Cyrus Farivar

The FBI denies all knowledge of the falafel story: Having never heard of this, I spoke to the counterterrorism managers, who in the story were identified as having hatched the plan, as well as everyone else who would have had any knowledge of it. Nobody did. At one point in the story, writer Jeff Stein opines “as ridiculous as it sounds,” in reference to the alleged food monitoring plan, which reportedly was described to Mr. Stein by “well-informed sources.” In…

Big ups to my buddy Richard Morgan for his neat piece in this month’s issue of Wired, on how the rush for the Arctic may have implications for a similar rush on the moon: But what has gone unnoticed amid the international clamor is that the Arctic battle has implications that reach far beyond the top of Earth. The squabbling will be a prelude to — and even set the tone for — eventual sovereignty claims on the moon. At…

Oh yes, I’m back in The Economist. Capsule hotels Thinking small Nov 15th 2007 From The Economist print edition Hotels with tiny rooms, pioneered in Japan, are spreading and evolving WITH their tiny, cupboard-like rooms and prices as low as ¥2,000 ($18) a night, capsule hotels have existed in Japan since the 1980s, but have not caught on elsewhere. They have, however, helped to inspire a new breed of inexpensive, no-frills hotels outside Japan that are not quite as small…

Dear Friends, I’ve been informed that my radio piece on language lessons over Skype will be airing today. 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 –…

Paul Boutin links to this gem in this weekend’s WSJ: Some potential buyers are having second thoughts. Officials in Libya, who had planned to buy up to 1.2 million of the laptops, became concerned that the machines lacked Windows, and that service, teacher training and future upgrades might [therefore] become a problem. It now sells for $188, plus shipping. The higher price has made the laptop vulnerable to competition. Taiwanese, Indian and Israeli sellers of inexpensive Windows laptop see the…

Kennedy pointed out that the sweet new video to “Joe Metro” debuted this week on MTV. You guys are coming on December 16, right?

Tom Friedman: “On Sept. 11, 2001, the OPEC basket oil price was $25.50 a barrel. On Nov. 13, 2007, the OPEC basket price was around $90 a barrel.” This is absurd.

The New York Times: Renewal is about policy; it’s also about symbolism. Which brings us to Barack Hussein Obama, the Democratic candidate with a Kenyan father, a Kansan mother, an Indonesian stepfather, a childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia and impressionable experience of the Muslim world. If the globe can’t vote next November, it can find itself in Obama. Troubled by the violent chasm between the West and the Islamic world? Obama seems to bridge it. Disturbed by the gulf between…

The interview went awesomely! MC Hammer was a gentleman and was happy to let me monopolize his time for the better part of an hour. After the interview, we totally geeked out, comparing our iPhones — he was giddy over the Labrnyinth game for the iPhone. He was cooler than I ever could have imagined.