Having a phrasebook doesn't deny

you the ability for Chinese people to practice their English with you Jane. It sure comes in handy though when your being asked by officials for your passport and reason for being in the neighborhood of embassy offices, which will happen anywhere around the world.

I'm still waiting for the answer of why your associates were granted their visa's to N. Korea and you didn't, where did you receive your visa for China, at the Beijing Airport?

What was the time-frame of when you knew this delegation was going to N. Korea and you began the visa application process?

What I read of your accusations, and then follow up descriptions of these events, leaves me with the impression of events blown way out of proportion on your part, and only reinforcing what MSM media want you to think about Chinese authorities.

I thought your delegation is about bringing peace to the world and better understanding of our fellow human?

by Stanimal (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 18 diaries, 493 comments) on Friday, April 25, 2008 at 11:10:13 PM
 

My visa. etc....

Okay, here's some more back-story.  I applied four months ago to go with a group to North Korea and then our group was combined with another group.  I got my China visa months ago too from the SF consulate.  Okay so far? 

    Then the travel agent in Shenyang who was handling our visas apparently lost my visa application.  If you have ever read anything I've ever written you will know that stuff like this happens to me all the time.  Am I cursed?  Who knows.

   But being pretty much a little old lady, one would think that rent-a-soldiers and Red Army officers wouldn't be on my case.  One would think that, now wouldn't one?  And one would be WRONG!  I related just how all this stuff happened.  Murphy's Law follows me around!  Okay?  Now back off.

    I liked China.  I respect the Chinese.  But I could go to freaking ANTARCTICA and the freaking PENGUINS would try to arrest me.  Give me a break.

by Jane Stillwater (440 articles, 0 quicklinks, 9 diaries, 57 comments) on Saturday, April 26, 2008 at 12:55:41 AM
 

Give you a break?

Noboy was trying to arrest you Jane, the were just asking questions about who you were and what you were doing both times near the embassy's and at the dam, which can happen in any country around the world.

An arrest means you go to a police station and go through a booking proceeding, of photographs, fingerprints and you post bail to get out of jail. You are issued a summons to appear in a court of law, which none of this happened to you.

Seems odd that everybody in your group receives their visa, and the embassy "Lost" only your application as you suggest. Things happen, and you just have to accept what cards you were dealt with, which you seem rather head strong not to.

I've given you phonic Chinese, in order to help you eat while here, and suggestions for a plan B & C. You have been blogging about your experiences, without providing enough background information about your plight and falsely accusing the Chinese authorities of harassment and intimidation, and you tell me to "Back Off"?

Jane, your the one who claims to be a writer, pleading for sympathy for your self created tribulations.

by Stanimal (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 18 diaries, 493 comments) on Saturday, April 26, 2008 at 5:37:09 PM
 

Jane, I want to share an experience I had

in 1997 when I first went to Peru. My morning was exciting having visited the Plaza Mayor at sunrise for the flag raising ceremony and the Peruvian military in the red & blue uniforms saluting while a lone bugle did a rendition of the national anthem.

After visiting the National History Museum, I was taking a taxi to the Gold Museum when I noticed we were passing the Japanese Embassy and I asked the driver to pullover.

A couple weeks earlier the Tupac Armu been routed out of embassy by a prolonged siege involving digging a tunnel, and allowing authorities to map out the raid.

I jumped out of the car and started taking pictures of the destroyed walls of the compound and the shattered windows and pock marks of gun fire traces along the buildings exterior. I was not out of the car more than a minute, when I was surrounded by 8 Peruvian military in camouflage pointing M16's at me as the commanding officer demanded I drop all my possessions, put my hands on my head and get on my knees.

The taxi I was in began to drive away, and after being frisked, then having my passport surrendered, was put into a mini-van and driven to a police compound, where I remained for the afternoon being asked questions of why I was in the area taking pictures in a restricted area?

I was finally let go, but had the roll of film in my camera taken, and warned not to take photographs of embassy's, military compounds, or police buildings.

I don't claim to have been arrested or "Busted" by this experience, though it was a rather intimidating, and caused me to suspend what I had planned for the afternoon till the next day.

In my wanderings around the globe it is in the U.S. where I have seen "Grandmother's" most often asked by security for further screening as passengers on planes.

It should not take a rocket scientist to know that photographing an embassy by "un-suspecting" people is harmless with what these compounds have dealt with over the recent past around the world.

Your situation at the dam, was just you not finding out what the "present" rules that applied to its "public" access. Were you the only "Tourist" walking on the dam?

So, these "Things" keep happening to you around the world? Ever thought that its your "Actions" and how you mis-represent them as part of the problem?

by Stanimal (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 18 diaries, 493 comments) on Saturday, April 26, 2008 at 6:31:18 PM
 

Jane, I want to share an experience I had

in 1997 when I first went to Peru. My morning was exciting having visited the Plaza Mayor at sunrise for the flag raising ceremony and the Peruvian military in the red & blue uniforms saluting while a lone bugle did a rendition of the national anthem.

After visiting the National History Museum, I was taking a taxi to the Gold Museum when I noticed we were passing the Japanese Embassy and I asked the driver to pullover.

A couple weeks earlier the Tupac Armu been routed out of embassy by a prolonged siege involving digging a tunnel, and allowing authorities to map out the raid.

I jumped out of the car and started taking pictures of the destroyed walls of the compound and the shattered windows and pock marks of gun fire traces along the buildings exterior. I was not out of the car more than a minute, when I was surrounded by 8 Peruvian military in camouflage pointing M16's at me as the commanding officer demanded I drop all my possessions, put my hands on my head and get on my knees.

The taxi I was in began to drive away, and after being frisked, then having my passport surrendered, was put into a mini-van and driven to a police compound, where I remained for the afternoon being asked questions of why I was in the area taking pictures in a restricted area?

I was finally let go, but had the roll of film in my camera taken, and warned not to take photographs of embassy's, military compounds, or police buildings.

I don't claim to have been arrested or "Busted" by this experience, though it was a rather intimidating, and caused me to suspend what I had planned for the afternoon till the next day.

In my wanderings around the globe it is in the U.S. where I have seen "Grandmother's" most often asked by security for further screening as passengers on planes.

It should not take a rocket scientist to know that photographing an embassy by "un-suspecting" people is harmless with what these compounds have dealt with over the recent past around the world.

Your situation at the dam, was just you not finding out what the "present" rules that applied to its "public" access. Were you the only "Tourist" walking on the dam?

So, these "Things" keep happening to you around the world? Ever thought that its your "Actions" and how you mis-represent them as part of the problem?

by Stanimal (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 18 diaries, 493 comments) on Saturday, April 26, 2008 at 6:34:43 PM
 

The definition of "arrest" is subjective....

A seizure or forcible restraint; an exercise of the power to deprive a person of his or her liberty; the taking or keeping of a person in custody by legal authority, especially, in response to a criminal charge.

The purpose of an arrest is to bring the arrestee before a court or otherwise secure the administration of the law. An arrest serves the function of notifying the community that an individual has been accused of a crime and also may admonish and deter the arrested individual from committing other crimes. Arrests can be made on both criminal charges and civil charges, although civil arrest is a drastic measure that is not looked upon with favor by the courts. The federal Constitution imposes limits on both civil and criminal arrests.

An arrest may occur (1) by the touching or putting hands on the arrestee; (2) by any act that indicates an intention to take the arrestee into custody and that subjects the arrestee to the actual control and will of the person making the arrest; or (3) by the consent of the person to be arrested. There is no arrest where there is no restraint, and the restraint must be under real or pretended legal authority. However, the detention of a person need not be accompanied by formal words of arrest or a station house booking to constitute an arrest.

The test used to determine whether an arrest took place in a particular case is objective, and it turns on whether a reasonable person under these circumstances would believe he or she was restrained or free to go. A reasonable person is one who is not guilty of criminal conduct, overly apprehensive, or insensitive to the seriousness of the circumstances. Reasonableness is not determined in light of a defendant's subjective knowledge or fears. The subjective intent of the police is also normally irrelevant to a court's determination whether an arrest occurred, unless the officer makes that intent known. Thus, a defendant's presence at a police station by consent does not become an arrest solely by virtue of an officer's subjective view that the defendant is not free to leave, absent an act indicating an intention to take the defendant into custody.

An arrest constitutes a seizure under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and thus the procedures by which a person is arrested must comply with the protections guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment or the arrest will be invalidated and any evidence seized during the arrest or confessions made after the arrest will typically be suppressed. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that arrests made without a valid arrest warrant based on Probable Cause are presumptively invalid under the Fourth Amendment. Similarly, arrests made pursuant to a warrant that is later ruled defective may also be declared invalid, unless the officer in procuring the warrant and making the arrest acted in Good Faith.

by Jane Stillwater (440 articles, 0 quicklinks, 9 diaries, 57 comments) on Sunday, April 27, 2008 at 12:37:51 PM
 

Your NOT in the US Jane, and

apparently you are not familiar with what Bu$h & Co. have done to the Constitution and Bill of Rights these past seven years. Operation Sudden Impact happened while you were away from Bu$hland which was Martial Law practice sweeps in 3 states.

Where illegal parked cars and speeding are now considered acts of "Terrorism". All "criminals" who break laws are now considered "Terrorists".

IF you had your passport in your possession like your supposed to in the first place, the Embassy "Arrest" and parade to your hotel would NOT have happened. Carrying no ID in the US, the police have the authority to haul you in and hold you or 24 hours before release, longer if you are termed an "Enemy Combatant"

IF you had inquired to find out IF it was STILL allowable to walk out over the dam instead of accepting your driver's word, you could have avoided that incident also.

I'm perplexed as to why Americans think that when they travel abroad that they are protected by US law. That when visiting foreign country's they think a US passport should expedite official paperwork in obtaining visa's. When in markets can be identified by how boisterous in declaring how CHEAP things are. Claim ignorance when being in places that are restricted by not inquiring in the first place.

It's these few thoughts and actions that give many natives the impression of the UGLY AMERICAN, and reinforces their perception of the US as a psychopathic nation.

You still not wanting to accept that your actions is what caused the problems in the first place. Perhaps if you THINK about what your actions might cause, you wouldn't have these problems befall you.

As far as China being polluted, yes it is, but this is how country's develop and the US is no exception. I can remember when the Ohio River caught fire in 72. Your trip in N.E. China which has the largest amount of heavy industry in the country, is like going from Gary Indiana to Cleavland.

Your opinion about Tibet, you should not forget how the US became a country. There were many Wounded Knee's since the first Europeans began colonizing what we now call the US. You should address these grievances before condemning the Han.

by Stanimal (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 18 diaries, 493 comments) on Sunday, April 27, 2008 at 6:13:18 PM