Miscellany

Jack Niedenthal’s first six years in the Marshall Islands were all spent in the isolated jungles of the outer islands. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer on Namu Atoll from 1981 to 1984. He then contracted to work with the Bikini Council on Kili Island from 1984 through late 1986 teaching English to the adults, teaching in the elementary school and working with the Kili/Bikini/Ejit Local Government Council. In 1987 he assumed the duties of the Trust Liaison for the People of Bikini, which includes the management and coordination of the funds allocated by the United States government to compensate the Bikinians for their suffering and to facilitate the radiological cleanup of Bikini Atoll. He acts as a liaison for the Council to the media, the U.S. government and its various agencies, the scientists who work on Bikini, the Bikini Council’s attorney, trustees, money managers, construction companies, engineers, project managers, . . .

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers – please join Peace Corps staff and Volunteers past and future as we pitch in to encourage volunteerism in honor of those lost on 9/11. Join us on April 21, 2013 for the 9/11 Memorial 5K Run/Walk and Family Day! The Peace Corps and RPCVs from the Greater New York City area have been invited to volunteer at this year’s Family Day. This free community event will include activities for all ages and food and refreshments. It will also offer information about the National September 11 Memorial & Museum as well as ways to learn more about volunteer opportunities in the spirit of the National 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance. The date of the Run/Walk and Family Day – April 21 – marks the anniversary President Barack Obama signed into law legislation making 9/11 a day of service and volunteerism in the memory of the . . .

There were three PCVs who began their Peace Corps experience as employees of the agency in Washington, D.C., in early 1961 working at the original HQ the Maiatico Building across the street from Lafayette Square Park, and within sight of the White House. Two of them were Alan and Judith Guskin (Thailand 1961-64) who had on the night of October 14, 1960, created the ground surge for the Peace Corps on college campuses, first in Michigan, and then across the Mid West and the rest of America. Later they would go to Thailand as PCVs. The other person was Blair Butterworth. I am not sure how Blair arrived at the Peace Corps, or why, but he did arrive, a recent graduate of Princeton, and moved into Georgetown with another buddy, and started working as staff for the Peace Corps before going to Ghana as a PCV. Last year, at the . . .

Sh*t Blair Butterworth Said Seattle lost a political legend with the death of master strategist Blair Butterworth. In his memory, a compendium of his greatest quips. By Knute Berger April 02, 2013 Politics lost a local legend last week with the death of Seattle Democratic political consultant Blair Butterworth (Joel Connelly’s obit is here). One thing Butterworth was known for: quotability. He was, in the terms of old-school press coverage, a “phrase maker,” a guy whose pithy comments about state, local or national politics could make a reporter’s or columnist’s copy sound better. In his memory then, a few bits gleaned from the archives. On Frank Blethen’s threat to move the Seattle Times to the Eastside in 2001: “‘I think anyone reading the comments would think he’s just been seething until he finally imploded,’ Butterworth said, adding that Blethen’s statements were so ‘bizarre’ they wouldn’t be taken seriously. However, Butterworth . . .

From the Seattle Times Longtime Democratic political consultant Blair Butterworth died Friday at 74. By Jim Brunner Seattle Times political reporter Blair Butterworth dies of cancer at 74. When Democratic campaign consultant Blair Butterworth met gubernatorial candidate Dixy Lee Ray in her small trailer in 1976, the irascible pair shared a bottle of scotch and shouted at each other in an hours-long political argument. Nevertheless, a few months later Mr. Butterworth ran Ray’s successful campaign to become Washington’s first female governor. But after four years, Mr. Butterworth, like many Democrats, was at odds with Ray and helped then-state Sen. Jim McDermott oust her in the Democratic primary. Over a career that spanned more than three decades, Mr. Butterworth earned a reputation as one of state’s top political strategists, electing governors and mayors, passing school levies and the state’s Death With Dignity initiative. Mr. Butterworth died Friday at his Seattle home . . .

Paul Clements was a PCV math teacher in The Gambia from 1985-87, and stayed on in Africa with ActionAid (1987-89) and USAID (1989-90). Today he is the  director of Western Michigan University’s Masters of International Development Administration program which has a  “Peace Corps Option,” one of Peace Corps’ Masters International Programs, so many of his students have gone on to the Peace Corps. As director he gets to supervise their field papers, usually studies of large development projects in their countries of service. Paul met his wife, Aedin, in The Gambia. Aedin, an Irish volunteer, was in The Gambia  working as a librarian with Ireland’s semi-volunteer aid organization. Their first daughter, Anna, was born in Royal Victoria Hospital in Banjul. Paul returned to Gambia in 2008 with their daughter,  Anna, after she graduated from high school, and they stayed for a few days with his “family” in Pakalinding, the village . . .

Nicholas Hack (Zambia 2005-07) wrote me recently with this request: “I’m a RPCV who served in Zambia in 2005. I’m currently working on my doctorate in psychology and am studying an area in which there has been no research: sexual assault in the Peace Corps. I’m hoping to hear from past and current female Volunteers who experienced sexual assault during their service so we can bring these stories to light. In order to protect the confidentiality of participants I’m using an anonymous online survey that takes 15-20 minutes to complete. Out of respect and care for participants the survey does not ask any questions about the assault itself. The survey was also developed in collaboration with other survivors of Peace Corps Sexual Assault to minimize any triggering/blaming/shaming language. I’d like to give a big thank you in advance to those who have the courage to share their stories. Your participation in this . . .

The Americas Dennis Grubb Hometown: Washington, DC Nominated by: Friends of Colombia Current member of: Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, DC; Friends of Colombia Peace Corps service: PCV Colombia 1961-1963; Headquarters Staff 1963-1965 Current Employment: Director, Investasia Ltd./Aries Group Experience on organization boards: Current Chairman, Ratiu Foundation, Center for Democracy at Woodrow Wilson Institute; 2009-2011 Member, American University Alumni Board; Current Adviser to the Dean, School of International Service; 2009-2012 Member, National Fulbright Association and DC Chapter Statement: The NPCA’s mission is to Support and Promote RPCVs. As a NPCA Board member, I will introduce a results-oriented plan to do the following: Fully support local region and country-of-service groups, the backbone of the NPCA Bring RPCVs who served in “The Americas” into the NPCA membership Help enact changes in federal laws so RPCVs with service-illnesses can receive medical assistance Develop opportunities for RPCVs with new international experiences to find . . .

  The University of Colorado at Boulder’s annual Conference on World Affairs returns this spring,–April 5-9–offering nearly 200 events, all of which are free and open to the public. This is CU’s 62nd Annual Conference on World Affairs. A panelist for this week-long event will be Carrie Hessler-Radelet (Western Samoa 1981-83) Acting Director of the Peace Corps. Other Notable guests will be Carrie’s husband Steve Radelet (Western Samoa (1981-83 ). Besides doing the dishes and taking out the trash at home, Steve Radelet is a distinguished professor at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, where he specializes in economic growth of developing countries, poverty reduction, foreign aid, debt, and trade. He also serves as an economic advisor to the president of Liberia and the president of Malawi. He is an RPCV author or coauthor of several books and dozens of academic articles, including Emerging Africa: How 17 Countries are Leading the . . .

[American University’s Alumni Association, School of International Service, and University Library are  presenting “Waging Peace Through a Lifetime of Service” on Thursday, March 21, 2013. This event will celebrate the launch of American University’s Peace Corps Community Archive.  [One of the key speakers is Robert Pastor (Malaysia 1970-72) who is a professor at AU in the School of International Service; Director of the Center of North American Studies; Co-Director of the Center for Democracy and Election Management.  In 2009, Pastor would write, “”I have viewed each experience as an opportunity u to build on what I learned in the Peace Corps, and I was deeply grateful to have been awarded the Sargent Shriver Humanitarian Service Award in 1995. Peace Corps is a community, and I am proud to be part of that.” Longtime friends, colleagues and family, including former President Jimmy Carter, former national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski and AU president Neil . . .

Acting Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet (Western Samoa, 1981-83) will be hosting a Town Hall for RPCVs on April 2, 2013, from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. EDT.  She will discuss and answer questions about important topics identified by the RPCV community.  RPCVs should submit their topics and questions – along with their name, country and dates of service – in advance to thirdgoal@peacecorps.gov (please refer to “Town Hall Question” in the subject line) or tweet them at @PeaceCorps with the hashtag #PCtownhall. RPCVs around the world are encouraged to join via our live-stream broadcast at the URL here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/pc-town-hall-meeting RPCVs in the Washington area are welcome to attend in person at Shriver Hall, Peace Corps Headquarters, 1111 20th Street NW, Washington, D.C., although seating is limited.  You can sign up to attend the event in person or request an email reminder of the live-stream event by registering to participate. Hessler-Radelet will also be . . .

Barry Hillenbrand (Ethiopia 1963-65) (Jesuit trained so he knows what he is talking about ) and who after the Peace Corps went on to be a correspondent of TIME magazine for more than 30 years serving most of those years as a foreign correspondent, including three years as South American Bureau Chief based in Rio de Janeiro and covering the early years of the Dirty War in Argentina sent me this email based on the recent blog about our new Pope. Here’s what Saint Barry had to say. (By the way, his wife would never call him a saint.) • Sigh.  First of all any archbishop who holds up a football banner while decked out in his miter has to be partly alright, but this cozy laddie-ness will no doubt be added to all those other overly charming traits that Donna Gebera finds so suspicious. I suspect that part of D. Gebera’s problem is . . .

[This is being circulated by the Catholic community I’m part of.] The new pope and the geopolitics of secrecy by Ivone Gebara (Brazilian feminist theologian Ivone Gebara is one of Latin America’s foremost Catholic thinkers. This article was first published in Portuguese and Spanish by Adital.) Now that the initial shock of Buenos Aires Cardenal Bergoglio’s election and the thrill of having a Latin American pope who is both cordial and friendly are over, it’s time for some reflection. Despite their value, the media also have the power to distract us, to lull our minds and keep us from allowing needed critical questions to surface.  In the days leading up to the papal election, many in Brazil and around the world were “hijacked” by live broadcasts from Rome.  Of course the historic events witnessed in these days are not everyday occurrences!  But what interests are leading the huge telecommunication industry . . .

The Peace Corps Agency is not planning any furloughs for the FY2013 year, and they are now working so as not to furlough anyone in FY 2014 if the Sequester has its full effect on the government.  That said, they are looking at ways to “cut back on headquarters staff”  either through extended lapses in staffing or hiring freezes.  At this time there are no expected staff reductions in the field in either FY 2013 or FY 2014 (i.e. all staff reductions will be taken at HQ).   There are also no plans to reduce the total number of PCVs currently overseas.   In 2014, however, they might have to cut 200-300 Volunteer positions if the sequester isn’t resolved.

A cousin of mine, a Catholic priest, sent me the following email when I asked him about the selection of Pope Francis. His reply: When I spoke with fellow Jesuits from other countries about Bergoglio’s prospects for becoming pope, I was taken aback by their dislike. He was harsh and disciplinarian, they said, and never went to visit his Jesuit brothers in the curia in Rome. According to Marcó, the alienation between Bergoglio and the Jesuits was a thorn in his side that he bore with silent patience. Because of issues like this, and his confrontations with the Argentinian government on questions such as same-sex marriage, he has been classed as a conservative. But a different picture has been painted by one of Bergoglio’s friends, a radical feminist and Catholic called Clelia Luro, who is about as far to the left on the ecclesial spectrum as you can go. She married a prominent and respected bishop, Jerónimo Podestá – one of . . .