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Joe Kennedy (Dominican Republic) focusing beyond Peace Corps
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Review — AFRICA MEMOIR by Mark G. Wentling (Togo)
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Shenna Bellows (Panama) sees new post as Maine’s Secretary of State as dream job at a critical time
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Living a Peace Corps Life After the Peace Corps (Mauritania)
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“Why a Biden-Harris Administration should prioritize the Peace Corps”
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Mark Jacobs (Paraguay) Live! on Evergreen Reading Program
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RPCV Peter Navarro’s Criticism of Biden and Harris Violation of Hatch Act
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The Tin Can Crucible by Christopher Davenport (Papua New Guinea)
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ONCE IN A BLOOD MOON by Dorothea Hubble Bonneau (Tanzania)
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A Paul Theroux (Malawi) short story in The New Yorker & a novel coming In April
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“Critical Notes”: The latest news and reviews from NBCC members
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Review — JUROR NUMBER 2 by Efrem Sigel (Ivory Coast)
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Ron Krannich (Thailand) — Travel Writer, Career Adviser & Publisher
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Should the US Abolish the Peace Corps?
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A Critical Review of Wendy Melillo’s, “Democracy’s Adventure Hero on a New Frontier: Bridging Language in the Ad Council’s Peace Corps Campaign 1961-1970”

Joe Kennedy (Dominican Republic) focusing beyond Peace Corps

  While numerous people inside Washington have mentioned the possibility of outgoing Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III ( Dominican Republic 2004-06) serving as the next director of the Peace Corps, the post isn’t under discussion by the Biden transition and he is interested in other ways to serve the country, people familiar with the search tell Axios. Why it matters: What seemed like a bright political future for Kennedy prematurely dimmed in September when he lost his primary to replace Sen. Edward Markey. Now, the Massachusetts Democrat is considering his next move, prompting talk of the Peace Corps post or U.S. attorney in Boston — neither of which have been discussed with him, the people said. A person close to Kennedy said they had never heard U.S. attorney mentioned, and that while Kennedy loved his time in the Peace Corps, he would hope to serve the country in some other way . . .

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Review — AFRICA MEMOIR by Mark G. Wentling (Togo)

  Africa Memoir by Mark G. Wentling (Togo 1970-73) Open Books Publisher 255 pages August 2020 $9.99 (Kindle); $21.95 (Paperback) Reviewed by Mark D. Walker (Guatemala 1971-73) • I’ve read and reviewed several of the author’s books over the years. We were both Peace Corps Volunteers in Central America and worked in West Africa, although Wentling went on to work and travel in 54 African countries over the years. My favorite book from his African Trilogy is Africa’s Embrace, which is fiction but reflects his experience working as a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa in the 1970s. The well-developed characters force the reader deep into the heart of Africa. Wentling worked with USAID and the State Department, so his book, Dead Cow Road, is an authentic and compelling work of historical fiction that focuses on the U.S. response to Somalia’s 1992 famine. Somalia is one of the most challenging, . . .

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Shenna Bellows (Panama) sees new post as Maine’s Secretary of State as dream job at a critical time

Shenna Bellows sees new post as Maine’s secretary of state as dream job at a critical time The former state senator and executive director of the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine says her goals include increasing voter participation and protecting privacy. • BY SCOTT THISTLE PORTLAND PRESS HERALD     Shenna Bellows (Panama 1999-01) has had a rewarding career defending civil liberties for Maine’s ACLU chapter, managing educational programs for disadvantaged youths at Learning Works in Portland, and educating the public about the value of human rights at the state Holocaust and Human Rights Center. But all of it was simply preparation for what she calls her new dream job: Maine secretary of state. A Democratic state senator from Manchester, Bellows said much of her recent work has particular relevance because it often focused on the importance of individual and collective decision making in times of injustice. “And how important . . .

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Living a Peace Corps Life After the Peace Corps (Mauritania)

More…   Heather Arney (Mauritania  2000-02), Kansas City, graduated from Wagner College, NYC with a degree in business management. After a job search that left her quite dissatisfied, she joined the Peace Corp to do something more meaningful. Heather worked with micro-finance, girl’s education, and played in a band that sang about AIDS awareness. From her early years in the Peace Corps, Heather has had an interest in microfinance. This paired with her constant pursuit of knowledge strengthens Heather’s role as the Senior Manager of Water.org’s Insights and Innovation team. Heather leads the team to create a robust evidence base that compels action to catalyze affordable financing for safe water and sanitation solutions. President and Co-founder of Girls to School, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting girls’ education and facilitating microfinance in West Africa. Enabled more than 800 girls to attend high-quality schools and linked their mothers to self-help groups that . . .

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“Why a Biden-Harris Administration should prioritize the Peace Corps”

  By William G. Moseley (Mali 1987–89)   Americans suffer from a tendency to look inward, an affliction recently exacerbated by isolationist political winds as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. Now more than ever, America needs the Peace Corps as a vehicle: for its citizens to engage with and learn from the rest of the world; to cultivate the careers of young people who will be of vital service to the country; and to foster a more climate friendly international development approach. Herewith three arguments for why a Biden-Harris Administration should prioritize this federal agency and key steps to get there. FIRST, the Peace Corps can help the US emerge from four years of isolationism by re-building person-to-person bridges between Americans and other peoples. Since its creation during the Kennedy Administration in 1961, over 240,000 Americans have served as Peace Corps volunteers in 142 countries. While the Peace Corps is . . .

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RPCV Peter Navarro’s Criticism of Biden and Harris Violation of Hatch Act

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Dale Gilles (Liberia 1964-67)   White House trade adviser RPCV Peter Navarro’s criticism of Biden and Harris found to be a violation of Hatch Act White House trade adviser Peter Navarro (Thailand 1972-75) has become the latest Trump administration official found to have violated the Hatch Act, a federal law prohibiting federal employees from engaging in certain political activities. In a report made public Monday, a government watchdog, the Office of Special Counsel, said Navarro violated the law when he made political comments, “disparaging” then-Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris in television interviews while appearing in his official capacity. The report found Navarro had also disparaged Mr. Biden on Twitter. Moreover, Navarro continued to violate the Hatch Act after he learned OSC was investigating him for just that, the report said. “Dr. Navarro’s violations of the Hatch Act were knowing and . . .

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The Tin Can Crucible by Christopher Davenport (Papua New Guinea)

In 1994, a Peace Corps Volunteer named Christopher Davenport settled into the Eastern Highlands to live with a group of subsistence farmers.  He began to learn the language and develop a strong sense of connection with his inherited family.  One day, following the death of a venerated elder, the people of the village kidnap, torture, and ultimately kill a local woman accused of practicing sorcery. Devastated, Christopher tries to reconcile this unspeakable act with the welcoming and nurturing community he has come to love. But in trying to comprehend what he has witnessed through the lens of Western sensibilities, Christopher is unable to find the answers he seeks. Instead, he is left with one universal question: How do we continue to love someone who has done the unthinkable? In this true story, Davenport gives a considerate but courageously honest depiction of his transformative experience. He asks difficult questions about the role . . .

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ONCE IN A BLOOD MOON by Dorothea Hubble Bonneau (Tanzania)

  Once in a Blood Moon by Dorothea Hubble Bonneau (Tanzania 1966-68)is the winner of the  2020 American Fiction Award. The novel tells the story of an African American heiress of a prosperous plantation flees for her life when her mother dies and her father is murdered by racists eager to seize her estate. It is a novel that is set in 1807 on the Heaven Hill Plantation, upriver from Georgetown, South Carolina, and sixteen-year-old Alexandra Degambia walks a tightrope stretched between her parents’ ambitions. Her father, a prosperous planter, wants to preserve the heritage of his African ancestors. But her mother, who can pass for white, seeks to distance herself from her African roots and position herself in the elite society of wealthy free-women-of-color. Alexandra, however, has dreams of establishing her own place in the world as an accomplished violinist. She assumes her talent and her family’s wealth will pave . . .

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A Paul Theroux (Malawi) short story in The New Yorker & a novel coming In April

  In the current issue of The New Yorker (December 7, 2020) is a short story by Paul Theroux (Malawi 1963-65) entitled “Dietrologia”. (DYET-troh-loh-GEE-ah). Dietrologic is a fairly recent entry in Italian vocabulary, only a few decades old. It means “behindology.” The word, which is often used with skepticism and even derision, describes the mental habits of the practicioner of this non-science, the dietrologo who regularly sees something behind events as they are presented. We call this “paranoia.” (p 58)   Paul also has a novel coming out in April entitled Under the Wave at Waimea The plot: Now in his sixties, big-wave surfer Joe Sharkey has passed his prime and is losing his “stoke.” The younger surfers around the breaks on the north shore of Oahu still call him the Shark, but his sponsors are looking elsewhere. When Joe accidentally hits and kills a man near Waimea while driving home . . .

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“Critical Notes”: The latest news and reviews from NBCC members

  From “Critical Notes”: Marnie Mueller reviewed Martha J. Egan’s Relicarios: The Forgotten Jewels of Latin America for the Peace Corps Worldwide Network. • Would you like to have your writing distributed to thousands of literary readers? Join the National Book Critics Circle. Live the life of books As an active member of the NBCC, you’ll be able to spread the news of your literary success to readers across the world, plus connect with other members and review editors.

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Review — JUROR NUMBER 2 by Efrem Sigel (Ivory Coast)

  Juror Number 2: The Story of a Murder, the Agony of a Neighborhood Efrem  Sigel (Ivory Coast 1965-67) Writers Press Publisher 146 pages November 2020 $19.00 (Hardcover), $15.95 (paperback), $9.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Dick Lipez (Ethiopia 1962-64) • This valuable short book about the author’s experience with the New York City criminal justice system is more like a long New Yorker article than a book.  But that’s fine  — it’s the kind of well-thought-out and well-written reporting you get drawn into and read all the way through and know afterwards that you’ve learned something. Picked as a juror in a trial involving a Bloods vs. Cripps double homicide outside an East Harlem public housing project, Sigel becomes puzzled over why Abraham Cucuta has gunned down two other young men during a supposed gang truce in what starts out as a friendly dice game. It becomes clear during the three-week trial . . .

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Ron Krannich (Thailand) — Travel Writer, Career Adviser & Publisher

  RONALD L. KRANNICH, Ph.D.(Thailand 1967) is one of today’s leading career transition and travel writers who has authored more than 100 books, including several self-help guides for people with difficult backgrounds. A Fulbright Scholar, university professor, and management trainer, Ron specializes in producing and distributing books, DVDs, training programs, and related materials on employment, career transition, addiction, anger management, criminal justice, life skills, and travel. Originally from Pekin, Illinois, Ron stumbled into the world of travel and international development based on one fateful decision in 1965 — he signed up for a newly offered foreign language as an undergraduate at Northern Illinois University — Thai. This became the classic “be careful what you wish for” experience. The rest is history as he completed his Thai language work at Cornell University and joined the Peace Corps, taught in a high school; completed a Ph.D. in Political Science with emphasis on Southeast Asia . . .

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Should the US Abolish the Peace Corps?

The story behind one group’s grassroots effort to do just that   by Shanna Loga (Morocco 2006-08) An Injustice!  Sep 2020 • For many Americans, the Peace Corps is a treasured institution. It represents the idealism, generosity, and curiosity of our nation and symbolizes our spirit of humanitarianism. We imagine bright-eyed volunteers selflessly digging wells in Cameroon or teaching English in Ecuador. With its founding by JFK and its current mission of “promoting world peace and friendship,” the Peace Corps holds a special reverence in the national consciousness. Objectively, the Peace Corps is an independent US government agency and volunteer program. Peace Corps volunteers receive three months of in-country, international training before serving two-year terms abroad in sectors including agriculture, community economic development, education, environment, health, and youth development. The population of volunteers skews young, white, and female: the average age is 26, 65% are female, and 66% are white. Volunteers work alongside . . .

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A Critical Review of Wendy Melillo’s, “Democracy’s Adventure Hero on a New Frontier: Bridging Language in the Ad Council’s Peace Corps Campaign 1961-1970”

  A Critical Review of Wendy Melillo’s, Democracy’s Adventure Hero on a New Frontier: Bridging Language in the Ad Council’s Peace Corps Campaign, 1961-1970 published by Taylor & Francis Online by William Josephson Retired Partner, Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP Founding Counsel, Peace Corps, 1961-66 Ms. Wendy Melillo’s, Democracy’s Adventure Hero to a New Frontier: Bridging Language in the Ad Council’s Peace Corps Campaign, 1961-1970, begins with the assertion that the Peace Corps “would be the only new proposal to emerge from a tight race in which the Massachusetts Senator [John F. Kennedy] won the popular vote by a slim margin.”  Yet, subsequently, she acknowledges his commitment to rethink Mutual Security military and foreign aid programs of the 1950s.  She never mentions Kennedy’s commitment to close the “missile gap.”  Although she mentions Sputnik, she does not mention his commitment to catch up to the Soviet Union in the . . .

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