Salem-News.com Russia-syria-convoys articles Page 10

Inventor of AK-47 rifle Mikhail Kalashnikov Wished He`d Built Lawnmowers Instead

"I would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work – for example a lawnmower." - Mikhail Kalashnikov

(MOSCOW RT) - The inventor of the iconic AK-47 assault rifle, Mikhail Kalashnikov, has died at the age of 94. His ingenuity earned him widespread admiration, but his legacy became more controversial when his weapons were used in some of the world’s bloodiest conflicts.

"Mikhail Kalashnikov's entire life is a shining example of dedication to serving your country," said a statement from Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.

Islamist Killing in the Name of Allah

We won’t hold our breath waiting for the mainstream media and the political elites in the Western world to face up to this reality any time soon.

(LONDON Redress News & Analysis) - People in the West, from laypersons to academics, journalists and politicians, tend not to associate Islamists with slick public relations or credit them with the ability to fool ostensibly sophisticated Westerners.

Yet, this is precisely what has happened. On television and radio, in newspapers and online, a distinction is often made between “extremist” and “moderate” Islamists, between the jihadists of Al-Qaeda and the “moderates” of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Syrian Opposition Caused More Deaths

In May 2013, SOHR stated that at least 41,000 of those killed during the conflict were Alawites [most of whom support the government].

(PORTLAND, OR) - We are accustomed to the US media’s false claim that 100,000 or more people have been killed by the Syrian government forces in the almost 3 years of the civil war there.

In fact, even the most widely quoted pro-opposition source in the western media, the “Syrian Observatory on Human Rights” in London, admits the largest group of the 130,433 deaths it claimed to have counted through Dec. 30 are those of pro-government combatants.

A New Year`s Eve Tale from Sunny Phuket

If we all really set our minds to it, we should be able to do something about changing things in 2014, shouldn’t we?

(PHUKET, Thailand) - Yesterday, I exchanged a few words, in English, with what my keen ear detected to be a Russian woman who was waiting in a KFC queue with a pretty little girl of about five.

A little later, the girl must have asked her mother to take her to the washroom, because they disappeared for a few minutes and returned just as I reached the front of the queue.

Al Qaeda Does Not Exist and Never Has

The basic truth is that Al Qaeda does not exist and never has. Al Qaeda is a manufactured enemy who was created by the Bush Administration in order to have an excuse to wage a war for the control of the world’s oil resources.

(MOSCOW Pravda) - Did an American even hear the words “Al Qaeda” before 9-11?

Or were we told that its alleged leader Osama Bin Laden has family who themselves have personal business relationships with George W. Bush’s family and that both families had financially profited considerably from the “War on Terror”?

The Voice of Syria in North America: a Report on the Mother Agnes Tour

At Mother Agnes and Sister Carmel's first North America stop in Tucson, Arizona, this unidentified native American came to them and said, "I feel the need to protect you."

(WASHINGTON, DC) - Mother Agnes Mariam of the Cross says that although she received a warm welcome everywhere during her visit to North America, she also encountered more hostility than even in some of the opposition-held areas in Syria.

This may be an exaggeration, but it is certainly true that much of the battle for Syria takes place in the US and Canada.

US Planned Syrian Civilian Catastrophe Since 2007: Timeline

“Syria has become the great tragedy of this century — a disgraceful humanitarian calamity with suffering and displacement unparalleled in recent history,” - António Guterres, the U.N.’s high commissioner responsible for refugees.

(DAMASCUS Syrian Free Press) - NBC News’ report, “‘The great tragedy of this century’: More than 2 million refugees forced out of Syria,” stated:

More than 2 million Syrians have poured into neighboring countries as refugees, the United Nations revealed on Tuesday. Around 5,000 people per day are fleeing the three-year conflict, which the U.N. says has already claimed over 100,000 lives.

Santa is Not Coming to Palestine

What is it that makes our leaders tread the same path over and over and over again, knowing that it can only lead to disaster?

(LONDON) - It’s the Sunday before Christmas. London is wearing its party frock; the lights are glittering, the bells are chiming; the throng of shoppers are streaming up and down the streets. Happy and joyous are they all. And here I am, a Palestinian exile, a grandfather, a father and a husband, trying to bring some of this happy mood into a corner of London that I call my little Palestine.

Amongst all this, my heart and thoughts are with my people back home, going through the most arduous winter on record. Snow has covered the entire Middle East in the last week or so. Palestinians inside Palestine, in the refugee camps dotted around the Arab world are all at the mercy of the elements.

`Stop GMOs`: Russian Scientists Urge 10-Year Ban on Genetically Modified Products

In September, Russian authorities temporarily suspended the import and sale of Monsanto’s genetically modified corn after a French study suggested it may be linked to cancer.

(MOSCOW RT) - Russian scientists are calling for a 10-year moratorium on GMOs to thoroughly study their influence on human health, stressing that such examinations are vital.

"It is necessary to ban GMO, to impose moratorium [on it] for 10 years. While GMO will be prohibited, we can plan experiments, tests, or maybe even new methods of research could be developed,” vice president of Russia’s National Association for Genetic Safety, Irina Ermakova, told Interfax news agency.

The Islamists` Hijacking of Arab Hope

It was this tunnel vision which was responsible for turning the Libyan revolution into an anarchic forest of guns threatening the nation’s stability and the future of the Arab Maghreb.

(LONDON Redress News & Analysis) - Long before the self-righteous Islamists turned genuine street grievances into violent movements, Egypt was the crown of the Arab Spring and Syria was the second best hope to reap the flowers of the spring.

Today, however, hope and optimism have been hijacked by pretentious religious demagogues and tunnel-visioned ideologues with a pedantic monopoly on God.