building a Bigger, Better Missile Submarine


Travel Security Update

The U.S. Dept. of State is the authoritative federal source for information on the security situation at travel destinations worldwide. With tensions rapidly increasing in most regions, readers planning on international travel, even to such common destinations as Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean Islands, are strongly encouraged to do a little research on the security situation well prior to departure.

Latest USGOV Travel Alerts and Warnings

Sudan
10/19/2017

Syria
10/18/2017

DR Congo
10/16/2017

Mauritania
10/12/2017

Cameroon
10/02/2017

Cuba
09/13/2017

Kenya
09/13/2017

Haiti
09/12/2017

Europe
08/31/2017

Worldwide Caution

09/14/2017

Additional Sources of Travel Guidance

Canada Dept. of Foreign Affairs

Australia Dept. of Foreign Affairs

UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office


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