Foreign nationals on American soil are, in many cases, subject to the terms of international treaties which are supreme law of the United States under the Constitution. Individual state governments cannot interfere with the relations between the U.S. and other countries and their citizens. Just imagine . . . . . . .
"Hello, Phillipe?. . . Yeah, its me Governor Brewer. Listen muchacho; my anti-racial discrimination law just went into effect. It seems that by coincidence we caught about 200 people violating our traffic laws and who didn't have proof of legal presence in the U.S.. Anyway, the reason I called is that a lot of these people look like your people and I thought you might want them back." . . . . No. no, no, not all of them . . . . some of them say they have green cards or that they were born here but we arrested them anyway . . . well yes, they all looked suspicious . . . . we wanted to be fair to everybody. . . . Anglos? . . . . No . . . . . not a one. What do you mean I have to go through the Embassy and notify the consulate? . . . . But . . . What do mean that you are the President of a whole country and I am just a dumb shit governor of a desert state full of snakes, scorpions, and headless bodies? Mr. Presiden. Mr. President?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . imagine
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
SHIKES DEFENDS GUATEMALAN COUNSEL CHARGED WITH DUI
Byline: Peter Hartlaub Daily News Staff Writer
Rafael Salazar's get-out-of-jail-free card didn't work.
After he hit a trailer truck and spun into a center divider on the Pomona Freeway and Interstate 215 in April 1997, the Counsel flashed his identification for a CHP officer, expecting diplomatic immunity. Instead he was handcuffed, driven to the station and given a breathalyzer used to detect alcohol on a suspected drunk driver's breath. Later, he was charged with drunk driving just like anybody else.
Salazar responded by suing just about everyone connected to the case - including a Municipal Court judge. He claims that Article 41 of the Vienna Agreement makes him immune from misdemeanor arrest. He's seeking $1 million from the state, the California highway patrol and the officer who took him in. ``When Barney Fife arrests a foreign diplomat in Mayberry, the ripple effect spreads to all foreign governments,'' attorney Stephen Shikes said. ``This case opens up a world of harassment for consulates everywhere.''
Meanwhile, Salazar was promoted by his government to be an ambassador in another country. Salazar's decision to file a lawsuit might seem unusual, given that police say his blood-alcohol level was 2-1/2 times the legal limit. Perhaps even more unbelievable: He may have some legal ground to stand on. From parking tickets to suspicion of drunk driving, laws are set up to protect diplomats like Salazar from arrest. In recent years, however, law enforcement officials have been challenging immunity protection with several successful prosecutions of foreign government officials who thought they were legally bulletproof. I think it's been tougher for diplomats. The political winds are shifting, ''The police used to turn the other way in these cases. Now I don't think it's in their interest politically.''
International law
By international law, consul generals enjoy an intermediate level of freedom from arrest - Salazar's Identification told officers not to arrest him ``except on a warrant for felony offense.'' In any case, CHP and officials say they can always restrain a diplomat who endangers the public safety. ``We'll put them in a taxicab, call a consulate or do whatever we have to do to stop them from hurting others,'' LAPD Lt. Wallace Graves said. But once the immediate danger is thwarted, Graves said police are instructed to treat the diplomat differently from a U.S. citizen. ``Once we've stopped them from doing things that are dangerous to other people, we can't arrest them per se,'' Graves said. ``If they want to walk off, they can walk off.''
On duty?
In defending the lawsuit, Deputy District Attorney Richard De La Sota noted Salazar was not booked at the station and was taken home by a CHP officer because his car was wrecked. ``The real issue is whether Mr. Salazar was engaged in the performance of his consular functions while driving on the Pomona Freeway in his own automobile with a blood-alcohol level of 0.20 and slamming into the rear of a tractor-trailer rig,'' De La Sota said.
A letter from U.S. State Department legal counsel backed De La Sota's assessment, pointing out that Salazar's ``consular immunity'' is dependent on whether or not he is at work. Salazar's attorneys claimed he was en route to his office when the crash occurred and that CHP officers made an illegal arrest.
Municipal Court Judge Conrad Aragon turned down Salazar's motion to dismiss the case in February and set a July 27 trial date. Salazar responded with a lawsuit in federal court, asking for dismissal of the charges and damages to be assessed. The case is pending.
Promotion for Salazar
Lutz says state prosecutors' best chance of convicting a consul or diplomat is to convince a lawbreaker's own government to waive immunity. . . . Rather than cut a deal in Salazar's case, the Guatemalan government promoted him twice since the incident, and he now is ambassador to Belize, according to consulate officials. Under U.S. law, an ambassador has even more immunity than a consul general.
Shikes acknowledged that some U.S. citizens may not want to believe that a diplomat can claim immunity. But he feels that foreigners won't understand the district attorney's action. `There's a higher and more important consideration - the relation between the U.S. and the rest of the world,'' Shikes said.
Rafael Salazar's get-out-of-jail-free card didn't work.
After he hit a trailer truck and spun into a center divider on the Pomona Freeway and Interstate 215 in April 1997, the Counsel flashed his identification for a CHP officer, expecting diplomatic immunity. Instead he was handcuffed, driven to the station and given a breathalyzer used to detect alcohol on a suspected drunk driver's breath. Later, he was charged with drunk driving just like anybody else.
Salazar responded by suing just about everyone connected to the case - including a Municipal Court judge. He claims that Article 41 of the Vienna Agreement makes him immune from misdemeanor arrest. He's seeking $1 million from the state, the California highway patrol and the officer who took him in. ``When Barney Fife arrests a foreign diplomat in Mayberry, the ripple effect spreads to all foreign governments,'' attorney Stephen Shikes said. ``This case opens up a world of harassment for consulates everywhere.''
Meanwhile, Salazar was promoted by his government to be an ambassador in another country. Salazar's decision to file a lawsuit might seem unusual, given that police say his blood-alcohol level was 2-1/2 times the legal limit. Perhaps even more unbelievable: He may have some legal ground to stand on. From parking tickets to suspicion of drunk driving, laws are set up to protect diplomats like Salazar from arrest. In recent years, however, law enforcement officials have been challenging immunity protection with several successful prosecutions of foreign government officials who thought they were legally bulletproof. I think it's been tougher for diplomats. The political winds are shifting, ''The police used to turn the other way in these cases. Now I don't think it's in their interest politically.''
International law
By international law, consul generals enjoy an intermediate level of freedom from arrest - Salazar's Identification told officers not to arrest him ``except on a warrant for felony offense.'' In any case, CHP and officials say they can always restrain a diplomat who endangers the public safety. ``We'll put them in a taxicab, call a consulate or do whatever we have to do to stop them from hurting others,'' LAPD Lt. Wallace Graves said. But once the immediate danger is thwarted, Graves said police are instructed to treat the diplomat differently from a U.S. citizen. ``Once we've stopped them from doing things that are dangerous to other people, we can't arrest them per se,'' Graves said. ``If they want to walk off, they can walk off.''
On duty?
In defending the lawsuit, Deputy District Attorney Richard De La Sota noted Salazar was not booked at the station and was taken home by a CHP officer because his car was wrecked. ``The real issue is whether Mr. Salazar was engaged in the performance of his consular functions while driving on the Pomona Freeway in his own automobile with a blood-alcohol level of 0.20 and slamming into the rear of a tractor-trailer rig,'' De La Sota said.
A letter from U.S. State Department legal counsel backed De La Sota's assessment, pointing out that Salazar's ``consular immunity'' is dependent on whether or not he is at work. Salazar's attorneys claimed he was en route to his office when the crash occurred and that CHP officers made an illegal arrest.
Municipal Court Judge Conrad Aragon turned down Salazar's motion to dismiss the case in February and set a July 27 trial date. Salazar responded with a lawsuit in federal court, asking for dismissal of the charges and damages to be assessed. The case is pending.
Promotion for Salazar
Lutz says state prosecutors' best chance of convicting a consul or diplomat is to convince a lawbreaker's own government to waive immunity. . . . Rather than cut a deal in Salazar's case, the Guatemalan government promoted him twice since the incident, and he now is ambassador to Belize, according to consulate officials. Under U.S. law, an ambassador has even more immunity than a consul general.
Shikes acknowledged that some U.S. citizens may not want to believe that a diplomat can claim immunity. But he feels that foreigners won't understand the district attorney's action. `There's a higher and more important consideration - the relation between the U.S. and the rest of the world,'' Shikes said.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
WHO IS CALLING WHO NAMES?
ALI:
So sorry to have missed all this! May I ask that everyone posting here speak for themselves... not for me thank you. and Mr. Shikes, may I just say that when you call people names you just appear to be irrelevant.
ME
Ali, you not only missed all this. . . you missed the point. The protesters in Washington were well represented by the people we saw on that video. They are ignorant, uneducated, bigoted, racist morons who hate America. That's not name calling; that's an accurate description. Ahhh, If only name calling was irrelevant. Unfortunately however, calling has been raised to fine art by right wing instigators like Limbaugh, Beck, O'reilly, Hannity, and Savage.
I'm glad to see that I'm not nearly so irrelevant that you felt the need to acknowledge me - even if it was only to dismiss me. Don't just read these comments. Do your research. Go to the source - and then use the common sense that god gave you before you go to the defense of people who are ignorant, uneducated, bigoted, racist morons who hate America.
And then we hear, once again, from Brooke. Remember Brooke? Brooke chimed in with an all encompassing one word response.
BROOKE
. . . fool.
Jane, who apparently had posted a comment at about the same time I had, and asked back if Brooke's insult was directed at her or all of us commenting in this thread.
JANE:
You, me, or all of us combined? lol While I am glad people are so passionate with their beliefs, I would prefer we all play nice in the sandbox together....after all, we all do live in the same sandbox and we all want the same goals, we just have different strategies to achieve them.
It turns out however that the insult was narrowly focused - on me.
BROOKE:
sorry that was a rash comment. it was directed at stephen.(emphasis added) i retract it. on the most respectful of terms i would like to point out that there was no playing nice in the sandbox until the strong republican joined in on the topic. the very act of posting the link was not playing nice in the sandbox, and virtually all the moments past it were increasingly bad. finally you bring up the bigger picture of us all living in the same world and having to share it together. if you truly believe in those words you typed i encourage you to not spread media that will only divide us, instead spread media that furthers your own viewpoint and educate others who may not see the same as you. dont continue to tear down your neighbors. the world will be a better place if we finally see that throwing sand at your brother will only leave you with less sand in the end.
ME:
Brooke. You are babblling.
JANE:
When I see a video such as this, I can either ignore it or speak out and say, "This type of bigotry and racism is not okay, and I will continue to speak against it until someday maybe it goes away altogether."
So sorry to have missed all this! May I ask that everyone posting here speak for themselves... not for me thank you. and Mr. Shikes, may I just say that when you call people names you just appear to be irrelevant.
ME
Ali, you not only missed all this. . . you missed the point. The protesters in Washington were well represented by the people we saw on that video. They are ignorant, uneducated, bigoted, racist morons who hate America. That's not name calling; that's an accurate description. Ahhh, If only name calling was irrelevant. Unfortunately however, calling has been raised to fine art by right wing instigators like Limbaugh, Beck, O'reilly, Hannity, and Savage.
I'm glad to see that I'm not nearly so irrelevant that you felt the need to acknowledge me - even if it was only to dismiss me. Don't just read these comments. Do your research. Go to the source - and then use the common sense that god gave you before you go to the defense of people who are ignorant, uneducated, bigoted, racist morons who hate America.
And then we hear, once again, from Brooke. Remember Brooke? Brooke chimed in with an all encompassing one word response.
BROOKE
. . . fool.
Jane, who apparently had posted a comment at about the same time I had, and asked back if Brooke's insult was directed at her or all of us commenting in this thread.
JANE:
You, me, or all of us combined? lol While I am glad people are so passionate with their beliefs, I would prefer we all play nice in the sandbox together....after all, we all do live in the same sandbox and we all want the same goals, we just have different strategies to achieve them.
It turns out however that the insult was narrowly focused - on me.
BROOKE:
sorry that was a rash comment. it was directed at stephen.(emphasis added) i retract it. on the most respectful of terms i would like to point out that there was no playing nice in the sandbox until the strong republican joined in on the topic. the very act of posting the link was not playing nice in the sandbox, and virtually all the moments past it were increasingly bad. finally you bring up the bigger picture of us all living in the same world and having to share it together. if you truly believe in those words you typed i encourage you to not spread media that will only divide us, instead spread media that furthers your own viewpoint and educate others who may not see the same as you. dont continue to tear down your neighbors. the world will be a better place if we finally see that throwing sand at your brother will only leave you with less sand in the end.
ME:
Brooke. You are babblling.
JANE:
When I see a video such as this, I can either ignore it or speak out and say, "This type of bigotry and racism is not okay, and I will continue to speak against it until someday maybe it goes away altogether."
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
By the way, I didn't see any black people at the demonstration.
The video of the recent demonstration in Washington elicited different reactions.
Michael
Wow! This is very revealing. I find it very scary that the powers of plutocracy can manufacture this level of fear and hate and so easily manipulate people to fight like hell against their own self interest. Even scarier is how much of the debate these people are capturing. I wish I had a clue about how to counter it or neutralize it effectively. The video itself is brilliant. My complements to the chef.
Mon at 11:58pm
Susan
Brooke
ME
ME
Michael
Wow! This is very revealing. I find it very scary that the powers of plutocracy can manufacture this level of fear and hate and so easily manipulate people to fight like hell against their own self interest. Even scarier is how much of the debate these people are capturing. I wish I had a clue about how to counter it or neutralize it effectively. The video itself is brilliant. My complements to the chef.
Mon at 11:58pm
Susan
This reminds me of "Jay Walking" When you get a group of tens of thousands of people and start asking them questions, it is easy to find a dozen or so who are idiots. The same thing happened with the Million Man March, abortion rights protests at the capital, impeach Bill Clinton rallys, etc. There are extremists (and morons) in all walks of poilitical life. They don't represent the majority. They're just the loudest.....and usually most ignorant....right or left.
Brooke
although i do agree that few are the extremists, i disagree on the idea that the majority is not represented. the majority is idiots that are poorly educated, ignorant, fearful, and bandwagoners.
Yesterday at 7:37am
ME
I think that, when we are confronted by an ignorant, uneducated, bigoted, racist morons who hate America and threaten insurrection or secession, we should reach out with compassion and understanding and patiently explain that Glen and Rush and Sean are lying to them, . . . and when they don't get it,. . . then smack 'em up side the head. That is something that they can understand.
Yesterday at 5:33pm
Brooke
Brooke
I think that puts salt in the wound and you become part of the problem. And that is my mother you are speaking about and i would appreciate it if you engaged in politics with respect and patience.
ME
Brooke, are you saying that your mother is an ignorant uneducated bigoted racist moron who hates America and thrreatens insurrection and secession? I hope not. Iignorant uneducated bigoted racist morons who hate America and believe the crap that's spewed by the Glen Becks and Sean Hannitys don't deserve respect for their stupidity or tolerance for their hateful and hatefilled political agenda. And quite frankly I've run out of patience with them
Brooke
Brooke
What I am saying is that my mother was one of those protestors, and I do believe that she is ignorant to many aspects of american politics. she is not a college graduate, but she is still incredibly brilliant in many aspects of her life. She frowns upon me dating people of other races, and at times, like anyone else she can be irrational. But she is by no means a hater of america. None of those people hate america. that is why they are fighting for it. it may not be how you would like them to fight for it, but is the pride and love for their country and what their country stands for that they choose to act. I dont know much about glen beck, but i do consider hannity to be a very well educated individual even though i rarely agree with his politics. There is hate in both sides agenda, and I too am disheartened by it. But I can choose to sit on my computer and squabble over the issue on facebook with you or I can choose to try to help the situation by respectfully talking to my mom and others. No good will come from the mocking and bickering. It will only divide us even further. What we need is respectful conversation in order to understand one another rather than try to change eachothers opinions. The ancient people of athens did this. We all need to help eachother grow, and in doing so we will all be ... Read Morecloser to truly embracing not only an American community byt a global community. But it has to start from the bottom up. thats me and you. We need not think alike to love alike.
ME
ME
Brooke, you have a gentle view of, and a reasonable prescription for, a better world. Unfortunately however, the President's attempt to create areas of respectful conversation has not been met with either respect or conversation. I didn't see any pride nor love; not for god not for country, in thdemonstrators.
You are right though, no good should come from mocking or insulting the President. Unfortunately however, the Becks, Hannitys and Limbaughs have made fortunes misinforming, propagandizing and inciting their audiences. - Good for them I guess.
Right now you've got Americans who can't embrace other Americans because the other ?Americans? are Black (americans) - some "American" community. America a part of a global community? What community would want 2009 America to be a part of it?
6pm
Brooke
You are right though, no good should come from mocking or insulting the President. Unfortunately however, the Becks, Hannitys and Limbaughs have made fortunes misinforming, propagandizing and inciting their audiences. - Good for them I guess.
Right now you've got Americans who can't embrace other Americans because the other ?Americans? are Black (americans) - some "American" community. America a part of a global community? What community would want 2009 America to be a part of it?
6pm
Brooke
So many countries would! I mean i understand why you would think otherwise, but I just got back from studying abroad in 9 different countries. I have grown to realize through my journey that i am not "proud" to be an american, rather I am honored. Despite the bitterness encountered at times by locals, overall everyone couldnt imagine their country without america in their global economy. the second people found out i was american they would respond with Obama! You like? I love Obama! or some rendition very close to that. from greece to croatia, turkey to egypt, morocco to spain, america is very much embraced and they are all eager to see where Obama takes us. Ill let you know how asia feels when i go there in 3 months.
Susan
Susan
Wow, Brooke! Very insightful for someone so young.
It is easy to say someone is misinformed but I don't see any facts from the fingerpointers that would support their attacks. I'd love to read what Stephen Allan Shikes thinks of Ann Coulter.
ME
It is easy to say someone is misinformed but I don't see any facts from the fingerpointers that would support their attacks. I'd love to read what Stephen Allan Shikes thinks of Ann Coulter.
ME
Thanks Susan; it's important that Brooke realize that all those finger pointing protesters didn't have a fact to support their attacks on the President or his call for Health Insurance reform. It's a sad comment on Americans that the hatred of our President finds such an angry and belligerant voice in America when the President has been so well received abroad.
Given America's role in the global economic crisis, I have no doubt that people in other countries have no trouble imagining how much better their economies would have been today if America hadn't led the world economy to near economic collapse.
As for Ann Coulter; I have heard hear speak. I don't think that she has anything to contribute to this or any other political discussion. I tjink that she is a good example (along with Glen Beck, Hannity, etc.) of the kind of hate monger that upsets Brooke. They are not a good source for facts, philosophy, theology or politics. They are a good source for false facts.
Given America's role in the global economic crisis, I have no doubt that people in other countries have no trouble imagining how much better their economies would have been today if America hadn't led the world economy to near economic collapse.
As for Ann Coulter; I have heard hear speak. I don't think that she has anything to contribute to this or any other political discussion. I tjink that she is a good example (along with Glen Beck, Hannity, etc.) of the kind of hate monger that upsets Brooke. They are not a good source for facts, philosophy, theology or politics. They are a good source for false facts.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Somebody shoulda smacked that boy upside the head
Ah, yes, this was the week of Joe Wilson, Republican thug "Congressman cracker", the Confederate Congressman from South Carolina, Ofay with a big mouth and no self restraint. Joey is a neo-nazi punk who needs a lesson in etiquette. How about - stripped naked, dipped in tar, rolled in feathers, tied to a log and ridden out of Wahington on a rail? Populist politics the good ol' fashioned way.
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