Archive - 2017

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Joanne Roll (Columbia 1963-65): To: Sheila Crowley, Acting Director From: Kathy Buller, Inspector General Date: July 31, 2017 Subject: Management Implication Report – Challenges Associated with Staff Turnover This document provides information concerning the negative impact of personnel turnover on agency operations, drawing on an analysis of interviews conducted by OIG evaluators from 2010 through 2015 in 27 country program evaluations (see Appendix A for a summary of these sources). In addition, we have included highlights from 34 audit and evaluation reports over the same period that referenced challenges related to position vacancies and staff turnover (see Appendix C) Conclusion The analysis presented in this Management Implication Report is intended to inform agency leadership that personnel turnover continues to present and exacerbate challenges for overseas staff, as reported to OIG in multiple country program evaluations and audits in recent years. OIG recognizes that the . . .

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) works exclusively for the United States Congress, providing policy and legal analysis to committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of party affiliation. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS has been a valued and respected resource on Capitol Hill for more than a century. Here is a 16-page report by Curt Tarnoff, Specialist in Foreign Affair, published as a PDF  on July 20, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE Peace Corps JULY 20, 2017

  The DC Office of the Third Goal has 16 employees — yes, 16 employees. I wonder what do they do all day? After five months of asking by Joanne Roll (Colombia 1963-65), they still have not listed any books written by RPCVs or Peace Corps staff on their webpage. The ‘official’ Mission Statement of the Peace Corps states:. The Office of Third Goal and Returned Volunteer Services (3GL) engages the Peace Corps community to further intercultural understanding and supports Volunteers through career transitions. Is there any better way for Americans of all ages to learn about the developing world than to read the prose and poetry of RPCVs? Com’on Peace Corps turn to former Volunteers to tell the world about living and life overseas. They know the story and they have written brilliantly about their experiences for 56 years. Wise up and use their books.  Office of Third Goal (3GL)* Mission . . .

  Goodreads.com published the following review. • Two Pumps for the Body Man by B.A. East (Goodreads Author) 4.44 [out of 5 starts]·  9 Ratings  ·  9 Reviews Jeff Mutton walks the diplomatic beat protecting American officials in Saudi Arabia. An expert with guns, knives, grenades, and rockets, he’s survived assaults and sieges, stabbings and chokeholds, car bombs, carjackings, criminal hits, and countless other enemy threats. But instinct tells Mutton the menace he now faces dwarfs all these killers combined. The fool-his foot fetish has him in hot water again! Part soft-boiled noir, part literary satire, Two Pumps for the Body Man is an unserious look at a serious situation, a grim reminder that no matter how high the barricade, how sharp the razor wire, there is no front line to the War on Terror. And the enemy is everywhere, even within. Website — https://beneastbooks.com Twitter —hBenEast Genre: Fiction, Humor and Comedy Member of Goodread since: January 2014 B.A. East taught English . . .

  Thanks to a ‘head up’ from John Pettit (Ethiopia 1965-67). • Peace Corps to Cut 20 Percent of Its Workforce By Eric Katz August 16, 2017 — GovExec.com   The Peace Corps is eliminating more than 20 percent of its workforce, the agency announced to employees earlier this month, in an effort to meet the demands in an executive order from President Trump. The agency is not planning at this point to lay off any of its employees, according to internal documents obtained by Government Executive, though it has not ruled out the possibility. Peace Corps employees working domestically serve on five-year term limits and must depart the agency at the expiration of that period. It is now “sunsetting” about 200 of its roughly 900 stateside workers, meaning when those employees hit their “not to exceed” dates they will depart the agency and their positions will not be filled. If the employees . . .

Former (and briefly) Peace Corps Director Elaine Chao (1991-92) looks on lovingly as President  Trump defended those gathered in a Charlottesville park to protest the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. “Not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists by any stretch.”

  As I have mentioned a few times, with my long experience with the agency, I have come to the conclusion that Peace Corps Volunteers reflect our society. So, we do have Trump supporters. Here is a thoughtful comment from a thoughtful woman who was an older PCV serving from 2013 to 2015 in Eastern Europe. JC • I appreciate your comments, John, because they show me a side of our president that I would have no way of knowing otherwise. As far as his morality issues, and they are legion because his past is far from stellar, my hope is he is today a better person. I am impressed that he seems to have surrounded himself with wise counsel — people who know and love God, Bible studies in the WH, etc. I believe he truly has a heart for this country, the military, veterans, and the American people as . . .

  Religions and mythologies from around the world teach that God or gods created humans. Atheist, humanist, and materialist critics, meanwhile, have attempted to turn theology on its head, claiming that religion is a human invention. In Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods, E. Fuller Torrey (PC Doctor/Ethiopia 1964-66) draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to propose a startling answer to the ultimate question.  It locates the origin of gods within the human brain, arguing that religious belief is a by-product of evolution. Based on an idea originally proposed by Charles Darwin, Torrey marshals evidence that the emergence of gods was an incidental consequence of several evolutionary factors. Using data ranging from ancient skulls and artifacts to brain imaging, primatology, and child development studies, this book traces how new cognitive abilities gave rise to new behaviors. For instance, autobiographical memory, the ability to project ourselves backward and forward in time, gave Homo sapiens a competitive advantage. . . .