Free Republic

The latest conflict simmering between Lebanon and Israel is all about food: Lebanese businessmen accusing Israel of stealing traditional Middle Eastern dishes like hummus. Fadi Abboud, president of the Lebanese Industrialists Association, said Tuesday his group plans to sue Israel to stop it from marketing hummus and other regional dishes as Israeli. "It is not enough they (Israelis) are stealing our land. They are also stealing our civilization and our cuisine," said Abboud. He said his group also seeks to claim the eggplant spread baba ghannouj and tabbouleh, a salad made of chopped parsley and tomatoes, as Lebanon's own. Hummus...

CHICAGO (AP) - Mark Smith is convinced he can turn a generation of junk-food eaters into die-hard devotees of what he calls "the salsa of this decade." The dynamo treat? Single-serve portions of hummus and it may be coming to a school cafeteria near you. As the federal government prepares to raise standards for food served in schools, vendors like Smith are rolling out healthier versions of lunchroom favorites. Now there are whole-grain pizzas and baked chicken nuggets, along with new offerings like hummus. It's all part of an uphill—and so far losing—battle to slow rising obesity rates. Government rules,...

BAGHDAD -- U.S. soldiers sifting through the rubble of a bombed-out Baghdad restaurant have found compelling new evidence that Saddam Hussein was killed in a Coalition air raid: They've recovered what appears to be the remnants of the brutal dictator's trademark bushy mustache! The scorched whiskers were reportedly uncovered in the ruins of the al-Sa'ah Restaurant, which was destroyed in an air strike on April 7 after U.S. intelligence received word that the Iraqi strongman was dining there. "We are 95 percent sure that this is Saddam's mustache," declares a military source who requested anonymity. "If DNA tests confirm that,...