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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Les H who wrote (179723)	7/14/2002 3:19:51 PM
From: stephen wall	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

Senate Democrats Leave on a Corporate Jet Plane By Thomas B. Edsall Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, July 13, 2002; Page A05 Right after voting yesterday morning to limit debate on legislation clamping down on corporate abuses, 16 Democratic senators flew on corporate jets from Washington to Nantucket, Mass., for a weekend retreat with 250 major campaign donors. The jets were supplied by BellSouth Corp., Eli Lilly and Co., FedEx and AFLAC. All have given large sums of "soft money" to both major parties, but Republicans generally have received the majority. The cost of using the jets -- estimated by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee at just over $44,000 -- will be counted as in-kind soft-money contributions to the committee. Tovah Ravitz-Meehan, DSCC communications director, said invitations to the weekend gathering were sent to those who had given $20,000 or more. There are no official events or presentations planned, she said, although some senators up for reelection this fall might discuss their campaigns with the donors. Asked about the propriety of Democrats -- many of whom have criticized President Bush and congressional Republicans for their ties to corporations accused of accounting abuses -- voting to close debate on corporate-accountability legislation and then flying to a resort in corporate jets, Ravitz-Meehan said: "I don't think there is any tie between the vote and their mode of travel." Getting to Nantucket, she said, is "logistically difficult, and expensive to reach commercially." On the US Airways Web site, round-trip tickets between Washington's Reagan National Airport and Nantucket ranged from $303 to $1,124, depending on when reservations were made. DSCC staffers provided seven newspaper articles describing various Republicans' use of private jets. The Democratic senators attending the Nantucket retreat are DSCC chairman Patty Murray (Wash.), Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.), Bill Nelson (Fla.), Daniel K. Akaka (Hawaii), Evan Bayh (Ind.), Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), Jon S. Corzine (N.J.), Byron L. Dorgan (N.D.), Richard J. Durbin (Ill.), Edward M. Kennedy (Mass.), John F. Kerry (Mass.), Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), Ben Nelson (Neb.), Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.). A small number of senators flew commercially, but Ravitz-Meehan said she did not know which ones. washingtonpost.com

To: Les H who wrote (179723)	7/14/2002 4:34:03 PM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Respond to of 436258

Spain have cooking their budget Opposition: Government announced wrong numbers to Brussels By Ute Mueller (alta vista translation) Madrid - Italy and Portugal do not only operate creative record keeping with the finances of the state: Also Spain is to have counted its household beautifuly (e.g. cooked). This accuses at least the oppositional a socialist party PSOE of the conservative government in Madrid. Of them to Brussels announced household numbers are rubbish. Against past data is still far Spain to prove a balanced budget. The government under prime minister José María Aznar had only presented a balanced household in the past year. According to opinion of the PSOE the budgetary deficit is to have amounted in the past year to 2,5 per cent of the gross domestic product (GROS DOMESTIC PRODUCT). Thus it would have approximated very close to the upper limit of three per cent, planned in the European Union stability pact. The crew around Aznar is not to have considered the billion-indebtedness of the national broadcast and TV organization RTVE for example in the household. Also financial syringes to marode public enterprises are not to have been proven. The restaurant speaker of the socialists, the beginning, debate for the situation of the nation Jordí Sevilla, wants to prove to the government on on today's Monday in Madrid, that also incomes and expenditures of the government were wrongly booked. Only two weeks ago ago of Italy had had to admit Minister of Finance the finances of the state to have counted beautifully (e.g cooked). The European office for statistics euro act had criticized that future yields had been already booked as safe incomes. (so not only in the US they count future income as bocked income <GGG>) Before the Portuguese government had signaled an additional correction of the household deficit of 2,2 for 2001 on scarcely 4.0 per cent - with the prospect that the national indebtedness would still increase 2002. Also in Greece and Austria had euro act balance-cheat discovered. Also the two large trade unions in Spain, which made mobile against Aznar in June with an one-day general strike, criticize the budget politics of the government. Surplus of the national unemployed person and social security was consulted regularly for the plug of other budget holes. However in the last two years from the social insurances annually about six billion euro were rerouted, correspond scarcely per cent GROS DOMESTIC PRODUCT. Head of the government Aznar, that before beginning of its political career as a financial supervisor worked in Europe as Gralshueter of the stability pact had always spent itself. Only past week rejected its Minister of Finance the demands stated by France after a softening of the conditions of stability. Further articles to the topic The stability pact needs protection from the governments welt.de