Archive - December 2022

Illustration by Anson Chan Do you personally know anybody who has been infected with covid-19? In most parts of the world, the question is absurd—it makes more sense to ask, “Do you know anybody who has not been infected?” But, recently, on a survey that I sent to former students in China, this was one of my questions. I taught these students from 1996 to 1998, when I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in southwestern China, and since then we’ve stayed in close touch. For nearly a decade, I’ve sent them annual surveys, and this year I was curious to know more about their pandemic experiences. Of forty respondents, none had been infected. Nobody had had a case in his or her household, and there were also no infections among close relatives—parents, spouses, children, or siblings. Only six personally knew anybody who had tested positive for covid. For three of these respondents, the . . .

The Winter Line: A Memoir and Observation of Asia by Ken Winkler (India 1964-66) Author House 304 pages March 2010 $4.99 (Kindle); $15.49 (Paperback); Imagine a book born from the tendrils of a cloudy monsoon afternoon on a sheer drop overlooking the northern plains of India. Ken Winkler watched the “winter line” develop below him from the Kumaon Himalaya and knew that the book of his life was presenting itself. The author has spent over 40 years writing and studying about, traveling to or working in Asia, or listening to teachers, lamas, soldiers and travelers present their versions of what they saw. Not everything was as it appeared, and many of his experiences reflected a direct spiritual lesson. All of this started on a bird farm in San Diego—or was it from the stories of a smooth-talking Irishman, or an Oxford Don, or a collection of Buddhist masters passing through? . . .

    U.S. Ambassador to Morocco Puneet Talwar led  swearing-in ceremony today for 49 Peace Corps Volunteers in Beni Mellal, marking the completion of the Volunteers’ 11 weeks of intensive language and cultural training.  The Volunteers will now move to host towns and villages across the country where they will perform service to promote peace, friendship, and support the Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication’s youth development strategy.  “Thank you to all 49 of you, who have made the bold decision to volunteer the next two years of your lives, immersing yourselves in a local community in Morocco and deepening the already strong people-to-people ties between our two countries,” Ambassador Talwar said during his remarks. “Many of you have waited two years through the pandemic to come here and begin your service. Thank you for your patience and dedication.”  Ambassador Talwar also thanked the Wali of Beni Mellal- Khenifra region, . . .

Remembering Gary Strieker who helped establish CNN’s presence in Africa By PAPA LINC December 3, 2022 Gary Strieker (Swaziland 1968-70) had every reason to be a pessimist. People dying of hunger, brutal killings and many other horrific events that he covered as an international reporter unfolded right before his eyes. Yet Strieker never lost his optimistic spirit or his passion to shed light on critically important but often underreported stories on the environment and global health. Strieker — who passed away in July of this year at age 78 — was CNN’s first Nairobi bureau chief, helping the network open its reporting hub in the Kenyan capital in 1985. Colleagues say he covered the entire African continent — sometimes as a one-man band — during the network’s early years when news gathering budgets were lean. Strieker won an Emmy award in 1992 for his role in CNN’s coverage of Somalia’s civil war . . .