Salem-News.com's Top Articles of 2012

(SALEM) - 2012 was an interesting year for Salem-News.com. Honors were bestowed upon Tim and Bonnie King as a result of Tim's long list of reports exposing war crimes against Tamil people in Sri Lanka.

Robert O'Dowd, Bonnie and Tim King

Tim King was invited to be the keynote speaker at the FeTNA (Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America) Conference in Baltimore, in July 2012. Bonnie King also was invited to the event where she spoke with Tim to the US Tamil Political Action Committee.

Salem-News.com's investigative writer Robert O'Dowd and Tim King co-authored the book, 'BETRAYAL: Toxic Exposure of U.S. Marines, Murder and Government Cover-Up' which was published on Amazon Kindle in 2012.

The work of Salem-News.com Human Rights Ambassador William Nicholas Gomes, has been acclaimed in Asian press time and time again. One of his reports freed a Pakistani land activist from torture, while other reports by Mr. Gomes were lauded for their clarity and foresight.

The new music album (CD) commissioned by Salem-News.com by author/songwriter Agron Belica titled 'Newsic Revolution has been extremely well-received, as well as other songs by Agron including 'BURMA: Ethnic Cleansing & Genocide: Save the Rohingya' - the only human rights-oriented song in the world honoring the sacrifice of these victims of ethnic cleansing.

On a sad note, Salem-News.com said good bye to one of its longest standing writers. Hank Ruark, with the group since 2004, passed away at the age of 93, as one of America's most experienced and big hearted journalists in the business, who moved from early newspaper to cutting edge Internet news in the course of his valuable lifetime.

A story about Mitt Romney's part ownership in a company that replaced U.S. workers with employees from China who required that the U.S. flag be lowered during their training period, 'Romney's Company Forces U.S. Flag to Be Lowered in Illinois' by Tim King, was #1 with 78,219 views in October.

The second most viewed article in a month's time followed closely, Kevin D. Annett's article, 'Catholic Church Faces Disruption and Banishment as Irish Cardinal Set to Resign' received 75,726 views in May. Kevin's article is the only one in this 12-month period to be top story for two consecutive months. Tim King's 'Sex Abuse and Murder in Sri Lanka- New Photos Emerge' also came in as top story two different months in 2012.

The month of December does not have an accurate count because of an improvement made by Salem-News.com's Web Designer, Matt Lintz, who switched our server partly to The Cloud. Our counter has stopped being effective for the time being.

Interestingly, two of the month's top stories were by Tim King and dealt with U.S. Marine Veterans facing highly questionable treatment at the hands of government.

Phillip W. McCallum, attorney and President of the Alabama State Bar, honored Salem-News Investigative Reporter Marianne Skolek, who works tirelessly to expose the real motivations and stark realities of big pharmaceutical giants like Purdue Pharma.

An honorable mention goes to Jenn Fierberg for her articles in 2012 that have peeled away the layers of deception regarding Rwanda President Paul Kagame's role in the 1994 Genocide.

There are many many more and those not mentioned, please know that your contributions are extremely valuable toward the operation, there are so many wonderful writers, it is an amazing team.

Top articles of 2012 on Salem-News.com

Story Comment Top 10

Kevin Annett's article, 'Catholic Church Faces Disruption and Banishment as Irish Cardinal Set to Resign' received the largest number of comments in the last year, with 112 comments over the past 365 days, while our Deputy Assistant Editor Daniel Johnson received 92 comments on the article, 'The NRA -- A terrorist organization.' Daniel's '911 as an inside job now beyond doubt' also made the top 10 with 64 comments.

It is also noteworthy that two of Coral Theill's contributions, 'How I Became a Brood Mare and Egg Donor for the Church and State: Rape is Torture' and 'Support USMC K-9 Combat Veteran MWD Sgt Beyco' both made the top 10 with 60 and 58 comments, respectively.

May 4, 2012, 3:37 pm 112 comments in the last 365 days.
Catholic Church Faces Disruption and Banishment as Irish Cardinal Set to Resign.

The Roman Catholic Church faces permanent disruption and banishment in at least five countries if it does not comply with ten “non-negotiable measures” by September 15, 2012.

The list was issued today at a meeting in Dublin between church officials, activists, survivors, and the International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State – Ireland.

January 8, 2012, 10:59 pm 92 comments in the last 365 days.
The NRA -- A terrorist organization.

There were sombre ceremonies across Tucson, Arizona on Sunday, January 8, 2012, in remembrance of Jared Loughner’s shooting spree a year ago where he seriously wounded Representative Gabrielle Giffords, killed six and wounded 12 more.

I suggest that the Untied States, is the only country in world, where remembrances could be held virtually every single day of the year for egregious killings of citizens by their other citizens—all indirectly supported by the National Rifle Association.

April 22, 2011, 5:15 am 89 comments in the last 365 days.
World Ignores Genocide of Sri Lanka's Tamil Population (Includes Channel 4 Documentary Links in Comments).

In 2009 alone, more than 35,000 Tamils are estimated to have violently or needlessly lost their lives. Because of the fear and desperation put forth by this, about 1.1 Million Tamils have fled the country.

The numbers are horrible, and include over 600,000 Tamil internal refugees.

March 8, 2012, 11:49 pm 86 comments in the last 365 days.
Sex Abuse and Murder in Sri Lanka- New Photos Emerge.

I've written several articles examining the crimes against innocent civilians during the Sri Lanka civil war and the Genocide that enveloped Tamil people in the island country's northern region.

Along with the carnage came a barrage of sex crimes against Tamil women and girls that defy real description, the evidence bolstered by a newly released set of war crime photos.

October 11, 2012, 5:45 pm 81 comments in the last 365 days.
Romney's Company Forces U.S. Flag to Be Lowered in Illinois.

If Mitt Romney is elected president, the American flag itself may actually be restricted from flying in the United States. That word comes from employees losing their jobs in Freeport, Illinois.

Romney claims he knows nothing about this. But the New York Times explains: “[Mitt Romney] owns about $8 million worth of Bain funds that hold 51 percent of Sensata’s shares.

May 29, 2012, 9:00 am 64 comments in the last 365 days.
911 as an inside job now beyond doubt (UPDATED June 7, 2012).

Is the future of America worth a few hours of your time? I'm sure you would be willing to spend a day or half a day at a seminar to improve your job performance or your job prospects.

Will you give your country as much?

August 20, 2012, 5:36 am 60 comments in the last 365 days.
How I Became a Brood Mare and Egg Donor for the Church and State: Rape is Torture.

I am haunted by this single question. Why was I treated lower than a criminal by Oregon's judicial law system?

I was a faithful wife and mother for almost twenty years. Presently, I have fewer rights than a criminal...

April 1, 2012, 11:48 pm 58 comments in the last 365 days.
Support USMC K-9 Combat Veteran MWD Sgt Beyco.

Marine Corps MP Explosive Detection Dog and Military Working Dog Sgt Beyco, a K-9 Combat Veteran, has entered the 2012 American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards Contest and needs your support and VOTES.

MWD Beyco worked and gave her whole life to the MARINE CORPS and was honored to be a MWD MARINE. She retired November 10, 2011 at Cherry Point, North Carolina.

November 17, 2012, 2:48 am 53 comments in the last 365 days.
Chomsky Statement on Israel's War on Gaza.

Israel uses sophisticated attack jets and naval vessels to bomb densely-crowded refugee camps, schools, apartment blocks, mosques, and slums.

It attacks a population that has no air force, no air defense, no navy, no heavy weapons, no artillery units, no mechanized armor, no command in control, no army… and calls it a war.

December 13, 2012, 10:37 pm 53 comments in the last 365 days.
Free Jon Hammar- Former U.S. Marine, Thrown in Prison in Mexico.

Jon Hammar, a former U.S. Marine, was going to surf in Costa Rica when he was arrested at the border going into Mexico.

He had already cleared his heirloom shotgun with U.S Customs officers and was at the office in Mexico to register it there when he was arrested because it was 1 inch too short for their laws.

Elsewhere in the world, medical marijuana took huge steps forward in 2012 with two states in the U.S. fully decriminalizing pot. Palestine took its first step toward UN statehood, and a genocide has swept Burmese Muslims for the latter half of the year. These are all subjects we cover very closely and have for years. Salem-News.com now has 109 writers located in 23 countries.