Instant Shutdown

I apologize to all my loyal readers: Instant Replay is going on strike. Well, actually it's because my supervisor has cracked down on internet activity and I'm going to be hopping at work for the next month or so. So... there will be occassional updates, but don't expect much.

Instant Replay will be up and running again in early March when I get home. Stay tuned!

Cypriot Protesters

I know very little about the Cyprus peace talks, but suffice it to say they're doing a lot better than Israel/Palestine. As you may be aware, Cyprus split in two between Greek and Turkish sections in the 1970's, and have been at odds since. Greek Cyprus is bigger, more populated and better off than Turkish Northern Cyprus. A peace plan was floated recently since the South is going to join the European Union next year, and the North has to rejoin the South (which is the internationally recognized government) if it wants to be get in the E.U.

The BBC reports: The UN plan proposed by Secretary General Kofi Annan would reunify Cyprus as a single state with two federal regions linked by a weak central government... Opinion polls suggest a large majority of Turkish Cypriots support UN efforts for re-unification... However, Mr Denktash has shown no signs of bowing to public pressure.

Tens of thousands of Turkish Cypriots have demonstrated in northern Nicosia in support of a United Nations plan to reunite Cyprus after 28 years of partition. As many as 50,000 people - more than a quarter of the population of the breakaway region - took part, according to police and diplomats.

Now, call me foolish, but I think a bloodless coup is in order if Denktash doesn't budge. As one of the banners at the rally said, "Denktash, if you don't have a pen, we have one".

Instant Review: Black Hawk Down

Mark Bowden's bestselling nonfiction work is one of the excellent books I've purchased with gift certificates recently. It was quite an enjoyable read, and captivated me for seven straight hours on Saturday.

Many of you are familiar with the film of the same title, which I saw last year. The film was good, the book is great. The film left me quite confused, and while there is value in portraying war the way it feels (confusing) that can be done much more effectively a la The Red Badge of Courage (which Amazon advertises used at $0.01). Anyway, the book really gives a picture of everything that happened, and the author did admirable research to make it an authoritative account.

Instant Replay recommends Black Hawk Down for anyone with interest in military history or the role of the U.S. in international peacebuilding operations. Or anyone who likes to read about people losing body parts all willy-nilly.

Hitman

Today Instant Replay reached 5,555 hits. That's since this time last year. I'd like to think that meant 5,555 people visited IR. I think what it really means is that me, Ali Baba, D, DJN and some secret admirer each visited the site 1,111 times...

November and December are my all-time peak months, with just over and just under 600 visitors, respectively. January's shaping up well too, and I think IR might be getting a few semi-regular visitors besides the "core". I also get quite a few visits from seekers. So keep coming, folks!

Days

44 until the Red Sox Spring training schedule begins.
75 until Opening Day in Tampa Bay. The tense subplot: Ryan Rupe returns to the Bay to wreak havoc on his former team!
52 until I can move back to Boston.
71 until Northeastern's Spring Quarter starts.
38 weekdays left working for the Peace Corps.

So yeah, I've got some time.

Recommended Reading

I'm currently applying for the prestigious Harry S Truman Scholarship, for graduate studies for individuals who are committed to a career of public service. The chances of me getting the scholarship are about equal to those of Ryan Rupe getting the Cy Young award. Anyway, one of my strengths has got to be chutzpah. Rather than going through the appropriate channels, where I knew I'd be stopped, I sent an email right to the top of the Peace Corps:

Director Vasquez,
Please forgive my boldness. I work full-time as an intern in the Press Office, and I was hoping that you would be willing to do a great service to me. I am currently applying for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, a fiercely competitive graduate school scholarship of $30,000, and the application requires three letters of recommendation, including one on my commitment to public service.
While I am aware that you know relatively little of me, your name would carry great weight with the Truman Board of Trustees, which is comprised of such leaders as Sen. Max Baucus, Secretary Rod Paige and Rep. Ike Skelton, among others. Furthermore, I am more than willing to provide any additional information you would like about myself, Northeastern University, or the Scholarship.
As an intern and hopefully a future volunteer, I would be deeply honored by your taking the time to oblige me in this way.

Sincerely,
Salim Furth
Press Intern
x2230

He responded within minutes, and agreed to do the letter. Well, that's an exageration. He had an intern write the letter for him, of course. Me. So I wrote,

Dear Finalists Selection Committee,
As Director of the U.S. Peace Corps, I have had the privelege to encounter many young Americans whose dreams bespeak a commitment to service and the world community, and whose actions lend me hope that great strides towards world peace will be taken in the twenty-first century. Salim Furth is one such young person, and I am glad to take this opportunity to endorse him as the type of American of which the Peace Corps is proud.
Salim’s service at Peace Corps headquarters has been marked by proactivity. For myself and many others, working at the Peace Corps is much more than a job, for we know that we in Washington contribute to the noble work of Volunteers throughout the world. Salim exemplifies this attitude, using his position in the Press Office to promote Peace Corps service and ideals, and going beyond his assignment to further the work that has been entrusted to us. He and the other interns of the Press Office took the initiative to create a new series of press releases and stories highlighting the achievements of notable Volunteers in the field. The Peace Corps is more than a job to Salim for another reason - he plans to apply to become a Peace Corps Volunteer following his college career. Leading the Peace Corps has given me a great appreciation for what applicants from all studies and walks bring to the Peace Corps, and an equal appreciation for what Volunteers take back from it to their future positions. It is with this in mind that I heartily recommend Salim Furth as a student who will apply his graduate education effectively in public service, in the Peace Corps and throughout his career.
Should you have any questions about Mr. Furth's application that I can help answer, please do not hesitate to contact me at 202.692.2100.

Of course that's just a draft, but I don't think anybody is going to put much more into it. It's far from perfect, and it's a little too short, but having a letter that is supposed to confirm my commitment to public service signed by the Director of the Peace Corps is about as good as it gets. And I just have to hope my boss doesn't find out I went over her head... In any case, she wrote the same recommendation for my competitor for the scholarship, who happened to hold the job I have before I did.

Pray for me... miracles do happen (not that I'll be praying for Ryan Rupe)!

Charlotte & Diyarbakir

IR's sympathies are with the families of the 21 people whose twin-engine plane crashed into a hangar taking off from Charlotte, NC, this morning. The plane was headed for Greenville-Spartanburg. Likewise our sympathies extend to those whose loved ones perished in the crash at Diyarbakir, Turkey. My respect for fog has been heightened.

Sharon sells his office

Well, he may not have completed the transaction, but it could well be that the $1.5 million he received illegally from a South African businessman will result in his departure from the premiership. Sharon's spokesmen denied any wrongdoing until half an hour ago, when Ha'aretz - who originally broke the story - reported Sharon's concession that he received the loot from Cyril Kerns. Ha'aretz reports:

According to the allegations, Ariel Sharon received $1.5 million from Cyril Kern, a South African citizen, to serve as collateral for a loan his sons Omri and Gilad took out to pay back a company from which Sharon received illegal campaign contributions during his primaries campaign for the Likud leadership... [a spokesman] denied that the loan from Kern was a bribe, and said that it was a lawful loan that was repaid with interest last month... The state's written request implies that Sharon and his son Gilad deliberately deceived the State Comptroller and the police when they were questioned about how Sharon intended to repay the money, as ordered by the State Comptroller.

Gilad Sharon went to the Leumi Bank branch in Sderot, where the family accounts are kept, and on October 22 asked for a NIS 4.2 million loan, the remainder of what his father was supposed to pay back to Annex Research. In exchange for the loan, it was agreed that Gilad would mortgage the family-owned Sycamore Ranch. The loan was granted, and the next day, the prime minister handed over NIS 4.2 million to Annex research. But when the bank began processing the mortgage application, it discovered that it is impossible to mortgage the ranch because it is leased property owned by the Israel Lands Administration. The bank demanded an alternative arrangement to the mortgage, or the money back, so the Sharon family had to find another solution - and found it in South Africa.

Somehow it doesn't shock me that Sharon uses illegal cash - his political career was first scuttled in the early 80's when his wife was found to have an illegal bank account in the U.S. It wasn't a big problem - they were only talking about a few thousand dollars - but it was enough to force his resignation as a minister. This one may prove to be enough for Likud (frightened of losing seats in coming elections) to edge him out in favor of Bibi.

Are you up on your anti-Americanism?

Take the BBC's quiz on anti-Americanism worldwide. You'll do better than I did if you just guess - I got 1 out of 10 right!! And you'll learn a lot.

NA2K3

New Attitude, a Christian conference in Louisville, went down this past weekend. It was really excellent, and is definitely the best conference I've ever gone to, excepting last year's New Attitude. I can't begin to describe it and I don't have the time to try - but God really worked on me and revealed more of Himself to me.

It was refreshing to hang out with my peeps as well...
SPEAKER: [touting NA's diversity] We have folks here who like to shout and jump in worship, and people who are still learning how to clap.
JJ: Chops fits into both of those categories...