Travel Industry Warns Congress: 'Witch Hunt' on Travel Endangers Jobs

The US Travel Association has warned that Congress is close to conducting a "witch hunt" with its accusations that travel and entertainment expenditures are inappropriate for corporations accepting federal bailout funds.

Roger Dow, president and CEO of the US Travel Association, issued the following statement in response to the accusations against Northern Trust and the House Financial Services Committee's call to return taxpayer dollars related to travel to the company's recent Northern Trust Open PGA golf tournament.

For every case of wasteful spending, we are seeing scores of instances in which the game of 'gotcha' has forced businesses to cancel legitimate activities that would have grown their bottom lines and generated jobs and economic growth for local communities.

Dow referred Congress to the guidelines on acceptable business travel practices issued by the US Travel Association representing the meetings, events and incentive travel industries.



Source: http://www.traveltrade.com/news_article.htm?id=5662&p=index.htm

Kilpatrick court hearing adjourned

Following a nearly 50-minute closed door meeting in Wayne Circuit Court Judge David Groner's chambers with Kilpatrick's legal team and representatives of Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy and Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, the judge quickly adjourned the public session saying he will await the results of a Wayne County Probation Department investigation.

The Detroit News reported after Kilpatrick's return to Detroit that there was no "board action" involved in the hiring, the interview happened three days later than promised, and three of four people who interviewed Kilpatrick were from Detroit, not Dallas.

Karmanos had long talked about hiring Kilpatrick, and several positions were considered including a lobbying post in Washington D.C., where a multi-billion dollar part of the government's new stimulus package is aimed at improvements in the secure transfer of medical records -- the kind of work done by Covisint.

Groner agreed to the trip and the insistence of Kilpatrick's lawyers on secrecy about the job offer because the judge said he believed it was the city's best chance at getting Kilpatrick to pay $1 million in restitution.



Source: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090224/METRO/902240396/1361/UPDATE

Argentina beats France 2-0 in friendly match

2009-02-11 23:17:02 - MARSEILLE, France (AP) - Lionel Messi scored a brilliant solo goal Wednesday to cap Argentina's 2-0 win over France and give Diego Maradona a second straight win as national team coach.

Messi was quiet until the 83rd minute, when the Barcelona striker collected the ball outside the penalty area, got through the French defense and

Jonas Gutierrez scored the opener in the 41st minute when he beat Mandanda with a low shot inside the left post.

The Marseille goalkeeper left a gap and reacted too slowly to the Newcastle player's shot.



Source: http://www.pr-inside.com/argentina-beats-france-2-0-in-friendly-r1054449.htm

UPDATE 3-Soccer-Sublime Messi goal caps Argentine win in France

(adds quotes)By Julien PretotMARSEILLE, France, Feb 11 - Lionel Messi netted a

sublime second-half goal to complete a 2-0 friendly win against

France on Wednesday, ensuring Diego Maradona maintained his

perfect start as Argentina coach.Newcastle United midfielder Jonas Gutierrez collected a

Sergio Aguero cross from the right and fired past France keeper

Steve Mandanda to put the visitors ahead four minutes before

the interval.But the icing on the cake was Messi's goal seven minutes

from time, the Barcelona forward slotting the ball past

Mandanda following an impressive slalom through the defence.It was Maradona's second victory in two matches since he

took over as Argentina coach last November."It's extremely positive," said Maradona, who started his

job with a 1-0 win over Scotland in November but knew World Cup

finalists France would be a tougher nut to crack."After 20 minutes, my players had possession of the ball

and when they do, it's great because we don't have to defend."I have a fantastic squad.

discussed, the players applied them."Argentina started cautiously but Gutierrez's strike gave

them the confidence to frustrate France.The home side were pressing high, with Franck Ribery and

Yoann Gourcuff harassing Argentina's defensive midfielders.Real Madrid's new signing Lassana Diarra, who was paired

with Lyon's Jeremy Toulalan, was in charge of Messi and he did

not let him have an inch of space in the opening 15 minutes.In the 16th, however, the Barcelona forward pierced through

the French defence only for his low drive to be deflected by

William Gallas.REGROUPShortly before the half hour, Gourcuff created space for

Nicolas Anelka with a defence-splitting pass but the Chelsea

striker was denied by Juan Pablo Carrizo, who was on the spot

again to block a Ribery shot three minutes later.However, Argentina went ahead in the 41st minute when

Aguero lofted the ball for Gutierrez to fire home."They played very nicely and we conceded goals at key

moments of the game," said France midfielder Toulalan."Before they opened the scoring, we had a strong hold on

the match."Raymond Domenech substituted Anelka for Karim Benzema in

the 65th minute but with Gourcuff and Ribery struggling to

escape the clutches of Fernando Gago and Javier Mascherano

there was little ammunition for the French forwards.In the 81st minute, Aguero made room for Carlos Tevez,

whose impact was almost immediate as he launched a counter

attack from his own half to set up Messi for his team's second

goal.Thierry Henry urged his team mates to regroup ahead of next

month's World Cup qualifying games against Lithuania."There is nothing worrying about this defeat.



Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=soccer&id=3900916

La moitié nord de la France se prépare à affronter la tempête

La moitié nord de la France se prépare à affronter la tempête - MSN Actualités - Actualités Rechercher sur le web : AFP - lundi 9 février 2009, 22h44 La moitié nord de la France se prépare à affronter la tempête De fortes vagues dans le port de Tergunc, dans l'ouest, le 9 février 2009 La moitié nord de la France se prépare à affronter une forte tempête arrivant lundi soir par l'Ouest, les autorités multipliant les mesures de précaution comme l'interdiction du trafic aérien en Ile-de-France.Soixante-deux départements au nord d'une ligne allant des Landes à la Franche-Comté ont été placés en vigilance orange pour une tempête moins intense que celle du 24 janvier mais "plus durable et plus étendue", selon Météo France.Dès 19H00, des rafales avoisinant ou dépassant les 100 km/h ont été enregistrées à Groix et Belle-île (Morbihan), à Lanvéoc (Finistère), Guingamp (Côtes d'Armor) et Noirmoutier (Vendée).Peu avant 22H00, les CODIS (centre opérationnel départemental d'incendie et de secours) du Morbihan et du Finistère n'avaient enregistré aucun fait notable dû à la tempête.

Les secours sont intervenus à une quinzaine de reprises pour des chutes d'arbres et matériaux et toitures endommagées.Les rafales pourraient atteindre 140 km/h sur le littoral, et jusqu'à 160 km/h dans la nuit sur les côtes de Vendée, en Charentes et jusqu'au Médoc, selon Météo France.Au delà, le vent faiblira rapidement à l'intérieur des terres, "les 30 premiers kilomètres étant les plus exposés", dans une tempête qualifiée "forte mais pas exceptionnelle, telle qu'on en a une fois par an".Par mesure de précaution, la Direction générale de l'aviation civile a annoncé l'interruption du trafic aérien en Ile-de-France (Roissy, Orly, Le Bourget) à partir de 20H00 lundi jusqu'à 10H00 mardi, une première depuis 1974.Dans l'Ouest, les aéroports de Nantes, Brest et Rennes ont annoncé l'annulation de plusieurs vols, mais sans recourir à une fermeture générale.Les liaisons maritimes vers Belle-Ile-en-Mer et Groix au départ de Lorient et Quiberon (Morbihan) sont suspendues depuis lundi midi jusqu'"au nouveau point météo mardi en fin de matinée", selon la compagnie Océane.Les liaisons avec les îles du Ponant (Sein, Ouessant et Molène) pourraient être supprimées mardi, selon la compagnie Penn Ar Bed.Le trafic transmanche de la Brittany Ferry est aussi perturbé avec l'annulation d'un départ et d'une arrivée à Cherbourg, et un bateau dérouté sur Saint-Malo.

"Cela sera violent mais risque de passer très vite", a-t-on indiqué au siège de l'entreprise à Roscoff.La Marine nationale a pré-positionné trois navires d'aide et d'assistance aux bateaux en difficulté, les remorqueurs de haute mer Abeille Bourbon et Abeille Languedoc au large de Ouessant et La Rochelle, et l'Alcyon au large de Camaret.Le village de toile du Vendée Globe aux Sables d'Olonne (Vendée) a été évacué par mesure de précaution.A Brest, le pont de l'Iroise a été interdit au véhicules pour la nuit ainsi que le pont de Saint-Nazaire.Selon Météo France, "les départements du sud-ouest précédemment touchés le 24 janvier dernier resteront en marge des vents les plus forts".Mais la préfecture des Landes a tout de même annoncé une interdiction du transport scolaire du lundi 22H00 jusqu'à la matinée de mardi, redoutant de nouvelles chutes d'arbres.

Partager sur Commentaire 1 à 10 sur 13 Ä Précédent | tempetes du jour cindaille Publié mardi 10 février 2009 08:09:22 en seine et marne sa soufle depuit 22h et ces impressinant prudence a vous *Raison de l'abus (200 caractères maximum) *Champs obligatoire tempetes cindy Publié mardi 10 février 2009 08:03:30 depiut 22h sa soufle cette nuit pareil ces impressionant et il est 9h du matin et pas d'amlioration a coulommiers en seine et marne .soyer prudent *Raison de l'abus (200 caractères maximum) *Champs obligatoire Le vent au alentour de paris Romu Publié mardi 10 février 2009 07:41:33 Ceux matin suis sortie de cher moi et voila le vent qui ya impossible de faire un pas sans etre porter sur les coter j habitte melun et ca soufle trés trés for ( allon nous avoir le droit a une 2 eme grosse tempete .



Source: http://news.fr.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=13944392

French artist comes to carve in Felicity

PHOTO BY RYAN BRENNECKE/THE SUN LOUIS SALIOU, an artist from France, works on engraving the history of humanity at The Center of the World attraction west of Yuma last month.

Saliou came to this area at the invite of French-born Jacques Istel, the visionary behind the Center of the World.

To make his point, Istel showed them a short film about the Center of the World, which was inspired by a children's book Istel wrote: "Coe the Good Dragon at the Center of the World."

The daunting task of getting a species' history onto stone moved Saliou, who, upon seeing the monuments for the first time in person, said, "We're never going to get this done in our lifetime."



Source: http://www.yumasun.com/articles/carve_47761___article.html/traveled_granite.html

Evans will definitely miss Tour of Italy

After months of speculation, Australian cycling star Cadel Evans has confirmed he will bypass the Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy).Evans will return to racing later this month in Italy and follow basically the same competition schedule that has worked well for him in the last few years.He has finished second in the last two Tours de France and winning that race remains his overwhelming priority."There has been a lot of talk about the Giro in the press," AFP quoted Evans as saying."I have for a long time doubted that I would compete in the Giro and I have finally decided not to race in the Giro."It is not that I don't want to compete in the Giro, but I simply want to be as well prepared as possible for the Grande Boucle (Tour de France)."And the Tour of Italy does not fit into that program."Evans was speaking at the Silence-Lotto team's presentation, held on Monday in Belgium.Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong will attempt the Giro-Tour double as he returns to professional cycling.The Giro is from May 9-31 and the Tour will run from July 4-26.They are two of road cycling's three Grand Tours, along with the Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain).Evans reluctantly bypassed the hugely-successful Tour Down Under in Adelaide last month, where Armstrong started his comeback to professional cycling.Again, Evans missed the Adelaide event because it does not fit in with his Tour de France buildup.Evans, a former top mountain biker, confirmed his much-hyped potential as a road cyclist seven years ago when he became the first Australian to lead the Giro.But his reign in the "maglia rosa", the Giro leader's jersey, lasted only one day in 2002 before he cracked in the mountains and eventually finished 14th.Evans' quest to become the first Australian to win the Tour will become much harder this year.Armstrong's comeback will boost a super-strong Astana team that will also feature 2007 winner Alberto Contador and potential contenders Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloeden.The Tour organisers did not invite Astana to last year's race because of previous doping problems.Carlos Sastre will defend his Tour title at the head of the Cervelo team and Caisse d'Epargne will feature 2006 champion Oscar Pereiro and top rider Alejandro Valverde.Sastre's old team Saxo Bank will boast the Scheck brothers, Andy and Frank.

Grant Thomas says the Carlton scrap just another opportunity to kick the Blues.

You and a friend could be at The Oval for the Fifth Ashes Test

Simon O'Donnell brings you the best in lunch break cricket entertainment.Australia's leading cricket publication rates cricket's quickest bowlers.Ceramic Baggy Green cap with Matthew Hayden's Test number and signature.Win prizes throughout this summer by tipping results and total scores.



Source: http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=749208