Word: travelled
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...lobbyist-paid travel. Until the scandal broke, it was fine for your Representative to take an all-expenses-paid trip to Pago Pago on behalf of the Alaskan Coconut Packing Council and do virtually no work upon arrival. Lobbyists proposed, arranged and paid for those trips--then went along to chalk up quality time. Now, under almost every proposal, Republican and Democrat, the junkets would be history. Chance of passage: 99%. Likely work-around: lawmakers will try to carve out an exemption for "educational" trips sponsored by policy groups and friendly foreign countries...
Cheaper air travel and a lavish expansion of facilities in recent times mean the number of pilgrims to Mecca for the annual hajj festival now regularly totals around 2.5 million. In spite of improved safety precautions, the death last week of 363 visitors in a stampede during the "stoning of the devil" ritual is an all-too familiar tragedy. DECEMBER 1975 Some 200 pilgrims camped at Mina, east of Mecca, die when a cooking-gas cylinder explodes, sparking a fire that sweeps through the tent city NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 1979 127 troops and 26 civilians die in fighting at Mecca...
...Security Council to issue a legal demand to Iran to suspend enrichment work. If all else fails, the U.S. and its allies are likely to pursue "targeted sanctions" against Tehran, such as restricting the regime's access to international financial channels and squeezing its ability to trade and travel. But getting agreement on the nature of sanctions--and avoiding a veto by Russia or China, which both have deep economic interests in Iran--could take months...
...value of a single gift that a lobbyist can give a lawmaker or aide, provoking jokes about a $49.50 party to cash in before any change takes effect. Hastert is considering supporting a ban on junkets for members and aides that are financed by outside groups and restricting travel to government-paid trips. An aide involved in the negotiations, skeptical that any meaningful change will result, calls the proposals "a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound...
...this week, with party leaders assembling 100 Democrats from the House and Senate, along with Democratic mayors and Governors, at the Library of Congress to unveil reform legislation intended to set the tone for the election year. The plan calls for a prohibition on gifts, including meals, entertainment and travel, from lobbyists and special interests. Democrats also say they would shut down what they call "pay-to-play schemes," such as DeLay's "K Street Project," which encourages companies and lobbying firms to hire Republicans to improve their access to lawmakers. Even Boehner said in a statement last week...