What I Think About What Other People Say (WITAWOPS)

I don’t think Michela Wrong was comparing me to the devil (or at least I hope not). But I was responsible for helping an accomplished author distribute a book, helping her to let go, and as a bonus, having her eat crow!  What Other People Said "[Galeeb] was already hard at work, pulling together a multi-pronged distribution operation to bypass a gagged retail industry… As a devout atheist and hardened aid sceptic, I’m aware of the acute irony of being thus beholden both to the churches of Kenya and a US development agency. But I’m happy to eat crow. My critics will no doubt mutter darkly about CIA plots, but I wouldn’t mind if the Devil himself wanted to distribute It’s Our Turn to Eat. I am rather more concerned about the agenda of those who were determined to ensure no Kenyan ever got to read a book on sale across the globe. But knowing that 5,200 copies of my book—for that is what it will be—have reached the wananchi will allow me to let go." Source: Michela Wrong, “Advent...

Happy independence day America. Congress ratified the declaration of independence on July 4, 1776; therefore, today, we officially start our 250th year as a nation. Birthdays mark the end of a year lived, not the beginning. If you say you're 40, you've completed 40 years and are now living your 41st. Designed by Freepik So what will we be reflecting on a year from now? Considering all of this, how will we mark the end of 250?  We know what we have to deal with: Global geopolitical forces and unrest Economic turmoil Domestic polarized political perspectives (see November 2024 election post entitled It’s Over. Now can we really get to know each other ?);  Climate change  Worsening effects of natural disasters including heat, fire, and flooding All we know for sure is what Congress ratified in 1776, how America was born:  “The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of ...

True peace is born through humanitarian services. My journey began with the United States Peace Corps (USPC)—the toughest job I ever loved.   This is my story.  As a student studying at Northeastern University, I worked at the Institute of International Studies as a work study. While working there, I made some amazing friends from all over the world, the Caribbean, Africa, and Latin America.   My friends spoke about their amazing lives in their respective countries. I learned about their beautiful cultures, languages, histories, and families. The one continent that inspired me was Africa.   I majored in Management Information System/International Business and like a typical South Asian, I was supposed to work in an information technology company after graduation. But my heart wanted to do humanitarian work in Africa.   How could I do this? I decided to apply to the USPC. In the summer of 2002, after graduation I was accepted into the US Peace Corps in a small co...

 How Many Coups Can One Person Witness in a Lifetime? First, what really is a coup d’état? The Term "Coup d’État" The phrase is French—literally translated, it means "blow of state" or "stroke of state." Basic French vocabulary, perhaps, but its implications are anything but simple. The term originated in 17th-century France, where it described sudden, decisive actions taken by those in power—actions that often sidestepped legal or constitutional limits. Over time, its meaning evolved to describe the abrupt and frequently violent overthrow of a government, typically carried out by a small group seeking to seize control. These groups often come from within the state itself—military officers, political elites, or insiders with enough leverage to challenge the existing leadership. An attempted coup is a failed seizure of power. The perpetrators don’t succeed in taking control—or can’t hold onto it if they do. What usually follows is a swift crackdown, a wave ...

This post presents verbatim excerpts of a Department of State Office of Inspector General Inspection Report on Kenya in 2012. I did not make them up. Please visit the page https://www.stateoig.gov/reports , enter Kenya in the first field (Keyword of Phrase), select “inspection” in the Category drop down, and open the August 2012 ISP-I-12-38A report (not the 2018 report). Enjoy. The Ambassador has lost the respect and confidence of the staff to lead the mission. Of more than 80 chiefs of mission inspected in recent cycles, the Ambassador ranked last for interpersonal relations, next to last on both managerial skill and attention to morale, and third from last in his overall scores from surveys of mission members. The inspectors found no reason to question these assessments; the Ambassador’s leadership to date has been divisive and ineffective. The Ambassador has damaged the cohesion of Embassy Nairobi’s country team by underscoring differences between offices working directly with Kenya...

I met Sudan—the world’s last male northern white rhinoceros—at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in central Kenya in 2009. He had recently been relocated from a zoo in the Czech Republic, in a last-ditch effort to breed him naturally. I had just arrived in Kenya myself, representing the U.S. government through USAID, and embarking on a number of exciting projects.  Sudan lived another nine years before a leg infection made it impossible for him to stand. At 45, he was euthanized. For me, he is a symbol of our power over other species although at one point, the dating app Tinder dubbed him the world’s “most eligible bachelor.” ( CNN ) Photo of me with Sudan, Ol Pejeta, 2009 (real, not generated) Sudan was a northern white rhino, a distinct subspecies now functionally extinct. Only two females remain—his daughter and granddaughter—both also at Ol Pejeta. In contrast, the southern white rhino population has rebounded from around 100 in the early 1990s to nearly 20,000 today across Africa, tha...

I was released from the federal workforce twice in the past 2 months. How did this happen? Thoughts and musings from a federal employee who technically doesn't have a job. DISCLAIMER: This is the experience and views of myself alone, published under my first amendment rights. It does not reflect the beliefs or views of any one federal agency nor the United States Government as a whole.  What Other People Say " A majority (56%) say government is “almost always wasteful and inefficient,” while 46% say it often does a better job than people give it credit for"- Pew Research Center, January 7, 2025 "The employees who have so far survived the Trump administration's federal defenestration project are morose. For some, the new workload is untenable. For others, chaos reigns. Scientists have been unable to purchase mice for research, while human-tissue samples have sat on dry ice, unsent, thanks to worker layoffs. Lawyers at the Education Department are racing though a ...

I mourn USAID the way we knew it. The agency that I worked for a decade has essentially disappeared, with only a fraction of it reincarnated and subsumed into the State Department. I empathize with all my former USAID colleagues, contractors, grantees, sub-grantees, recipients, project beneficiaries, vendors, and suppliers in the United States and around the world. All of you are economically and emotionally harmed. The battle will ensue in the Courts and in the end, Congress will have no choice but to act (see my January 4 post explaining this locus of power). The next incarnation of US Foreign Assistance will be skinny, laser-focused, more intertwined with U.S. Peace and Security, and obviously A.I.-driven. Disclaimer: the views expressed in this post are solely my own, published under my first amendment rights, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Government or any of its current or former federal agencies. What Other People Say Designed by  Freepik “Aft...

“There are other forces in this world, Frodo, besides that of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it, and that is an encouraging thought.” — Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring What Do I Think? Gandalf’s words to Frodo reflect an age-old debate: Are we merely playing out a script that has already been written, or do we have the power to shape our own destinies? The struggle between free will and predestination is not just a historical theological debate—it is playing out in society and governance today. It impacts how we interpret success and failure, in how we justify actions, and out day-to-day decisions. Designed by Freepik Christianity has long been divided on this question. Strict Calvinists embrace predestination, the idea that God has already determined who will be saved and who will be damned. In contrast, strict Arminians believe in free will, asserting that while They know what we will choose, the Almighty ...

"All the world's a stage" monologue from As You Like It by William Shakespeare (Act II, Scene VII): "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts. His acts being seven ages.  At first the infant, mewling and puking in the nurse's arms. Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel and shining morning face, creeping like snail, unwillingly to school.  And then the lover, sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad made to his mistress' eyebrow.  Then a soldier, full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard. Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel. Seeking the bubble reputation, even in the cannon’s mouth.  And then the justice, in fair round belly, with good capon lined. With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws, and modern instances;  And so he plays his part.  The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slippered pantaloon. With ...