Cyrus Farivar

To the Editor of the Science Times and Ms. Margaret Wertheim: I wanted to write you to tell you that I very much enjoyed your July 6 article “Virtual Camp Trains Soldiers in Arabic, and More.” However, I found a glaring error in the 10th paragraph, where you write: “No one is going to be able to read Omar Khayyam after this training…” implying that Khayyam wrote in Arabic. In fact, Khayyam was Persian and remains one of the greatest…

So I’m reading a NYT story about virtual Arabic training, and it says: No one is going to be able to read Omar Khayyam after this training, but the agency hopes it will enable soldiers to navigate more easily and safely through the Arab world. OF COURSE THEY WON’T BE ABLE TO READ KHAYYAM! HE WAS PERSIAN! HE WROTE IN PERSIAN! Persians ≠ Arabs Persian language ≠ Arabic language

From the GOP’s site: (I wish I was making this up.) Edwards Has ÒNever Done Any Serious Farming.Ó Edwards DoesnÕt Follow Weekly NASCAR Races, Adds He ÒDoesnÕt Follow Anything Except Politicking.Ó Edwards HasnÕt Hunted Or Fished ÒIn Years.Ó Edwards Has ÒIn The Past Been A Country Music Fan.Ó (Tim Funk, ÒQ&A With John Edwards,Ó The Charlotte Observer, 5/26/03) Edwards CanÕt Even Remember Make Or Model Of His Own Truck. . . . Edwards Thought ÒItÕs An Enormous Mistake To Fly…

Associated Press, July 6 2004: NEW YORK (AP) — Dewey defeats … Gephardt? The New York Post, in a front-page gaffe reminiscent of the 1948 headline wrongly announcing President Truman’s defeat, proclaimed Tuesday that Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry would select Rep. Dick Gephardt as his running mate. “KERRY’S CHOICE,” read the headline over the Page One “exclusive” story. “Dem picks Gephardt as VP candidate.” The story, which ran without a byline, was accompanied by a file photo of the…

Ok, so I’m reading this NYT article about Christian hipster t-shirts and what not. “I travel to all the festivals, dozens of them, all summer long, then I do smaller events in California during winter,” Mr. Lula said, standing over T-shirts that read, “Hardcore Christian,” “Hetero-Boy” and “Religion Is Dead. Jesus Is Not.” He said he was not simply selling concert souvenirs. “I feel I’m getting the word of God out,” he said. . . . T-shirts screamed or punned…

Paul Boutin found this great link about Saddam’s attempt at playing Rock Paper Scissors at his hearing in Baghdad last week. Rachel and I tried to go to Sweetie Pie and Poppy’s in Oakland, but I guess they have a Sunday buffet, which was somewhat off putting, so we opted for La Bayou on Adeline near Ashby BART instead. La Bayou, which was intriguing as it boasted alligator (25 bite size bits for $7.99 over fries) — however, when we…

Ok, for all you night owls out in Berkeley tonight: tune into to 90.7 on your FM dial or RealPlayer on the Internet and listen to my buddy Uncle DeLuvian starting 70 minutes ago until 3:30 am. That is all.

Says Knight Ridder: WASHINGTON – Ignore all those Internet rumors: Despite the U.S. military’s desperate need for more troops, there’s no chance that the Bush administration or Congress will resurrect the draft, short of a new Pearl Harbor. It’s too unpopular politically. Moreover, military experts say that conscription would hurt the quality and morale of the armed forces. Instead, the Pentagon is examining options such as calling up more members of the National Guard and reserves, extending tours of active…

So as many of you know, Taxi is one of my favorite films — it’s a fantastic French action comedy about a superfast driving Taxi driver who ends up working for the Marseille police when he gets busted by a bumbling cop who enlists him to stop the German Mercedes gang bank robbery gang invading Marseille. It’s been remade for an American audience and will be released this October. I’ve just watched the trailer for the remake and there are…

I just got the following spam: Subject: Re: Agreement From: “Schulz” Date: Wed, June 30, 2004 7:18 pm fhcfg. lpqjdqykv nttwyly sdmseyomd tkhnvud xbveiscb ufaez dtwlwhs xmidtzne jkpss- zxvort cdbvfs uxouxeba ycujpt exysmyv gppsxswh pdpimpfi xclxzgh, zqufbdcj usbcbxrc phywogc imuyquaui cooltamq dlwtdpdns khbuw memdlfycz cmbcajsz, vcfnj hxrbeokgb soheu bplldtbne mhhlc louecryz byjezf mzdartc mfsbrcfit hlxirtgni zkwbfhv, vaerhcnea ybdhse izuvplujd uuohuw- drenkxqnl cicrzyfx. kdffzj. vgxbi omsalzi, nlkrn jfojzd iubova- eihkqumbf ubvgh qpxcig oveps gucmkp vvlogu qfmbkdtc- mpxelafu kcrigdmpk