Miscellany

Walton Family Foundation Gifts Teach for America $49.5 Million  The Walton Family Foundation is run by Walmart founder Sam Waltonâ€TMs three children. First Posted: 7/27/11 09:04 AM ET Updated: 7/27/11 09:14 AM ET NEW YORK — The Walton Family Foundation announced a $49.5 million grant Wednesday to help double the size of Teach for America’s national teaching corps over the next three years. Teach for America is a program for recent college graduates who sign up to teach in some of the nation’s most under-served schools for a period of two years. The Walton Foundation’s gift marks the single largest private donation to Teach for America in the organization’s more than 20-year history. Later this fall, the organization will send 9,300 corps members to 43 regions across the country. Over the next few years, half of the Walton Family Foundation grant will go towards growing that teaching corps to 15,000 by . . .

“Conquer” by Love rather than Force of Arms America Needs to Replace the “Pentagon Approach” with the “Peace Approach” by Sherwood Ross If the United States attempted to “conquer” by love rather than force of arms, it might be respected, not reviled, globally. If the White House took an altruistic approach in foreign affairs—that is, if it rejected greed, exploitation, and war in favor of fair play, charity, and humanitarian assistance—it might enjoy such prosperity as exists beyond the dreams of its misguided rulers. It is no naïve suggestion to urge the Congress to transpose the budgets and numbers of personnel of the Pentagon and the Peace Corps. Naïve is how one would define the Pentagon’s 10-year-long failure to conquer Afghanistan by force of arms. Naïve is how the Pentagon can claim the U.S. has improved Iraq when that country far is worse off today than when the Pentagon first . . .

Peace Corps Puts Volunteers in Danger July 25, 2011 (left, Peace Corps Volunteer Kate Puzey, 24, was murdered in March 2009 in Benin.) Idealistic young Americans are cannon fodder for the Illuminati-run peace corps. by David Richards (henrymakow.com) Henry Makow is the author of A Long Way to go for a Date. He received his Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Toronto. henry@savethemales.ca. JFK founded the Peace Corps program 50-years-ago proclaiming it a charitable organization designed to encourage mutual understanding between Americans and other countries. In reality, the Peace Corps is a military organization serving the Illuminati. It sends Westerners into third-world countries to act as NWO “change agents,” Westernizing locals. Another function is to give murderous US foreign policy a charitable face. Since its beginning, 200,000 US volunteers have served the organization in 139 nations. There are now 8,650 Americans working in 77 countries in Asia, Africa, the . . .

[I received this special academic request for help from Nan Cowardin-Lee in California. Take a look, and see if you have time to help her in her research.  Nan is located in Berkeley, attending the university’s branch in San Franciso. ] My name is Nan Cowardin-Lee. I am a PhD student at Alliant International University in organizational psychology. I am conducting research on value and moral challenges experienced by individuals who have lived or studied abroad for more than 6 months. The research has a generational comparison component. Therefore, I am interested in obtaining information from individuals of all generations, and, in particular, I would appreciate hearing from individuals born before 1946. The research data is collected in two parts. In the first part, an on-line survey asks participants to report on a general or specific incident that challenged them while living in a culture that was not their own. A series . . .

Memorial Service for Sarah Bowles A memorial service for Sally Bowles will take place at 3 p.m., September 17 in Essex, Connecticut, at Hayden’s Point, where Sally grew up, now the home of Sally’s friends and neighbors Dorinda and Mark Winkelman. The service will be outdoors overlooking the Connecticut River, and will be followed by a reception. Thomas Bennet is compiling photographs of Sally. Please send him any photographs that you would like to share. Email:  <thomas.bennet@gmail.com> So that we know how many to expect, please let us know you are coming by registering (click on the link below) rather than replying to this email. Click to register (don’t forget to click “submit” at the end of the form) Please send this message on to other friends of Sally’s whom we may have missed. Directions: Click on the link below for a map.  Note that you should drive to the . . .

English Teaching Extension, Tajikistan September 12, 2011 – June 31, 2012 Application Deadline: July 31, 2011 The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, is seeking experienced English teachers who are interested in a unique cultural experience. The English Teaching Extension program supports U.S. citizens to come to Tajikistan for ten months to teach English, learn language, and help local NGOs in remote areas of the country. English teachers will live with host families and work at secondary schools, Universities, youth centers, NGOs, and American Corner libraries. Airfare, emergency medical insurance, monthly living allowance, and $2,500 completion bonus are all included. English teachers are grantees, and not employees of the U.S. government.  Details: English teachers arrive on or before September 12 for a 5-day ESL training course. Teachers receive a $250 monthly living allowance and a $2,500 bonus after the completion of 10 months. Teachers will live . . .

 Peace Corps to end its program in Romania by 2013 Peace Corps has decided to phase out its program in Romania, the last group of volunteers completing their service in July 2013, said the US Ambassador Mark Gitenstein during a meeting with the Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister, Theodor Baconschi. The announcement comes as the Peace Corps celebrates its 50th anniversary, while Peace Corps Romania’s, its 20th anniversary. “As Romania continues to work towards a better future, we acknowledge its successes, admire its perseverance, and are honored to have had the privilege of contributing to its development” said Aaron Williams, Peace Corps’ Director. There are currently 89 Peace Corps volunteers in Romania, according to data on the program’s webpage, while 1,133 volunteers in total came to the country since the start of the program in 1991. The Peace Corps was officially established by President John F. Kennedy on March 1, 1961 . . .

First Response Action is reporting that today, Thursday June 23rd at 2:15 p.m. EST, Congressman Poe and Senator Isakson will introduce legislation to support Volunteers who report or experience crime.  The legislation, The Kate Puzey Peace Corps Safety and Security Act, is the product of both Congressman Poe and Senator Isakson working closely with the Peace Corps, First Response Action and Kate’s Voice.  The Peace Corps has expressed “verbal support” for the bill and a press release is anticipated following the press conference on Thursday. You can find more information at the First Response Action blog, as well as,  information on the legislation: http://firstresponseaction.blogspot.com/2011/06/legislation-to-be-introduced-kate-puzey.html First Response Action Coalition www.firstresponseaction.org

By Maryann Yin on June 10, 2011 2:52 PM from GalleyCat website Politician Mark K. Shriver has signed a deal with Henry Holt & Company to pen a tome about his father, sargent Robert “Sarge” Shriver. The book will be titled A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sarge Shriver. Publisher Stephen Rubin acquired North American and audio rights in the deal. Executive editor Gillian Blake will edit the book. Here’s more from the press release: “After he eulogized him in January, Mark wanted to know what made his father ‘tick.’ He found the answers in the simple and poignant gestures over a lifetime – in the frequent notes and daily talks, trips and prayers together – all based in Sarge’s unwavering devotion to his family (he and Eunice were married for 56 years); his devout Catholicism, which included attending daily Mass; his innate sense of duty and service to his . . .

Two Dozen RPCVs Assist Washington-Area Peruvian Consulate With June 5th Run-off Election for Peru’s Presidency Twelve Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who had served in Peru or who served as Volunteers elsewhere but also worked in Peru (albeit with other agencies), answered the call from Deputy Consul General Maria Eugenia Chiozza de Zela of the Peruvian Consulate to report to the Consulate’s Mid-Atlantic Regional polling place on Sunday, June 5th.  They were recruited to help with Peru’s Presidential run-off election.  Another dozen Spanish-speaking RPCVs from Metro Washington supplemented the first 12. The contingent was headed by RPCV Mike Wolfson (Peru, 1964-66) who made and adjusted assignments throughout the day.  Mike also walked the rounds to the six polling locations spread out over the sprawling campuses of a high school and an adjacent middle school, distributing water bottles to volunteers assisting voters while sweltering under the noonday sun.  Most RPCVs were stationed outside explaining to over 13,500 voters where to find their correct building, room, and . . .

JUNE 07, 2011 by RICK COHEN When critics suggest that the Obama administration is hard on the corporate sector, they may be missing specific elements of the Obama agenda that have lots of corporate sector promotions built into government programs. Take the volunteerism program of the U.S. Agency for International Development. USAID just established the Center of Excellence for International Corporate Volunteerism, developed in conjunction with IBM and the nonprofit CDC Development Solutions, an organization that manages international corporate volunteerism programs. CDS does well in this deal, getting $743,076 from USAID over two years to get the Center’s website up and operational and IBM will kick in $4.1 million in addition to in-kind donations of technology plus 100 volunteer employees. According to CDS 21 major corporations are on tap to send 2,000 employee volunteers overseas this year compared to only six companies that sent 280 employees to volunteer overseas in . . .

Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams will be on the Kojo Nnamdi show on WAMU, the Washington PBS station from noon to 2 pm, EDT, today, Thursday.   Not sure how syndicated the show is beyond Washington, but it can be streamed live  at http://wamu.org/listen/ or  downloaded later on podcast — or both, if you’re really a glutton for talk radio.

Celebrating the Peace Corps Published: May 21, 2011 To the Editor: “Ex-Peace Corps Volunteers Speak Out on Rape” (news article, May 11) threatens to overshadow 50 years of service by Americans in some 140 countries around the world. It is true that sexual assaults happen to Peace Corps volunteers and women all around the world, and yes, we should all grieve over these terrible acts. It is also true that from time to time such tragedies may not be handled well by some agency staff as well as some host-country counterparts. But these facts belie a larger and more important truth. The Peace Corps has had more than 200,000 volunteers working in some of the most remote corners of the world safely and successfully. But even with rigorous training and responsible oversight, volunteers can never be completely immune from sexual assault and violent crime. And yet Peace Corps volunteers are . . .

We know that women today make up more than 64% of all Peace Corps Volunteers. Let me ask: how many Country Directors are women? When I was an APCD in Ethiopia we had one, maybe two, women on a staff of 10-12. Today, the number of female staffers is higher, but is it high enough?  With such an increase of female Volunteers, shouldn’t the Peace Corps have the same increase in women CDs? Could it be that if we had more female CD’s there might be fewer complaints that the sexual assaults aren’t being properly investigated by the staff? A friend of mine who is in law enforcement says that as a “general rule” male do not take ‘assault charges’ that seriousely. The Peace Corps must. One way to show we are serious about this issue is to hire more RPCV women as Country Directors. It would, at this moment in the agency’s history, I think, do the Peace Corps a lot of good.

Year Rape/Attempted Rape Major Sexual Assault Other Sexual Assault Volunteers on Board Female Total 2000 28 11 51 4415 7164 2001 22 23 68 4025 6643 2002 16 18 61 4060 6636 2003 26 11 57 4411 7533 2004 25 10 70 4462 7733 2005 23 15 79 4535 7810 2006 22 10 69 4537 7749 2007 21 11 87 4794 8079 2008 23 18 88 4713 7876 2009 15 20 80 4624 7671 Total 221 147 710     Average 22.1 14.7 71     The definition of each category is in the 2009 Security Report and follow here: Definitions Rape: Penetration of the vagina or anus with a penis, tongue, finger or object without the consent and/or against the will of the Volunteer. This includes when a victim is unable to consent because of ingestion of drugs and/or alcohol. Rape also includes forced oral sex, where: 1. the . . .