I was told by a colleague of mine that the president's office is suing to overturn the fingerprinting order, on the grounds that Lula should have exclusive authority to make foreign policy.
This whole episode reminded me that several years ago a "social-democratic" Turkish government had a progressive foreign affairs minister (Professor Mumtaz Soysal, a constitutional law professor from Ankara University with national pride and courage) who established a visa requirement for American visitors citing also the concept of "reciprocity."
Ahmet Tonak
Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:
Landing in Miami yesterday on my return I was amused and delighted to find that an American Airlines pilot had been taken into custody and ultimately fined $12,500 - yes dollars -- for an obscene gesture at the Sao Paulo entry point. The photo in the Miami Herald showed him in the entry photo holding the ID paper with his middle finger extended. The police took this as an insulting gesture and locked him up and detained the rest of the crew -- later sending all dead-heading back to the USA.
The pilot's mindset -- if I can interpret it -- seems to be the typical American arrogance and self-rightousness. Sad.
Gene Coyle
I got a kick out of the AA pilot story, too.
It's great that Brazil is standing up to the US government. If many other governments followed Brazil's example, the fingerprinting scheme might collapse like the recent negotiations about the WTO and the FTAA.
I also love Mexico's insistence on its consular rights and challenge to the US death sentencing of Mexican nationals. -- Yoshie
