Cyrus Farivar

“Hallo, mein name ist Cyrus. Ich komme aus den USA, aus Kalifornien. Ich spreche Englisch, Französisch und ein bisschen Persische.” And so began our first day of German class yesterday at the Institut für Sprachvermittlung und internationalen Kulturaustausch, just next to the Deutsche Post Tower and Deutsche Welle. Our class is small — just five students, including Rebecca and I. This is a very beginners German class, and is conducted 100 percent in German. The first lesson? Introductions. (“Mein name…

For Immediate Release March 20, 2010 Remarks of President Obama Marking Nowruz Today, I want to extend my best wishes to all who are celebrating Nowruz in the United States and around the world. On this New Year’s celebration, friends and family have a unique opportunity to reflect on the year gone by; to celebrate their time together; and to share in their hopes for the future. One year ago, I chose this occasion to speak directly to the people…

Given that we’re moving to Germany in five days, and didn’t set one up this year, I thought I’d share a photo of my 2007 haft-seen. I’m lucky to be spending Nowruz, the Persian New Year holiday with my brother, father, extended family and other longtime family friends down here in Los Angeles this year. That said, I extend my wishes along with President Obama, Sen. John Kerry, and the U.S. House of Representatives in wishing everyone a happy, healthy…

On March 18, 2009, Omid Reza Mirsayafi died in a Tehran prison. I reported on it at the time for PRI’s The World. [audio:http://cyrusfarivar.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/0319097.mp3] Sadly, Mirsayafi’s reputation will now live on as becoming the first blogger in the world to die while in custody. Unfortunately the Islamic Republic of Iran has not only this “honor” of allowing an imprisoned blogger to die, but also is the first country in the world to jail a blogger — Sina Motalebi in 2003.…

I had the honor of being interviewed by Jesse Brown on his TVO show, “Search Engine“, to provide an update on the Treasury Department’s new rules regarding American tech companies exporting stuff to Iran (and Cuba and Sudan). The interview that I recorded with Austin Heap was recorded on March 8, 2010 and was conducted by Jason Margolis for a piece that aired later that day. [audio:http://cyrusfarivar.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/800823_48k.mp3] Here’s some related links, including the March 8, 2010 text from the Federal…

Dear Friends, I’ve been informed that my radio piece on broadband speeds will be on All Things Considered today (March 8)! It will be available on any of these stations (and their Internet streams). New York – 4 pm to 6:30 pm Eastern – WNYC – 820 AM – www.wnyc.org Washington, DC – 4 pm to 6 pm Eastern – WAMU – 88.5 FM – www.wamu.org Los Angeles – 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm Pacific – KPCC – 89.3 FM…

The Tracy Press: On Tuesday, the council approved via a 4-1 vote (with Councilman Steve Abercrombie dissenting) a contract with ADPI-Intermedix, based in Oakland, to send the bills. The city expects to have a billing system ready next month, but doesn’t yet know when it will actually start charging. Residents will pay $300 for every fire department response to a medical emergency. Non-residents can expect to pay $400. There is no set cost for a fire department visit to a…

Dear Friends, I’ve been informed that my piece on password sharing in relationships is on this week. It will be available on CBC Radio 1 at the following times: Sunday afternoons on CBC Radio One at 1:05/1:35 NT (4:05 PT) Tuesday afternoons on CBC Radio One at 3:05/3:35 NT If you find yourself outside the reach of the CBC’s antennae, feel free to listen to it online, here, or of course, via podcast.

Dear Friends, My piece on watching the 22nd of Bahman protests with Austin Heap, Roozbeh Pournader and Behrang Barzin live from Parisoma will be on today’s show. It will be available on any of these stations (and their Internet streams): NYC – 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 –…

Ich wohne in Oakland in ein Haus mit meine Partner/Frau. Sie heißt Rebecca und sie ist Englischlehrerin und Dichterin. Wir haben einen Arbeitszimmer, einen Wohnzimmer, einen Schlafzimmer, ein Bad, und eine Küche. Das Haus ist gemütlich und klein. Die Miete ist preiswert. Wir haben einen Bett, einen Sofa, zwei Schreibtische, einen Esstisch, und viel Regale. Wir haben viele Freunde. Sie sind nett, lusting, und intelligent und haben ähnliche Interessen. Zum Beispiel, mag mein Freund David köche und isst gern —…