page 6 - The Behrend College Beacon - Thursday, Feburary 11,1999
Spread of Spanish unwelcome by
By William Branigin,
The Washington Post
ATLANTA _ As the nation’s
Hispanic population expands
dramatically, with Spanish
permeating not only “gateway” cities
like Miami and New York but major
heartland capitals as well, legislators
and civic leaders are confronting
new questions about how, or
whether, to regulate the emergence
of Spanish as a lingua franca of
American life.
The debate is moving beyond
familiar controversies over bilingual
education in states such as Florida
and California, and is now washing
into small towns and Southern cities
where Americans until recently have
had little direct involvement in
arguments over whether the primacy
of English matters and why. Most
communities seem to be responding
to the spread of Spanish with
acceptance and accommodation, in
part because businesses and
politicians of all stripes increasingly
recognize the enormous buying
power and political clout of the
nation’s Hispanics. That purchasing
power grew to an estimated $348
billion nationwide in 1997, up 65
Kenya stops extradition of embassy bombing suspect to U.S.
By Ann M. Simmons,
Los Angeles Times
NAIROBI, Kenya _ After claims
that the suspect had been tortured
and unlawfully detained, a Kenyan
high court has stopped the FBI from
extraditing a Kenyan mechanic to
United States for further questioning
about last year's bombing of the U.S.
Embassy in Nairobi.
The court, in the coastal city of
Mombasa, Friday ordered that Ali
Mohfoudh Salim either be released
or be brought before a Kenyan court
as soon as possible. It also ordered
the immigration department to
prevent security agents from taking
Trial starting for
claimed to be FBI
By Brooke A. Masters,
The Washington Post
The first sign of trouble came
when Elizabeth Ann Behrmann saw
armed men in “SWAT type”
uniforms running across her Reston,
Va., back yard. Then came the knock
at the door: “FBI. Open up.”
On the doorstep stood a man in an
FBI baseball hat, 6-foot-7, nearly 300
pounds, wearing a badge around his
neck and holding a drawn handgun
along his right thigh. He told her he
wanted to search her home for a
fugitive named “Freeman,”
according to federal court
documents. Behrmann asked if he
had a warrant, but, she told
authorities, the man replied: “I’m
with the FBI. I don’t need a warrant.
I can search your house without your
permission.” So she let him in.
In truth, Buddy Lee Spenser, 42,
isn’t an FBI agent at all. The
Haymarket, Va., resident is a bounty
hunter, and he goes on trial this week
in federal court on charges of
illegally posing as a federal agent as
he tracked bail jumpers. Spenser’s
attorney, William M. Stanley, said his
client denies the allegations. “Buddy
Spenser is absolutely innocent,
Stanley said. “He is in an awful
situation not of his own making.”
Bounty hunters, who trace their
origins to the Wild West, generally
make their living locating suspects
who disappear after arranging for
bail jiondsmen to get them out of jail.
The bondsmen usually pay the
bounty hunter a portion of the bond
that would have been lost if the
suspect never returned. The system
brings back an estimated 87 percent
of bail jumpers, said Mel Barth,
executive director of the National
Association of Bail Enforcement
Agents.
But the profession is barely
regulated, and many bounty hunters
have been criticized for busting down
doors, lying to and frightening
citizens and sometimes causing
international incidents when they
cross borders to catch people who
have failed to show up for court. In
November, an Arizona jury
convicted a self-proclaimed bounty
hunter of murder for storming into a
percent from 1990.
But there is also unease in many
small towns and in some cities, where
official English advocates are trying
to rally resistance to the increase in
Spanish use, especially in public life.
At least 22 states now have laws
declaring English the sole official
language. Most such laws have been
approved in the last decade and are
largely symbolic. Of greater
consequence for many Latinos and
immigrants are local ordinances that
penalize them for such linguistic
“infringements” as posting
commercial signs in foreign
languages.
Consider Maria Cobarrubias, who
has built her general store into a
profitable fixture in the Atlanta suburb
of Norcross by catering to a growing
Hispanic community that is
transforming many parts of the South.
Cobarrubias was stunned to receive a
visit recently from the local marshal,
who fined her for having a sign with
the store’s name, Supermercado
Jalisco, in Spanish. Supermercado is
the Spanish word for supermarket,
and Jalisco is the Mexican state where
Cobarrubias was born. Cobarrubias,
37, said she has lived in Norcross for
seven years but heard of the law for
Salim out of the country.
Salim was arrested last Thursday by
FBI agents who, the court was told,
suspected that the mechanic’s garage
might have been used to build the
vehicle that transported the bomb to
Nairobi.
The action to prevent Salim’s
extradition marks the first time the
FBI has faced a legal obstacle in its
quest to arrest suspects in the Aug. 7
blast, which killed 213 people and left
more than 5,000 injured. A
simultaneous explosion at the U.S.
Embassy in Tanzania killed 11. Two
suspects have been extradited to the
United States in connection with the
Nairobi bombing.
bounty hunter who
young couple.
Barth says his group discourages its
2,500 members from posing as law
enforcement officers, lawyers and
journalists and from forcing their way
into homes. But some trackers believe
deception is essential, and they
regularly pose as package
deliverymen or salesmen to get
information or get through a door
peacefully. Others carry official
looking badges and identity cards.
In the Reston case, Spenser was
after a man charged with check fraud,
but he had the wrong address. The
bounty hunter’s actions crossed the
line into illegal behavior, according to
FBI supervisory special agent J.
Andrew McColl, whose squad
investigated the case after Behrmann
and her neighbor complained to
police. “You get some people every
now and then that say they’re working
for the FBI but not really acting on it
... but this guy went and searched a
house, which we couldn’t do,” McColl
said.
Spenser is relatively new to bounty
hunting, Stanley said. He took it up
last year after owning a limousine
company and doing security for
visiting celebrities, the lawyer said.
Last spring, while chasing fugitives
and showing “wanted” posters,
Spenser claimed on at least four
occasions to be working for the FBI,
according to prosecution documents
filed in U.S. District Court. He passed
out business cards saying he was a
"special agent” with the “United
States Fugitive Recovery Task Force.”
Last summer, he allegedly posed as a
deputy U.S. marshal to get reduced
rates at two motels while joining the
search for abortion clinic bombing
suspect Eric Robert Rudolph in North
Carolina and western Virginia,
according to a motion filed by
Assistant U.S. Attorney David
Hackney.
Stanley points out his client worked
as a paid, confidential FBI informant
from 1987 to 1998, according to court
documents filed by the prosecution.
He provided information on drug
deals and served as a go-between in a
bribery sting, according to court
documents. Spenser told investigators
his FBI cap was given to him by
contacts at the bureau.
World and Nation
the first time in November. She said
she paid a $ll5 fine but is thinking
about fighting back in court.
Enforcement of the ordinance has
outraged Mexican diplomats, and the
American Civil Liberties Union said
it may challenge the law as
unconstitutional. “All our customers
are Spanish-speaking,” Cobarrubias
said, worrying aloud that a sign with
"supermarket” in English will attract
fewer shoppers. In her own family,
her two children speak English and
Spanish fluently, Cobarrubias said.
“We think both languages are very,
very important,” she said. “And if you
have the opportunity of learning two
languages as a child, that’s a gift.”
Not all of her American neighbors
agree. An area long considered off the
beaten path for immigrants, this part
of Georgia began receiving thousands
of refugees from Southeast Asia in the
1980 s. Most gravitated toward
Atlanta’s northern suburbs. More
recently, Mexicans and Central
Americans have poured in, drawn by
the city’s booming economy. Today,
an estimated 500,000 Hispanics live
in Georgia, most of them around
Atlanta. About three-quarters are
Mexicans. Mirroring a national trend,
they have overtaken blacks as the
Kenya’s attorney general and
police commissioner are under court
orders to make sure that the FBI
produces Salim in court Tuesday.
Lawyer Taib Ali Taib, who applied
for a habeas corpus on behalf of
Salim's family, said U.S. agents had
refused to be served with the court
summons. He accused the FBI of
violating his client’s fundamental
constitutional and human rights.
Taib said Salim had been held
incommunicado for three days. He
was barred from speaking to his
family and denied access to legal
representation, Taib said. “We don’t
mind our client being charged.
Whoever committed this heinous
(bombing) should face the law,” Taib
Few regulations restrict
bounty hunters
By Brooke A. Masters,
The Washington Post
In some ways, the nation’s
estimated 2,500 to 5,000 “bail
recovery agents” have more leeway
than do the police. An 1873 Supreme
Court decision, Taylor vs. Taintor,
ruled that they can enter homes and
grab bail jumpers without a warrant
because the fugitive, in accepting a
bond, has agreed to allow the
bondsman to come alter him.
Only a few states regulate bounty
hunters; Florida, for example, has an
outright ban on out-of-state bounty
hunters. "It is a mounting national
problem ... (and) a very dangerous
situation,” said Sen. Robert G.
Torricelli, D-N.J., who became
interested in the issue alter bounty
hunters grabbed an innocent woman
in New York and took her to Alabama.
When they realized they had the
wrong person, they gave her $24 for
bus fare home.
Last year, Torricelli introduced a
bill calling on the Justice Department
to issue guidelines for state licensing
of bounty hunters. It passed the Senate
but not the House, so he plans to try
again this session. “They should be
insured and investigated. These aren’t
people we want working as an arm of
law enforcement. Some are former
criminals themselves,” he said. “This
idea of people entering without
warrants must come to an end.”
“There’s a whole lot of police
wannabes and Rambo wannabes,
said Stephen Kreimer, executive
director of the Professional Bail
Agents of the United States. “Other
than the person’s integrity, there’s
nothing to stop them from doing what
they want.”
Mel Barth, executive director of the
National Association of Bail
Enforcement Agents, said his group
recognizes the current system can
cause problems, although he argues
that states that go too far with
regulation could become havens for
criminal fugitives. “We’re trying to
build a certain amount of
professionalism,” said Barth, whose
association offers three-day training
sessions for members.
largest minority in many Georgia
communities
In Norcross, a town ot about 6,500
people north of Atlanta, the influx
prompted the city council in 1995 to
adopt an ordinance prohibiting signs
that are less than 75 percent English,
as determined by local authorities.
Officially, the reason is to help police,
fire and rescue personnel identify and
locate businesses in emergencies. But
to many Hispanics, the measure
discriminates against their heritage,
sending a message that they should
conform to American culture.
Sgt. H. Smith, the Norcross
marshal, said he has also issued
citations to several Korean churches
and an “Oriental beauty shop.” Some
Spanish words are “acceptable,” he
said, while others, such as
“supermercado,” must be changed.
“The ’super’ is English. But I don’t
know what ‘mercado’ means,” he
said. “If an American was out there
driving by, he wouldn’t know what
that was.” “The general population
np-;ds to be able to read the signs,”
said Johnny Lawler, Norcross’s
community development director.
But he insisted that the main reason
for the law is to help police and
firefighters. "We discriminate in
said Saturday in a phone
conversation from Mombasa, adding
that Salim’s family was confident of
his innocence. “But we insist the
process of investigations, must
adhere to the law. If we break the law
to find these people, we are no better
than them. I didn’t expect this from
the FBI.”
Taib said he was unaware of
Salim’s whereabouts and had not had
the opportunity to speak to his client
since his arrest. Police have refused
to disclose to Salim’s next-of-kin
why and where he was being held.
Taib said.
A six-page affidavit filed by
Salim’s brother, Faiz Mohfoudh
Salim, claimed that the U.S. agents
World watches as King Abdullah takes over
father’s reign
By Matthew McAllcsler, Newsday
In May, 1953, three days after he
took the reins of power, the idealistic
teen-age, British-educated King
Hussein introduced a startling new
policy of freedom of speech and
freedom of the press. The results were
disastrous. The young King’s
enemies used their new liberty to try
to bring down the monarchy. Hussein
felt compelled to quash his own
democratic impulses by introducing
an authoritarian government on the
first anniversary of his coronation.
It was not a good start. And he was
to make other mistakes. But Hussein
evolved into an agile politician,
keeping one eye on his enemies at all
times. Nearly 46 years later, he died
one of the most respected rulers in
the world, a symbol of stability and
wisdom.
Now, as his son, King Abdullah,
takes over the running of the country,
anxious governments in Israel, the
United States and around the Arab
world are waiting to see if the young
king can maintain the stability of his
nation without making the traumatic
early mistakes his father made on the
throne. Although Jordan is an
economically and militarily weak
country, its condition could affect the
fragile balance of the whole region.
If Abdullah fails to maintain the
equilibrium his father created, the
region could descend into warfare. If
he succeeds as ruler of Jordan, he
could be the founding member of a
Delta to offer discount web airfare
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON _ First came the
stick and now the carrot. Just days
after abandoning its effort to collect
$2 for every round-trip flight that
wasn’t booked on its Web site, Delta
Air Lines Inc. was back at it again,
this time offering “Weekly Web
Fares” for anyone making their
reservations on the company s
Internet site.
Starting this Wednesday and every
Wednesday thereafter, Delta said it
will offer “deeply discounted” fares
the following weekend to a variety
of U.S. destinations if people
favor of English as far as public safety
is concerned,” he said.
To many Hispanics, the policy
appears to hide more insidious
motives.“ This is really discrimination
against new immigrants,
complained Teodoro Maus, the
Mexican consul general in Atlanta. I
don’t see them applying this law to
Italian or French restaurants.
Neighboring Doraville, also home to
large numbers of Hispanic and Asian
immigrants, has an ordinance like the
one in Norcross but has chosen not
to enforce it.
“The attitudes have changed
tremendously here in the last couple
of years," said Ray Ortega, who owns
a travel agency in Doraville.
"Because the economic impact is
becoming so strong, a lot of business
people are looking to Hispanics in a
more positive way.”
Among those who have embraced
the new reality is Dennis Mathews,
47, who has seen his supermarket
business boom since he began trying
to attract Hispanic customers. Alter
struggling for several years, he and a
partner restocked their store with
Mexican foods, hired Spanish
speaking employees and put up signs
in Spanish. Today, the “Valu Foods”
seized the suspect’s passport and
harassed and intimidated him during
several visits to the mechanic’s
workshop, beginning Feb. 2. The U.S.
agents were accompanied by Kenyan
police.
According to the affidavit, U.S.
agents interrogated Salim tor 12
hours, conducted tests and took
photographs at his garage, and
questioned him about the body of a
vehicle he had built. Salim was then
reportedly arrested and detained
initially at a local police station,
according to his brother.
Taib said Faiz Mohfoudh Salim
suspected that his brother had been
tortured. In the United States, the FBI
had no comment. Kenya gave the
new club of young, western-educated
leaders taking over from their aged
and ailing fathers around the Arab
world.
Abdullah has many things going for
him that his father didn’t. When
Hussein ascended to the throne, the
country created only about 30 years
earlier had recently taken a beating by
Israel in the 1948 war of
independence and was surrounded by
ambitious Arab states.
Today, Jordan is at peace with
Israel, has strong ties to the United
States and has long since calmed the
internal battles between the country’s
majority Palestinians and ruling
ethnic Jordanians. But it remains a
vulnerable player in the endless game
of positioning for influence that is
played by its neighbors such as Syria,
Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq.
Situated between lour of those
countries, it has a strategic importance
that far outweighs its muscle.
Few analysts or diplomats think it
likely that any of its neighbors would
try to take advantage of Abdullah’s
inexperience by invading the country.
"It’s more likely to be meddling rather
than overt action,” said Shibley
Telhami, a professor of political
science and expert on Arab-Israeli
relations at the University of
Maryland.
"Relations with Jordan are not
simple," acknowledged Badi Khattab,
deputy chief of mission at the Syrian
Embassy in Washington. “But we
have absolutely nothing to do with
purchase the tickets on the Delta Web
site. Passengers using the Web fares
would be able to depart each
Saturday and return the following
Monday or Tuesday.
Customers buying tickets on the
Web site will be issued electronic
tickets, further reducing the airline’s
costs. By convincing customers to
purchase tickets through the Internet,
the airline potentially saves millions
of dollars in travel agent
commissions and transaction charges
on the computer reservations
systems. Electronic tickets add to the
potential savings.
Less than 2 percent of Delta
some
sign on the front shares billing with
the name that Hispanics use for the
store: ”E 1 Valu." About four years ago,
he said, “we started to see the
influence of Mexicans coming into
our store, and we decided we should
focus on them.” The partners also put
“Bienvenidos ” (Welcome) in neon
above the front door and aisle markers
in Spanish throughout the store.
After making the switch, “we
wouldn't hire anybody unless they
were bilingual,” Mathews said. But
when such employees became harder
to find a couple of years ago, “we
decided we had to hire people who
are pretty much Spanish-only.” The
store also now advertises only on
Spanish-language radio and TV
stations.
“As the Mexicans become a larger
part of our population, those people
who don't try to accommodate them
are going to be hurt,” Mathews said.
“I get lots of calls (for advice) from
independent retailers in small towns
in North and South Carolina, places
where you’d never expect to have
pockets of Mexicans,” he said. “Even
towns of 4,000 people are starting to
see the influence.”
bureau permission to operate in the
country shortly after the bombing.
“Torture doesn’t have to be a beating,”
Taib said. “The fact that someone has
been held without access to a phone
call, family, or a lawyer, is torture
itself.”
The FBl’s hunt for suspects
connected with the Nairobi bombing
has caused public outcry among
members of Kenya’s Islamic
community, who believe that
Muslims are being unfairly targeted.
Other Kenyan’s have complained
about U.S. agents operating with
impunity, without regard for local
legal procedures and a lack of respect
for their Kenyan police counterparts.
their internal affairs. That’s up to
them.” “Nevertheless, in the unlikely
event of Iraq, for example, pushing
into Jordanian territory, Israel would
be likely to rush to Jordan’s aid. That
could lead to a larger regional
conflagration. We would not allow
Israel to do this,” said Ahmed Maher
el Sayed, the Egyptian ambassador to
the United States.
More likely, the challenge to
Abdullah would come from within
Jordan and even within the Hashemite
royal family, analysts say. Although
recently considered rival candidates
for the crown, Abdullah’s brothers Ali
and Hamzah are loyal and loving to
their oldest brother, say friends of
Abdullah, experts and diplomats.
“Hassan is the only threat,” Telhami
said, referring to Abdullah’s uncle,
who was crown prince for 34 years
until Hussein changed his mind a few
weeks ago and appointed Abdullah in
his place. “But Abdullah has military
support and some experience in
foreign policy. He certainly hasn’t
been groomed to be king, but I don’t
think structurally that’s a problem
because Hassan doesn’t have the
support of'the military and he’s not
popular.”
In an interview that was reported in
the New York Times on Saturday,
Abdullah said he wanted his uncle to
continue working closely with him but
admitted there had been tensions
between them.
passengers now make their
reservations through the Internet.
And like a sugar salesman handing
out free candy on the comer, Delta is
giving frequent-flier bonuses for
anyone using the Web site and
electronic tickets: 500 bonus miles
for using the Web site and another
500 miles for the e-ticket. Several
other airlines, including American
Airlines Inc., have similar programs.