Syria

Don't Miss the $22 Cypriot Tasting Menu at Kopiaste Taverna

Sweep up the stairs and into the spacious dining room to begin your tasting menu of short plates from Cyprus. Astoria newcomer Kopiaste ("Come in and sit down") Taverna presents the Greek cooking of the island of Cyprus, which is much closer to Turkey and Syria than to the other Greek islands. You ... More >>

Rightbloggers Not Having a Great "Happy 10th Anniversary Iraq War" Party

Last week was the anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War. For friends and family members of the thousands of Americans and allies killed or wounded in that struggle, or of the tens of thousands of Iraqis killed, wounded or displaced, it probably wasn't a happy one. We don't know whether these ... More >>

Inescapable's Pre-Civil War Syria Seems Almost Quaint

Iranian Technology, Gays, Women's Suffrage All Credited With Causing Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy was caused by Iranian technology that's capable of controlling weather patterns to punish Iran's enemies and the enemies of its friends. The reason the storm hit New York so hard is because God is punishing the Empire State for defying his word and allowing gay people to get married. ... More >>

Our 10 Best Middle Eastern Restaurants

New York City has a lot to offer when it comes to Middle Eastern cooking. If you know where to stop for a meal along the city's few Arab strips or even in fancy neighborhoods, you'll find a wide range of the region's typical cooking including grilled meats, honey-drenched pastries, savory flatbreads ... More >>

PARTY HARD

Andrew W.K. gets Webster Hall wet

Mitt Romney Wins Nevada Caucuses; Giants To Play In The Super Bowl Today; Russia And China Put Stop To U.N. Syria Resolution

Mitt Romney won the Nevada caucuses Saturday night. As of 9:20 a.m. with 71 percent reporting, Romney had 47.6 percent of the vote. Newt Gingrich trailed him with 22.7 percent. "This is not the first time you gave me your vote of confidence, and this time I'm going to take it to the White House," Ro ... More >>

Omary Souleyman+Prince Rama

Dennis Kucinich Praises Syrian Leader, Says He Was Mistranslated a Smidge

​Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich traveled to Syria this week and reportedly praised President Bashar al-Assad, the leader who has been accused of ordering attacks on pro-democratic supporters. Politico reports that Kucinich held a press conference in Damascus where he said, "President Bashar ... More >>

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark--The Tangled Web They Wove

It's not a musicalamity, just an ordinary bad musical

Tom MacMaster, a Straight Man in Scotland, Is the 'Gay Girl in Damascus' Hoax Blogger

The Amina Avatar​Amina Abdallah Arraf wrote a brave and dramatic blog about her life as a gay woman living in Syria until early last week when an entry from her cousin informed readers that she'd been arrested. Except, after every major news outlet in the world reported on the blog, called A G ... More >>

Tim Pawlenty Invents Charming Portmanteau; Filipino 18-Year-Old is World's Shortest Man

​Crazy person and Republican presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty has come up with a totally inventive term for our current health care laws: "Obamneycare." Get it? Like Obama Romney. It's supposed to recall how Mitt Romney shamefully tried to help uninsured people with health problems as the gover ... More >>

Amina Abdallah Araf al Omari, Kidnapped Gay Syrian Blogger, Might Be Made Up

Not her?!​The defiant lesbian blogger Amina Abdallah Araf al Omari (a.k.a. Amina Arraf or Amina Abdallah), who was reported kidnapped on her blog "A Gay Girl in Damascus" by a cousin this week, may not exist at all or otherwise has a lot of explaining to do. Her story circulated everywhere fro ... More >>

Missing New York Times Journalists Return; Famous Women, Blow Jobs Save Newspapers

​Though reporters are still missing, being killed and deported across Syria, Libya.html and the upheaved Middle East, there was some cause for celebration among the media today as the four missing New York Times journalists came home to a hero's welcome. The group has already detailed the brut ... More >>

Donald Rumsfeld Memo: Super Dumb!

​Donald Rumsfeld was the Secretary of Defense of the United States two different times, under President Gerald Ford in the mid-1970s and again under President George W. Bush from 2001 until 2006, meaning he's been around for three major wars, in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Or not just arou ... More >>

The Best Thing I Ate Yesterday

Welcome to The Best Thing I Ate Yesterday, where we endeavor to remember the very best thing we stuffed down our gullets over the past 24 hours. Why? Because the only thing better than enjoying a meal is wallowing in the memory of one savored in the recent past. Today's fond reminiscences ... Vict ... More >>

Damascus Bread & Pastry Shop's Whole-Wheat Spinach Pie

​In their desire to appeal to the more health-conscious and/or guilt-ridden among us, numerous bakers compromise their products with whole-wheat flour, and the result is often reminiscent of chew toys and arbitrary childhood punishments. But this is happily far from the case at Damascus Bread ... More >>

Omar Souleyman+Deakin

Omar Souleyman, Arabian Idol

Basking in the sheer urgency of the polarizing 'Syrian techno' superstar

Q&A: Iraqi Metal Band Acrassicauda on Moving to Brooklyn, Their Ongoing Green Card Struggles, and Shredding on James Hetfield's Guitar

"I know there are a lot of metal bands that are trying to live like they were already living in war but what I'd say is: you guys have a better life than we did." ​In 2002, with an U.S.-led invasion looming, it seemed unlikely that four young Iraqis, reared on Metallica, Megadeth and Slipknot ... More >>

Is Freekeh the Next Big Grain?

MlleNoelle.wordpress.comWill chefs get freekeh fever?​ Contained within the Times' glowing review of the Northern Spy Food Company is a mention of the restaurant's risotto, which is made from freekeh, a roasted green wheat. The grain, combined with the risotto's butter and mascarpone, earns th ... More >>

Getting Your Phreak On at Gazala Place

Unique Middle Eastern restaurant flowers in Hell's Kitchen

Your Handy Guide to the World of African Music Blogs

Devil-Horns for Heavy Metal in Baghdad

Recent history through a narrow prism

Heavy Metal in Baghdad: Masters of War

A new documentary tracks a brave band's tumultuous quest to rock out

Live Earth

On the mysterious, mesmerizing, and politically defiant globe-trotting record label Sublime Frequencies

Things to Do in Rabat When You're Dead

The CinemaEast Film Festival reels in the latest crop of Middle East movie makers

Is This America?

Canada apologizes to its citizen kidnapped by CIA; U.S. keeps him on its terror list

Banned in the Middle East

What does it take to get censored in Syria, anyway?

The Torture Judge

U.S. court rules our government can break international laws to keep us safe

Morning Report 12/4/05
Version Airways: More Suspect Renditions

Late Marriage: Bride's Family Bridles at Cross-Border Coupling

World's Largest Muslim Population Blessed With Commercial Radio as Crappy as Ours

Stinky Herb

The very best lamb chops in Astoria are not exactly Greek

Morning Report 3/10/05
Smells Like Bush Team 'Spirit'

Hello Mutha, Hello Fatteh

Serious Syrian café debuts on Bay Ridge's Fifth Avenue strip

Missing Ink

GOP's Heart of Darkness

The president says he opposes torture; his leadership supports it. Who will prevail?

No Al Qaeda-Iraq Link, U.S. Said After 9/11

The Invisible Men

Canadian inquiry may reveal CIA secrets on outsourcing torture

Rumsfeld's Propaganda Ministry

The Pentagon's Ever-Changing War Stories

U.S., Israel Play Risk

Iraq, Syria . . . Gee, What's Next?

The Widening Crusade

Bush's War Plan Is Scarier Than He's Saying

Monster Mash-up

The Bad Neighbor Policy

U.S. Hassles Syria

The Spoils of War

Be the First on Your Block to Make a Buck off Iraq

A World Without Water

Advocates Warn of Thirst and Turmoil for a Parched Planet

Railroad Apartment Over Bicycle Shop

Saddam in the Crosshairs

Beyond Osama: The Pentagon’s Battle With Powell Heats Up

Amos Gitai’s Tour of Duty

Combat Fatigue