Archive - September 13, 2022

Perception and Deception: A Mind-Opening Journey Across Cultures by Joe Lurie (Kenya 1967-68) Published by Nipporica Associates 262 pages June 2018 (2nd edition) $9.95 (Kindle); $16.95 (Paperback)  Reviewed by Mark D. Walker (Guatemala 1971-73  The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend. — Henri Bergson  I learned of Joe’s work and book from an interview on the Global TV Talk Show—whose host, Ed Cohen, asked many revealing questions. I learned that Joe and I are contemporaries—he was in Kenya with the Peace Corps when I was in Guatemala, but he took his knowledge of cross-cultural communications to new levels, and we have a more tolerant world as a result—at least among those who have read his book or participated in one of his classes/courses. I contacted Joe through the host of Global TV Talk Show, and he sent me a copy of his book. Although the book . . .

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Dale Gilles (Liberia 1964-67) Former Trump White House advisor Peter Navarro (Thailand 1973-76) suffered a setback Monday ahead of his November trial on contempt of Congress charges, as a federal judge rejected his bid to pursue government records that he claimed would show political influence behind his criminal prosecution. In a 13-page opinion, Judge Amit Mehta forcefully denied Navarro’s request to seek records to prove that political animus motivated his prosecution on charges he defied the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Navarro had argued that he was facing a selective prosecution, but Mehta — an Obama appointee confirmed in 2014 — on Monday said the evidence raised by the former White House trade advisor “falls well short of prying open the door to discovery.” A grand jury indicted Navarro in early June on a pair of contempt of Congress . . .