Category: America

Be transported to Turkey at Istanbul Gyro and Kebab

By Michelle Washington
The Virginian-Pilot
© May 6, 2011

Mixed grill and a side salad from Istanbul Gyro and Kebab in Norfolk. (David B. Hollingsworth | The Virginian-Pilot)

The unassuming building between the bus station and a social services office in downtown Norfolk has hosted a variety of restaurants, from a pizza joint to a soul-food stop, in the past few years.

Here’s hoping the most recent ethnic fare offering, Istanbul Gyro and Kebab, will stick around.

The menu features standard Middle Eastern food such as gyros and kebabs. Where it stands out is in the care given to preparation.

A friend and I shared lunch in the simple dining room, which offers a few seats at a counter near the grill and a row of booths against a long wall of windows looking out onto Monticello Avenue.

Middle Eastern music played softly from overhead speakers, a continental contrast to the Greyhound sign visible next door. A giant rotisserie turned a cylinder of gyro meat, as the cook shaved slices from it with a 2-foot-long knife.

A zesty eggplant salad ($3.95) started the meal, and we forgot all about the bus station, work and our troubles and cares. Finely chopped eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, carrots and onions – seasoned with herbs and mixed with olive oil and lemon juice – was served with warm grilled pita bread.

The eggplant salad was lighter and more flavorful than baba ghanouj, with a hint of smoke from the eggplant and a nice bright kiss of lemon.

Creamy hummus and slightly minty dolmas from the mixed appetizer plate ($6.95) were delectable. Although the menu described a garnish of tomatoes and black olives with that sampler, ours came with cucumber wedges and just half of a plain canned black olive.

Another appetizer, the spinach and feta cheese pie ($2.95), was less impressive. Tasty spinach and cheese hid between layers of nicely browned phyllo that we both thought would be flaky and crisp. It wasn’t.

Lovely lunch salads brought crunchy romaine lettuce lightly dressed with a house blend of olive oil and lemon juice. My salad carried tender chunks of nicely seasoned grilled lamb so good I almost wished I’d thrown health and diet out for the day and said “forget the salad, just bring me a giant tray of meat.” My friend said the chicken on his salad was tender and juicy.

A later, takeout dinner was prepared exactly as ordered and ready to go when promised. A tangy, refreshing yogurt soup ($2.95) flavored with dill and with a hit of cucumber crunch tasted fantastic on a hot day. My husband wolfed down his mixed kebab platter ($11.95) with lamb gyro meat, chicken and lamb grilled kebab and kofte, a seasoned, charbroiled meatball. I scarcely got a bite. It was served with rice and a salad and a small cup of tzatziki sauce.

Both desserts on the menu tasted pretty darn good: sweet and cinnamony rice pudding ($1.95) and baklava ($2.95) that thankfully for me was not nearly as cloying as some versions I’ve tasted. Instead of a sugary syrup, this variation used a molasses-tinged topping with nuts between layers of phyllo.

Manager Erkan Karasow said his recipes come straight from Turkey, his homeland.

“It’s where I learn everything,” he said.

He sometimes offers specials for Turkish recipes whose names he can’t even translate into English, he said, although the specials board this week offered stuffed peppers, grilled salmon salad, and “real” Turkish Delight.

He also tries to offer at least one meal prepared in a Halal manner each day, he said, because customers request it.

Michelle Washington, (757) 446-2546, [email protected]

via Be transported to Turkey at Istanbul Gyro and Kebab | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com.

May 7, 2011
Jewish and Turkish Leaders Hold Meetings in NY Area to Foster Better Communication and Understanding Between the Two Communities
By Staff Writer

The Turkish delegation has been headed by Erhan Atay, Vice Chair of the Turkish American Business Association (TABA), and the Jewish delegation has been headed by Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, Executive Vice President of the New York Board of Rabbis.

With a mission and goals that were decidedly non-political, the leaders of both communities recognized that while they might not be able to influence political interactions between the governments of Turkey and Israel, they could devote their energies to taking actions that would foster better communication and relations between the members of the Turkish and Jewish communities.

There was also a tacit understanding that neither party ever wanted to shut down a discussion of any issue regardless of any tensions that may accompany such conversations. Each group agreed that the strength of any dialogue relied on the fact that all issues are on the table. Suggestions of ways to explore any crisis situations in a dignified, intellectual and understanding manner will mark the method in which all participants have agreed to proceed.

The group took note of the over 500 years of cordial relations between Turks and Jews, referencing in particular the rescue by the Turkish Sultan of the Jews of Spain during the Inquisition, and the saving of Jews by Turkish Consuls during the Holocaust. Mention was also made of the Israeli effort to save Turks during the 1999 earthquake in Turkey, and Turkey’s providing urgently needed fire-fighting planes to Israel during the recent catastrophic fires in Israel.

The group believes that future relations can successfully be built upon the past, where many years of mutual respect between Turkish and Jewish communities proved how much their peoples had in common.

The group recognized the urgent need to publicize to the Turkish and Jewish communities the many positive events that have transpired throughout history between these two vibrant communities.

The group discussed various ideas for possible future projects and activities including:
1. Changing the perception of Turkey in the US among the Jewish community, and of Israel among the Turkish community.
2. Throughout the year, representatives of the Jewish community will be writing articles for publication in the Turkish media and the Jewish media will reciprocate with the Turkish journalists.
3. Joint appearances whenever possible on radio and television programs will take place as well. Rabbi Joseph Potasnik has already invited spokesmen from the Turkish community on his popular radio show.
4. A film titled “Turkish Passport”, sponsored by the public sector, focusing on the relationship of Germany and Turkey vis a vis the treatment of Jews during World War II will be promoted in well publicized events here in the United States. There are currently several events planned in Germany. Americans should be made aware of the hero status that a number of Turkish diplomats, serving in Europe during WWII achieved and deserved for their selfless acts [often at great personal risk] in order to save Jewish lives.
5. May is when the Turkish Day Parade and the Israeli Day Parade boast the highest concentration of their respective groups on the streets of New York. It is also American-Jewish Heritage Month. The plan is to highlight Jewish-Turkish Heritage as well. There are joint activities planned throughout the month.
6. Arranging a trip to Israel and Turkey for a select group of invitees from the Turkish and Jewish communities.
7. A conference on Turkish-Jewish relations for scholars and the public at large may be planned.
8. A Turkish magazine, Turk America, published a special Jewish Sephardic issue. It is well documented that Turkey was one of very few countries that welcomed the Jews that were expelled from their homes in Spain in 1492 … and they were welcomed as valued members of the Turkish society. This magazine, which covers this and other issues of Turkish-Jewish history will be distributed to as many Jewish organizations as possible.
It is sincerely hoped that these efforts will yield better relations and understanding between the two communities which have so much in common and can together create a better and brighter future.

Among the organizers of these efforts are:
Erhan Atay; Turkish-American Business Association [US & Turkey], Past President Federation of Turkish American Associations, Vice Chair Turks Living Abroad the Diaspora Organization;
Ibrahim Kurtulus; Advisor to President of Turkish American Associations, US Rep Turks Living Abroad the Diaspora Organization;
Ali Cinar; VP Northeast Region Assemby of Turkish American Associations, US Rep Turks Living Abroad the Diaspora Organization;
Celal Secilmis; President Turkish American Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Community Leader;
Tomris Azeri; President Azerbaijan Society of America, VP Assembly of Turkish American Associations;
Mark Meirowitz; Board Member Turkish American Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Turkish-Jewish Community Activist;
Rabbi Joseph Potasnik; Executive Director New York Board of Rabbis;
Rabbi Craig Miller; Board Member Jewish Community Relations Council, New York Board of Rabbis;
Rabbi Diana Gerson; New York Board of Rabbis;
Henry Levy; Publisher, The Jewish Post

The JewishPost

Photo: Brooklyn Paper
May 5, 2011
Gray wolves go back to state control

FILE – This Jan. 9, 2003 file photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows a 130-pound gray wolf as it watches biologists in Yellowstone National Park, Wyo., after being captured and fitted with a radio collar. With ballooning elk and deer populations eating up greenery and altering ecosystems at national parks across the country, a group of researchers is suggesting an unusual solution: introduce small packs of gray wolves to curb the expanding herds. (AP Photo/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, William Campbell, File)

Story Published: May 4, 2011

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – The Obama administration on Wednesday moved to lift Endangered Species Act protections for 5,500 gray wolves in the Northern Rockies and Great Lakes, drawing the line on the predators’ rapid expansion over the last two decades.

Public hunts for hundreds of wolves already are planned this fall in Idaho and Montana.

Conservationists have hailed the animal’s recovery from near extinction last century as a landmark achievement – one that should be extended to the Pacific Northwest and New England.

But the federal wolf program has stirred a backlash from agriculture and sporting groups angry over wolf attacks on livestock and big game herds. Interior Department officials said Wednesday that the most suitable wolf habitat already was occupied. No further introductions of the species are planned.

Western lawmakers attached a rider to the federal budget bill mandating the move to lift protections for 1,300 wolves in the Northern Rockies. The rider, which barred any courtroom challenges, marked the first time Congress has removed an animal listed under the endangered act. Protections for the Rocky Mountain wolves are to be lifted effective with a Thursday notice in the Federal Register.

“To be sure, not everyone will be satisfied with today’s announcement,” said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. “Wolves have long been a highly charged issue. These delistings are possible because the species is recovered in these regions. That is a remarkable milestone for an iconic American species.”

About 4,200 wolves listed as threatened in the western Great Lakes also are slated to lose protections. That could happen by the end of this year, following the review of public comments received on the proposal over the next two months.

The Great Lakes proposal also includes portions of North and South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, although government biologist Laura Ragan no wolves permanently reside in those states.

A pending petition before the Interior Department seeks to extend the government’s wolf recovery plan nationwide. But Noah Greenwald with the Center for Biological Diversity, the sponsor of the petition, said Wednesday’s announcement made clear that the government has no such intentions.

“In our view wolf recovery is not done,” Greenwald said. “We’re disappointed with seeing the Fish and Wildlife Service attempt to get out from under it.”

Fish and Wildlife officials said they plan to review the gray wolf’s status in New England and the Pacific Northwest but did not foresee another reintroduction effort.

Idaho officials have said they want to reduce their state’s wolf population to about 500 animals, versus current estimates of more than 700.

Rancher Royce Schwenkfelder, whose family arrived in the western Idaho town of Cambridge in the 1880s, said he feels more comfortable with wolves under state jurisdiction. But he was doubtful that wolves could be reduced to levels that will eliminate attacks on cattle that he runs on Indian Mountain. “The feds have filled us up with more wolves than we can handle,” Schwenkfelder said.

Montana wildlife officials this week proposed a public hunt for up to 220 wolves this fall, out of a population estimated to number at least 566 animals. The state’s Democratic U.S. Senators, Max Baucus and Jon Tester, said Wednesday that turning over control of wolves to state wildlife agencies was the right thing to do.

“State biologists need to manage them like any other recovered species,” said Tester, who worked with Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson to get the rider in the budget bill.

No hunts are planned immediately for small populations of wolves in Oregon, Washington and Utah.

In addition to the hunts, officials say wolves that attack livestock will continue to be removed by wildlife agents. More than 1,500 wolves have been killed for livestock attacks since the animals were reintroduced to the Northern Rockies from Canada in the 1990s.

Idaho state Rep. Judy Boyle, who sponsored a bill giving Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter the authority to declare a wolf disaster emergency, said hunting alone won’t be enough to reduce the number of wolves to levels in which they aren’t a threat to livestock or wildlife.

Under state management, Idaho will continue to ask federal wildlife agents to take out problem packs, including in north-central Idaho’s Lolo area, where the state wants to kill dozens of wolves to help restore elk herds that have been hurt by predators and poor habitat, she said.

Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin have plans meant to keep the populations at healthy levels while allowing government agents to kill animals that can’t be driven away. None would allow hunting or trapping for at least five years, although the states could revise those plans.

Wednesday’s announcement leaves the fate of about 340 wolves in Wyoming unresolved. Wyoming was carved out of attempts to restore state control over wolves because of a state law that would allow the animals to be shot on sight in most of the state.

Salazar and his staff have been negotiating for months over the issue with Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead.

Mead said Wednesday that he was hoping for an agreement with the administration to get a bill through Congress lifting protections in his state. The governor suggested legislation that was the only way to prevent lawsuits from environmentalists that could otherwise derail the effort.

Associated Press writer John Miller in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this story.

www.komonews.com, May 4, 2011

May 5, 2011
Golden Rules of Tallahassee Democrat “Faith and Courtesy”

International Center for Journalists continues to realize cross border projects all around the world. One of them is Turkish-Armenian-American journalists exchange program which combines 7 Turkish and 6 Armenian journalists to make them observers in different American media organs. Our author Mehmet Fatih Oztarsu is one of the participants of this project. Every journalists have gone to different regions of the US and they are visitors of American journalists. Oztarsu lives in Florida with his Armenian partner Ofelya Kamavosyan and observes American media mechanism`s differences. He compares business ethics, journalism style and effects of Tallahassee Democrat with the direction of International Center for Journalists. The author shares his observations with interesting points for us: (more…)

May 4, 2011
Can US Offer Final Proof Of Osama’s Death?

The circumstances surrounding Osama bin Laden’s reported death raise urgent questions over how the US is so sure it got its man.

US officials have said DNA testing has proved the al Qaeda leader was killed in a villa in Pakistan.

They have also identified him by facial recognition.

But photographs of Bin Laden after his reported death have not been released.

The fact his body was buried at sea has so far only added to the speculation, although as a Muslim, he had to be laid to rest as quickly as possible.

Under Islamic law, people can only be buried at sea if they died there, or if there is a risk their body will be exhumed or dug up if buried in the ground.

The release of a photograph purporting to show bin Laden’s corpse – which was later confirmed to be a fake – added to the confusion.

Journalists have not yet had the opportunity to ask more than a few questions of the Obama administration about details of Bin Laden’s death.

A former British ambassador to the US, Sir Christopher Meyer, told Sky News: “I imagine we will see proof.

“I can’t concede the US president would go out to make a statement to the world that bin Laden is dead without being able to produce evidence that he is dead.

“I think we will see some evidence – DNA or photographic – to prove there is not still some phantom Osama bin Laden riding the Tora Bora mountains.”

The announcement is not the first time the world has heard of Bin Laden’s death. Claims that the US and Britain kept up a pretence he was alive in order to continue their war on terror have been dismissed as conspiracy theories.

It has been suggested that bin Laden died nearly 10 years ago during the battle for Tora Bora in Afghanistan, either from a US bomb or from kidney disease.

And as for his audio and video statements, their authenticity has continually been questioned.

One of his video statements, released just days before the October 2004 US presidential election, was said to have been crucial in helping George Bush secure a second term in office.

But his statement from December 2001, when he was seen to confess to the 9/11 attacks, has attracted the most attention.

Bin Laden had insisted numerous times, through the Arab press and in video statements, that he had no involvement with the atrocities. His sudden confession was picked up on by doubters.

Additionally, his appearance in the December 2001 video was markedly different. He sported a black beard, not his usual grey one, his pale skin had become darker and he had a different shaped nose.

He also looked in good health – a contrast to his earlier gaunt appearance – and critics have pointed to the fact he is seen writing a note with his right hand, although he was left-handed.

In total, Bin Laden is thought to have released around 40 statements since 9/11, many of them with clear references to events at that time.

When Uday and Qusay Hussein – the sons of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein – were killed in a firefight with US troops, authorities relied on photographs of their bodies to convince people they were dead.

And when Saddam himself was executed, video footage of his death and subsequent photographs seemed to give final proof of his death.

uk.news.yahoo.com, 3 May 2011

May 3, 2011
Are the same Turks and Armenians who were just yesterday inseparable today enemies?

Turkey, which was made aware of the sensitivity surrounding the Armenian issue throughout the world through attacks by the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), continues to be caught unprepared every year as to how to shape its approach towards the events of April 24. (more…)

May 2, 2011