Happen to have seen the fancy motorcade flanked by U.S. Secret Service and CHP vehicles rolling through Venice on Monday?

Pictures by Ray Rae!

That was the President of the Czech Republic, Václav Klaus, peeping the sights in Venice Beach! Klaus was in town on a four day visit speaking as the keynote at the nonprofit advocacy group American Freedom Alliance's conference on “Global Governance vs. National Sovereignty.” Other prominent speakers included John Bolton, former US Ambassador to the UN, and John Howard, former prime minister of Australia, via videolink.

From the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Los Angeles:

President Klaus expressed in his main address, “Global Governance and its European Variant,” his worry and the implications for “soft totalitarianism” by the European Union. His fresh memories of communistic influence described a reinforcement of his skepticism, while he explained: “my dominant feeling is the feeling of powerlessness.” Conference participants were rallied by his remarks, and it was clear his perspective was popular among attendees. To read the entire address in English, please visit his official website by clicking here.

The discussions and debate raged on with a question from President Klaus: “Do liberal democracies have the strength and will to defend their national sovereignty?” Other significant contributors to the conference included cited author Dr. John Fonte of the Hudson Institute, Professor John Yoo of the University of California at Berkeley and former legal advisor to President Bush Jr., former member of the UN General Assembly Robert C. O’Brien, and Executive Director Larry Greenfield of the Reagan Legacy Foundation.