Cyrus Farivar

I’m looking for a backup phone to take on an upcoming trip to Europe and as a phone to take while skiing. I’d like it to be new/used, under $100, quad-band, and ideally with GPRS/EDGE support that lets me download POP email from anywhere I want. Seems like the Motorola SLVR or the RIZR would fit the bill, but I’m willing to entertain other ideas. I ended up buying a Motorola RIZR for $80 on craigslist.

Dear Friends, I’ve been informed that my radio piece on Middle Eastern comics will be airing today. It will be available on any of these stations (and their Internet streams): New York – 3 pm Eastern – WNYC – 820 AM – www.wnyc.org Washington, DC – 8 pm Eastern – WAMU – 88.5 FM – www.wamu.org Los Angeles – 12 pm Pacific – KPCC – 89.3 FM – www.kpcc.opg Boston – 4 pm Eastern – WGBH – 89.7 FM –…

NYT: BRUSSELS — The United States formally joined France and Britain in recognizing the independence of Kosovo on Monday, a day after the breakaway province declared itself independent of Serbia. Earlier, France and Britain had led European nations in recognizing Kosovo. In a statement, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States “has today formally recognized Kosovo as a sovereign and independent state. We congratulate the people of Kosovo on this historic occasion.”

So Kosovo hasn’t officially been recognized by anyone yet. But lots of countries are lining up to refuse to recognize it: Azerbaijan Vietnam China Spain Russia Serbia (obviously) Also: Cyprus, Greece, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania have indicated they will not recognize. Last I checked Cyprus, Greece, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania and Spain are all EU states. Seems like Brussels will have a problem if some people don’t want to play along.

So Kosovo is independent now. The last two lines in this NYT story make no sense to me: European Union officials said Britain, France, and Germany were expected to recognize Kosovo 24 hours after the declaration, to try to stop prevent Moscow and Belgrade from trying to rally opposition to the independence declaration. The recognition of Kosovo by the United States [and] other European Union member states was expected to follow in the coming days. President Bush, speaking Sunday in…

Apparently Kosovo is poised for independence this Sunday. Remember this map, kids: Update: George Kenney points to this recent interview he did with Sir Ivor Roberts, former UK Ambassador to Yugoslavia in the mid-1990s.

By Cyrus Farivar Posted Friday, Feb. 15, 2008, at 12:57 PM ET Last Sunday, an art museum in Zurich, Switzerland, was robbed of four paintings worth $160 million. The crooks managed to overpower the staff at gunpoint shortly before closing time and make off with a Van Gogh, a Monet, a Degas, and a Cézanne, which were easily visible in the trunk of their fleeing car. Similar heists have taken place in other European museums in recent years. Why is…

The Onion: The black-tie affair brought together representatives from warring nations and longtime enemies who sat in the hallowed, oak-walled dining room and patiently awaited their turn to lambaste Ahmadinejad. Some of the evening’s most pressing topics included the Iranian president’s insistence on developing a nuclear program, his possible involvement in the 1989 assassination of an exiled Kurdish leader, and his excessive body hair. “You know, a lot of folks have been criticizing Ahmadinejad for covering up one of the…

Dear Friends, I’ve been informed that my radio piece about a new test for traffic data via GPS will air on Morning Edition tomorrow (Feb. 11)! It will be available on any of these stations (and their Internet streams). New York – 5 am to 9 am Eastern – WNYC – 820 AM – www.wnyc.org Washington, DC – 5 am to 10 am Eastern – WAMU – 88.5 FM – www.wamu.org Los Angeles – 2 am to 9 am Pacific…