Ukraine PCV asks "Is Bush right on Iraq?" 28 Feb
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January 23, 2005: Index: PCOL Exclusive: Iraq, War in Iraq :
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March 19, 2005: Headlines: Iraq: Speaking Out: Seattle Post Intelligencer: RPCV John D. Erickson says: I am willing to concede that the events in Iraq probably have had a catalytic effect in spreading the idea of pluralistic democracy. What's more, I'll even have to admit that the newfound U.S. enthusiasm for collective punishment, arbitrary detention and torture has probably catalyzed the renewed and unapologetic disregard for human rights that we now see across the globe. :
Ukraine PCV asks "Is Bush right on Iraq?" 28 Feb
Ukraine PCV Robert says: I know people have discussed the reluctance of the left to acknowledge successes in the world by Bush but I wonder if I am the only person who is going through this kind of experience
Ukraine PCV Robert says: I know people have discussed the reluctance of the left to acknowledge successes in the world by Bush but I wonder if I am the only person who is going through this kind of experience
Peace Corps volunteer Robert [not his real name, for obvious reasons] writes from Ukraine:
A friend received an sms message from a Lebanese friend currently in Beirut. The message simply said "God Bless the USA". We have very limited access to news so we immediately went online and started searching for news about the US. Was there a bombing? What happened?
While I was searching, she was messaging back and finally received a call from him. In lebanon the news was reporting that Syria was finally pulling troops out. People were having parties to celebrate. People were in the streets shouting "God Bless the USA" and "God Bless George Bush".
Wow, this sounds like a time to celebrate right? But my friends looked like they had been punched in the stomach. Just that morning they had double teamed me and insisted that the bush regime was the most evil on the planet and of course in the history of the US.
So why were they not happy? One meekly commented that perhaps this was actually the result of Iraq etc. in spite of Bush's evil intentions.
The other simply kept quiet beyond asserting that it was a stupid mistake to think that Bush had anything to do with this development.
It was if their entire world was crashing down on them.
Robert continues:
And in my effort to save their feelings, I resisted celebrating. I could see that it would only upset them.
I have resisted celebrating the elections of Afghanistan, the elections of Australia, the elections of Iraq etc, etc, etc. because it I know these events upset my friends in PC and in LA. Of course they know what is going on and it serves no purpose to rub it in their face.
I know people have discussed the reluctance of the left to acknowledge successes in the world by Bush but I wonder if I am the only person who is going through this kind of experience. I think not. I wonder how many people have learned to keep a little quieter about their opinions because of their environment are now celebrating our successes only on the inside.
When this story was posted in March 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
| The Peace Corps Library Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in over 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related reference material in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about RPCVs who have your same interests, who served in your Country of Service, or who serve in your state. |
| March 1: National Day of Action Tuesday, March 1, is the NPCA's National Day of Action. Please call your Senators and ask them to support the President's proposed $27 Million budget increase for the Peace Corps for FY2006 and ask them to oppose the elimination of Perkins loans that benefit Peace Corps volunteers from low-income backgrounds. Follow this link for step-by-step information on how to make your calls. Then take our poll and leave feedback on how the calls went. |
| Coates Redmon, Peace Corps Chronicler Coates Redmon, a staffer in Sargent Shriver's Peace Corps, died February 22 in Washington, DC. Her book "Come as You Are" is considered to be one of the finest (and most entertaining) recountings of the birth of the Peace Corps and how it was literally thrown together in a matter of weeks. If you want to know what it felt like to be young and idealistic in the 1960's, get an out-of-print copy. We honor her memory. |
| Make a call for the Peace Corps PCOL is a strong supporter of the NPCA's National Day of Action and encourages every RPCV to spend ten minutes on Tuesday, March 1 making a call to your Representatives and ask them to support President Bush's budget proposal of $345 Million to expand the Peace Corps. Take our Poll: Click here to take our poll. We'll send out a reminder and have more details early next week. |
| Peace Corps Calendar: Tempest in a Teapot? Bulgarian writer Ognyan Georgiev has written a story which has made the front page of the newspaper "Telegraf" criticizing the photo selection for his country in the 2005 "Peace Corps Calendar" published by RPCVs of Madison, Wisconsin. RPCV Betsy Sergeant Snow, who submitted the photograph for the calendar, has published her reply. Read the stories and leave your comments. |
| WWII participants became RPCVs Read about two RPCVs who participated in World War II in very different ways long before there was a Peace Corps. Retired Rear Adm. Francis J. Thomas (RPCV Fiji), a decorated hero of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 at 100. Mary Smeltzer (RPCV Botswana), 89, followed her Japanese students into WWII internment camps. We honor both RPCVs for their service. |
| Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps The White House is proposing $345 Million for the Peace Corps for FY06 - a $27.7 Million (8.7%) increase that would allow at least two new posts and maintain the existing number of volunteers at approximately 7,700. Bush's 2002 proposal to double the Peace Corps to 14,000 volunteers appears to have been forgotten. The proposed budget still needs to be approved by Congress. |
| RPCVs mobilize support for Countries of Service RPCV Groups mobilize to support their Countries of Service. Over 200 RPCVS have already applied to the Crisis Corps to provide Tsunami Recovery aid, RPCVs have written a letter urging President Bush and Congress to aid Democracy in Ukraine, and RPCVs are writing NBC about a recent episode of the "West Wing" and asking them to get their facts right about Turkey. |
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Story Source: Volkapundit
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Ukraine; Iraq; Presidents - Bush
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