The Michigan Daily-Thursday, May 25, 1978-Page 11
16,000 live free of U.S. laws
WASHINGTON (AP) - The State Department
yesterday said there are more than 16,000 persons
living in the United States with total diplomatic im-
munity from U.S. criminal and civil laws.
Another 27,000 foreigners enjoy a limited immunity
from criminal or civil penalties in performing "of-
ficial acts" as members or employees of foreign em-
bassies, legations or organizations.
BUT THE DEFINITION of what constitutes an "of-
ficial act" is not spelled out in U.S. statutes.
All of those with total immunity are officials or em-
ployees of foreign governments living in Washington
and New York. The limited protection from U.S. laws
extends to persons in those cities and in other cities
around the country.
The statistics were offered by State Department of-
ficials who urged Congress to adopt reforms updating
existing 188-year-old laws on diplomatic immunity.
BUT SEN. PAUL Sarbanes (D-Md.) made it clear
he was not satisfied with the figures they provided. He
also lamented the fact that nowhere in U.S. law or
regulations is there a precise definition of what con-
stitutes an "official act" by a foreign official or em-
ployee.
Sarbanes is seeking to deny foreigners, from senior
diplomats to the lowliest servants, the right to escape
criminal charges and lawsuits while living in the
United States.
The issue has become controversial as the result of
disclosures that foreigners regularly ignore traffic
summonses and other laws, and incidents in which
U.S. citizens were unable to collect damages from
foreigners in auto accidents.
SARBANES SAID the legislative proposals are in-
tended to "significantly reduce" the number of per-
sons enjoying diplomatic immunity in the United
States. He said they're also aimed at setting up an in-
surance system that would make sure U.S. citizens
were adequately compensated for damages by
foreigners.
Two other sponsors of the legislation,. Sen. Howard
Metzenbaum (D-Ohio) and Rep. Joseph Fisher (D-
Va.), cited examples of U.S. citizens who had been
denied compensation in serious auto accident claims
involving foreign embassy personnel.
And Metzenbaum said the ability of insurance com-
panies to use diplomatic immunity as a defense
helped provide a "windfall" for the firms, which can
collect premiums without the risk of clients being
legally obligated to pay anything.
RICHARD GOOKIN, the State Department's
assistant chief of protocol, said the administration
"enthusiastically supports" these changes in
diplomatic immunity laws.
Concerning the assertion that U.S. insurance com-
panies have used the diplomatic immunity laws to
avoid paying claims, a spokesman told the committee
the insurance industry favors a "reparations system"
to compensate persons victimized by foreign
diplomats who refuse to answer just claims.
John Nangle, attorney for the National Association
of Independent Insurers, also said the industry
believes any move to disallow the use of diplomatic
immunity as a defense would be "grossly
discriminatory." He said it would prevent diplomats
and other foreigners from acquiring regular insuran-
ce, forcing them instead into assigned risk pools.
Cheese shop boasts imported specialties
(Continued from Page 3);
make aselection.
"I have favorites in each variety ac-
tually," she said. "Certain sharp ched-
dars, for instance, and especially the
Danish Swiss and semi-hard. There's
too much to choose from to pin it down
to any one or two."
SHE WARNED cheese-lovers not to
be impressed by stores that boast about
the number of varieties they supply.
"Any store that advertises having over
100 cheeses means nothing," she said.
"A shop can only carry the types its
traffic will support, and they could all
be different kinds of Swiss."
More important, she said, are
freshness and quality. "If freshness is
the correct condition for the cheese, we
keep it fresh; if it should be aged, we
allow it to," she said.
Dunham is familiar with many
unusual varieties of cheese, both
domestic and imported. "One new kind
of cheese that has only recently been
imported is Explorateur, from Fran-
ce," she said, "It is very soft, flavorful
and fragile and is listed as being 'triple
crem'." Fragile refers to the need for
refrigeration, and triple crem means
an exceptional amount of cream was
used in making it, Dunham explained.
OTHER UNIQUE cheese flavors
from France include pineapple, nugget,
and even strawberry and chocolate, but
Dunham-Wells no longer carries those
because no one bought them.
'We. do have an excellent cherry-
flavored cheese, Monsieur Fromage,
and Gourmandise, which tastes like
walnut," she pointed out..Dunham ad-
ded peach and orange to the list of the
shop's fancy flavors.
Another popular import from France,
Dunham said, is a whipped grape
cheese. It is soft and comes wrapped in
seeds and skins from grapes used in
wine-making. The edible wrapping has
a faint wine taste, according to some
cheese lovers.
SAP SAGO, a strong, hard, green
chetse used in cooking or grated into
salads, is made from clover. Goat logs
(made from goat's milk), a soft French
cheese, is rolled in charcoal, which is
said to aid digestion. Spreadable
cheeses, such as boursin from France,
often have bits of herbs or other
flavorings added, according to
Dunham.
A 11 cheeses form holes as the yeast
releases carbon monoxide during fer-
mentation. However, most cheeses
have the holes pressed out by flavoring
and aging processes that usually in-
volve placing flavor elements on top of
the cheese as it hardens. The different
items most often used are grain, stone,
charcoal or straw.E
Swiss is allowed to keep some of its
holes, but it is "combed" to remove the
.larger ones, a method by which a uten-
sil resembling a giant comb is brushed
through the cheese. This is the reason
why most holes in Swiss are oblong.
Although Dunham said she doesn't
think cheeses heavily drenched in
preservatives that don't require
refrigeration are necessarily bad, she
does object to pre-sliced brands. "It's
the same process as champagne. A
magnum has more flavor than a fifth. A
bigger piece of cheese also holds more
flavor," she said. "When it is sliced it
slows the aging process and detracts
fr9m the flavor and texture. Putting
pieces of paper between the slices also
draws out the moisture," she ex-
plained.
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