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Five Things About The Syrian Conflict That You Should Know

Egyptian Streets

Violence in Syria has claimed tens of thousands of lives, and now war drums are beating after the USA and its key allies have threatened a military intervention. With an intervention expected in days, here are five simple points that will help you understand this complicated and cruel war.

1. Where Is Syria?

Syria, which has a population of 22.5 million, has been rocked with more than two years of civil conflict that has killed at least 100,000 men, women, and children. The country borders Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon. 

The demographics in Syria are complex. The country hosts several non-Arab ethnic minorities, with the largest of those being  the Kurds (constituting nearly 9 percent of the population). In religion, Sunnis account for nearly 60 percent of the population, while 13 percent are Shiites (including Alawites), 10 percent are Christian,  and three percent are Druze.

2. Who Is Bashar…

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Farm-to-Freezer: Locally Made Popsicles Popping Up Around Pittsburgh

Healcrest Urban Farm

Farm-to-Freezer: Locally Made Popsicles Popping Up Around Pittsburgh

We ‘re pleased and grateful to be featured on The Allegheny Front! Thanks to Hal B Klein and Kara Holsopple for visiting with us.
Farm-to-Freezer: Locally Made Popsicles Popping Up Around Pittsburgh

You’ve probably heard of farm-to-table by now, but what about farm-to-freezer? There is a Pittsburgh farmer who’s helping pioneer that movement by taking a familiar summer treat in an unexpected direction. Read more…

See more Healcrest NEWS here

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6 embarrassing links between Syria’s President Assad and Britain

Pride's Purge

(not satire – it’s the surreal world of international diplomacy)

With war looming, probably best to bury these links between the UK and Syria – wouldn’t want them embarrassing anyone important, would we?

1) Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

Several high-ranking Syrian military officers were trained at top-notch Ministry of Defence training colleges like Sandhurst and other MoD training colleges.

In defence of its decision to train officers from dictatorships such as Syria and other countries known to have abused human rights, the Ministry of Defence said (with apparently not even a trace of irony): “Providing training to the same high standards used by UK armed forces helps to save lives and raise awareness of human rights.

Given how things have turned out, the MoD will be a bit embarrassed about that I would imagine.

2) Asma Al Assad

President Assad’s beautiful clothes-horse wife Asma is…

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Syrian Crisis: Stories (Not) Learned from Iraq

Egyptian Streets

By Mohamed Khairat, Founder, EgyptianStreets.com

On the 19th of March 2003, four bombs accompanied by dozens of missiles were dropped onto Iraq, officially commencing an invasion that would leave at least 110,600 Iraqi men, women and children dead due to violence that continued to rock the country since 2003.

The point of the invasion was to achieve regime change. Since coming to office in 1979, Saddam Hussein was often found responsible for the deaths of at least 250,000 Iraqis and fore widespread violations of human rights.

Yet, foreign military intervention in Iraq was not given the green light because of Saddam Hussein’s involvement in the Al-Anfal campaign (also known as the Kurdish genocide) that lasted for three years, destroying thousands of villages and killing tens of thousands.  The world did not advocate for regime change for the deluded leader who had commissioned the publication of the Qur’an to be…

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Assad is not to blame for Syria chemical attacks, says Kurdish party leader | News | World | Mail & Guardian

Who knows who is telling truth? How about some facts from UN Inspectors – oops! Deja vu 2003 and 2013!

The head of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) says he doubts the Syrian president would resort to using such weapons when he felt he had the upper hand in the country’s civil war.

He suggests that Wednesday’s attack, which the opposition says was carried out by government forces and killed hundreds of people, was aimed at framing Assad and provoking an international reaction. Assad has denied his forces used chemical weapons.

“The regime in Syria … has chemical weapons, but they wouldn’t use them around Damascus, 5km from the [UN] committee which is investigating chemical weapons. Of course they are not so stupid as to do so,” said Muslim.

UN experts were already in Syria at the time of the incident to investigate three previous alleged chemical attacks that took place months ago.

via Assad is not to blame for Syria chemical attacks, says Kurdish party leader | News | World | Mail & Guardian.

Chemical weapons, explained | Sci-Tech | DW.DE | 26.08.2013

As reported in German publication – no irony here…

Chemical weapons come in gas or liquid form. They are produced with the express purpose of injuring or killing people. Syria is supposed to have access to several types of these weapons of mass destruction.

Sarin

German chemists including Gerhard Schrader first concocted sarin in 1938. It was originally supposed to be employed as a pesticide, to kill harmful insects. Today, sarin is considered the most treacherous of nerve poisons. Chemically similar in structure to the other nerve agents tabun and VX, sarin in its liquid form is colorless and odorless, which due to its high volatility can easily become a gas. It’s also highly fleeting, as it quickly degrades into harmless compounds.

Even tiny amounts of sarin can be deadly – a gas mask and whole-body suit can provide protection to humans, for about half an hour, as the gas is also absorbed through the eyes and skin. It causes nerve impulses to continually be transmitted, which results in nasal discharge, tears to flow from the eyes, muscle cramps and eventually death by suffocation.

Tabun

Schrader also discovered the nerve agent tabun, in 1936. During World War II, bombs were filled with the chemical weapon – though they were never deployed. In its liquid form, tabun smells somewhat fruity, like bitter almonds. The gas is absorbed through contact with the skin and by inhaling. Its effects and symptoms are similar to that of sarin.

VX

Like sarin, VX was originally developed as a pesticide. But the British chemists who discovered it quickly realized that it was far too dangerous for agricultural use. This deadliness, however, assured its future as a chemical weapon.

VX has a similar toxic effect to sarin and tabun, while being far more stable and many times more poisonous. Due to its stability, VX sticks to the skin, clothing and other objects for a far longer period of time, and also has a longer shelf-life. VX has a somewhat oily consistency.

Mustard gas

Experiments had been conducted with mustard gas before World War I, when it was first used in battle. German chemists Wilhelm Lommel and Wilhelm Steinkopin had suggested its use as a weapon in 1916. Unlike other substances used as a chemical weapon, mustard gas is not officially classified as a weapon of mass destruction.

Mustard gas penetrates clothing to become absorbed by the skin, with effects first showing about 24 hours after contact. Mustard gas causes skin redness and blisters, and the skin eventually peels off from its victims. Inhaling the vapors of the poisonous gas can also be deadly, as it destroys lung tissue.

via Syria’s chemical weapons, explained | Sci-Tech | DW.DE | 26.08.2013.

So let’s play who is telling the truth game? UN team returns after visiting site of chemical attack | News | DW.DE | 26.08.2013

The Syrian government and the opposition fighters both blamed each other for the attack on the UN convoy. State media outlet SANA reported that the attack was the work of “terrorists,” the term commonly used to describe rebel fighters on Syrian media. The opposition, meanwhile, said Assad’s forces were behind the attack.

“The National Coalition of the Syrian opposition and the Free Syrian Army firmly condemn the action of the Assad regime militias at the entrance to Moadamiyet al-Sham … by opening fire on a car transporting the UN team,” the political opposition and armed rebels said in a statement.

Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed over 1,300 people died in the attack last Wednesday, while Doctors Without Borders said 355 people had died of “neurotoxic” symptoms.

The inspection came as foreign leaders consider consequences for the government of President Assad if his regime is found responsible for the attack, which was allegedly carried out using gas-filled rockets.

Assad told Russia’s Izvestia daily newsapers that the accusations were “nonsense.”

via UN team returns after visiting site of chemical attack | News | DW.DE | 26.08.2013.

But gassing his own people is OK – Turkey Fears NATO Action Will Spark Syrian Gas Attacks – SPIEGEL ONLINE

But Erdogan refuses to be swayed by criticism – and has now also started hitting out at Islamic countries that have aided the military in Egypt. “God will shame those in the Islamic world who betrayed their brothers and sisters in Egypt,” he said. He did not mention any countries by name. Saudi Arabia and Qatar can be counted among the supporters of the Egyptian armed forces, however – the same two countries on whom Turkey and NATO are dependent in the Syrian conflict because they are seen as being opponents of Assad. The Turkish military wants to hold discussions in Jordan this week on a way forward, together with generals from other NATO countries and representatives of Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

via Turkey Fears NATO Action Will Spark Syrian Gas Attacks – SPIEGEL ONLINE.