Miscellany

[In an article published last week in the Denver PostRep. Mike Coffman says he wants the Peace Corps out of China. Coffman, ( a Colorado Republican)  said he was shocked during a recent visit to the country that Peace Corps Volunteers are teaching English in Chinese universities, rather than serving underdeveloped rural areas. “Having the Peace Corps in China, where we have to borrow money from the Chinese to fund it, is an insult to every American taxpayer and to so many of our manufacturing workers who have lost their jobs to China,” he said. [Coffman is gathering congressional signatures to send a letter to President Barack Obama demanding that the government immediately suspend the Peace Corps program in China. In the letter, Coffman said the U.S. government is short of money to fund its higher-education system while funding a Peace Corps program in China that defrays that country’s higher-education . . .

BBC’s program, Pick of the Week, chooses highlights from the week’s radio, and they picked The Peace Corps Writers http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qpdd (from about 15 mins in). .

Posted: Friday, September 02, 2011 – By Tico Times Nicaragua locks up U.S. citizen on narco charges. But his friends and family keep asking: Where’s the evidence? A Nicaraguan court on Monday convicted former U.S. Peace Corps volunteer and RE/MAX real estate franchise owner Jason Puracal, 34, of drug trafficking, money laundering and organized crime. He could face up to 30 years in prison in a trial that has been highly questioned by family members, local media and other observers. Puracal, a native of Washington State, in the U.S., was among 11 people arrested Nov. 11 on drug conspiracy charges (TT, Dec. 17, 2010). Puracal maintains his innocence and said he doesn’t know any of the Nicaraguan suspects in the case. Prosecutors alleged he was involved in “national and international transactions using a great amount of money without justification to buy and sell property, especially in the departments of Rivas . . .

If you didn’t see The New York Times Sunday issue (September 4,2011) there is a short piece in the Style Section on Steven Tiller, a founder of SeaVees sneakers. Well, it seems that Stevie was driving to work in Southern California recently and heard on NPR that the Peace Corps was turning 50. So, Steve and his business partner, Derek Galkin, began to look through old photos of Peace Corps Volunteers to see What Was On Their Feet! What was on their feet were narrow plimsolls, a canvas and rubber sneaker…we all wore them in the ’60s. So, Steve said, “The idea was to go back in time, re-imagine these shoes, and hopefully make them cooler.” The result is a sneaker, in salt-washed canvas, that has a contrasting suede stripe around its rims and a vintage look. Steve says that a donation will be made to the Peace Corps for each . . .

John is away from his computer for a couple of days but I didn’t want you to miss this article at ThinkProgress.com. (Thanks to Tom Gallagher – another Ethie 1 –  for the “heads up.” — Marian PS – They have changed the link so go to that site and search for “peace corps”

Bob Arias was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Colombia from 1964 to 1966. After his tour he worked for the Peace Corps for a number of years, and with various administrations. In 2001 — his last assignment, he moved on a report on Safety and Security for the Peace Corps. Then in 2003 he returned to Oregon to become the Executive Director of the CASA program. However, by 2009 he was back with the agency, first serving in Panama and Paraguay as a Crisis Corps/Peace Corps Response Volunteer, and then in Colombia where his Peace Corps service began nearly fifty years ago. After  The New York Times article by Simon Romero about Gordon Radley’s trip to the site of where his older brother had perished in Colombia was published on August 24, 2011, and reprinted on this blog, Bob dropped me a note and some additional photographs of this journey and his connection with . . .

Letter to the Editor Washington Post Published: August 26 written by Matt Losak co-founder of the Peace Corps Fund, a nonprofit that supports a Peace Corps goal to increase Americans’ understanding of the peoples served. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in Lesotho from 1985 to 1987. The Post’s coverage of the safety and security of Peace Corps volunteers [“Volunteers on a quest for due process,” front page, Aug. 21] fell short of any reasonable standard of journalism. While zeroing in on volunteers who have been victims and the agency’s response, The Post failed to provide context and made the story more salacious than informative. This, as you noted, comes as the Peace Corps celebrates 50 years of Americans volunteering in the huts and villages of half the globe. For example, The Post cited more than 1,000 rapes, attempted rapes and sexual assaults for 2002-10. How many were rapes and how many . . .

Peace Corps’ response to crimes against its volunteers August 25 The Aug. 21 news story “Volunteers on a quest for due process” discussed the 2008 transfer of authority from the Peace Corps’ Office of Inspector General to the Office of Safety and Security to coordinate the response to violent crimes committed against our volunteers. This action was taken to comply with the Inspector General Act of 1978, which prohibits the transfer of operating responsibilities like safety of volunteers to the inspector general. The Post suggested that, as a result of this transfer of authority, victims today are less likely to get an aggressive response to crimes committed against them. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our security staff works closely with personnel from the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the FBI, as well as with the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, to support volunteers who have been victims . . .

The New York Times on Sunday, August 21, 2011 asked the question “If I Were President…..to nine citizens and among them, Sister Mary David Walgenbach, Prioress of the Holy Wisdom Monastery of Middleton, Wisconsin who said, “I would invest half of our defense budget in children, young people and in energy conservation….I would expand the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps and grow both for the next ten years.” Thank you, Sister!

A 50-Year Journey for a Proper Farewell By Simon Romero August 23, 2011 MIÁCORA, Colombia – All that remained here, on a drizzle-shrouded ridge in the Chocó jungle, was a rusting cross and some crumpled fuselage. No wonder Gordon Radley feared that the tragedy that took his brother’s life five decades ago was at risk of being lost in the mists of time. Mr. Radley was just 15 when his parents in Chicago were told, in 1962, that a Colombian DC-3 plane had crashed in Chocó, killing more than 30 people, including two Americans. They were the first Peace Corps volunteers to die in service. One was Mr. Radley’s brother, Larry, a 22-year-old graduate of the University of Illinois. Of all the commemorations this year for the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, an institution still seen to be grasping for its identity somewhere along the spectrum between altruism and . . .

Former volunteers to rally against possible funding cuts to Peace Corps Marshall Wolff/for Daily News and Wicked Local U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, D-7th, right, listens to David Magnani speak about funding the Peace Corps last night during a meeting in Magnani’s Framingham home. By Danielle Ameden/Daily News staff Posted Aug 18, 2011 @ 12:00 AM FRAMINGHAM – U.S. Rep. Ed Markey rallied a crowd of Democrats last night to lobby against deep cuts for the Peace Corps, saying the country ought to prioritize the aid program over bombs. As a newly formed congressional committee looks to slice $1 trillion from the nation’s budget, Markey called on citizens to stop Republicans from trying to slash funding for the organization. Rather than raise money through new taxes for the wealthy, conservatives will pit one federal program such as the Peace Corps against another, such as a Medicare, he said. “This is a . . .

Crimes against volunteers vex Peace Corps By Lisa Rein Published: August 20 A Peace Corps volunteer had been raped in Bolivia and wanted justice. Within hours, Julie De Mello was on an airplane from Washington to meet the victim. De Mello, employed by the Peace Corps inspector general as a senior federal agent investigating crimes against volunteers, worked with the 23-year-old victim, Erin Bingham, to sketch the attacker. De Mello went with Bingham to a police lineup, hired a lawyer to represent her and worked with local police to track down witnesses. De Mello believes her advocacy helped convict the rapist in 2008. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Today, a Peace Corps volunteer who is the victim of a violent crime is likely to get a far less aggressive U.S. government response. De Mello quit three years ago, after the agency grounded her and the four other investigators . . .

Stephanie Gorin (Morocco 1996–98) worked with me in the New York Recruitment Office, a wonderful woman and Peace Corps Recruiter, and artist! See, there is life after the Peace Corps, (and after working with Coyne) and after graduate school! Congratulates, Steph! — John • From Spin Artiste An Online Publication For the Making and Using of Artisanal Fibers and Yarns Posted on July 8, 2011 by Arlene Ciroula, and reprinted with permission from Spinartiste.com Featured Artist: Steph Gorin of Loop Publisher’s Notes:  Dear Readers, prepare yourself for a magical fiber-filled adventure as we learn more about Steph Gorin and her studio, Loop.  Steph is an incredible talent and her story is quite fascinating. With great pleasure, I present the Spin Artiste interview with Steph Gorin. Spin Artiste (SA): In reading about you, I am struck (let’s make that awestruck) by your impressive educational background and how you have re-focused your career from international . . .

Peace Corps condemns alleged abuse by volunteer By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN | Associated Press The Peace Corps said Friday that a former volunteer’s alleged sexual abuse of young girls in South Africa is “reprehensible” and the agency supports the vigorous prosecution of the case. Thirty-one-year-old Jesse Osmun of Milford was arrested Thursday in Connecticut on federal charges of sexually abusing children at a center in Greytown, which helps AIDS victims. Authorities say Osmun molested five children under the age of 6, some multiple times, and gave them candy during a period between 2010 and this year. Mr. Osmun is charged with a shocking breach of the power entrusted to him as a Peace Corps volunteer,” Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer said upon Osmun’s arrest. The Peace Corps said it was made aware of the allegations after Osmun resigned in May. The humanitarian agency, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, said it . . .

[A thoughtful comment from Tony D’Souza (Ivory Coast 2000-02; Madagascar 2002-03)] This drivel was posted by an Illuminati-obsessed conspiracy theory website which regularly publishes anti-Semitic material. The “Great Peace Corps Rape Witch-Hunt of 2011” is revealing its true colors. There is no doubt that Peace Corps Administration mistreated Volunteer rape victims and should be held accountable. But no matter what improvements Peace Corps Admin makes, rape is a crime that happens everywhere, in every country, to every race. No military, police, or governmental force anywhere in the history of the world has been able to stop it. According to a February, 2010 NPR report, research funded by the US Department of Justice says that 1 in 5 US college women will be raped. That means that at a theoretical US university with 8500 students (roughly the number of current Peace Corps Volunteers), where half the students are women (4250), 850 will . . .