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Seriously?

Jesus. Just wow.

Adrian Fenty criticized predecessor Anthony Williams's travels.

D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty described his Persian Gulf vacation in Dubai last week as a "personal trip" but said yesterday that the government of the United Arab Emirates paid his expenses. He did not say why the UAE paid his way, how much it cost or why he was invited.

He said he spent time sightseeing and met with government officials to talk about "very general" topics such as economic development. Fenty also attended a women's tennis tournament that caused controversy when the UAE refused to grant Israeli player Shahar Peer a visa.

Fenty had not announced his trip publicly until he returned Sunday.

During his tenure as a D.C. Council member, Fenty chastised former mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) for taking several trips abroad each year. Fenty said then that a mayor should stay in town to be accessible to residents. Williams paid for his trips with funds from private donors and conference sponsors, including universities. He accepted money from at least one foreign government -- the central government of London. His wife sometimes accompanied him.

Over the past year, Fenty has increased his travel. He made a half-dozen appearances for Barack Obama's campaign, rallying supporters in Ohio, New Jersey, Massachusetts and elsewhere.

In January 2008, Fenty attended the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, as a guest of Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis.
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And the mayor has traveled to New York several times, competing in a triathlon last summer and attending a recent fundraiser for his reelection campaign hosted by New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (D).

Asked why he went to Dubai, Fenty replied: "I always wanted to go. I did set up some meetings. They were very general. . . . It was a fantastic city, very cosmopolitan, like D.C. I even met a few people there who were from Washington."

Asked about the trip yesterday during an appearance in Southwest Washington, Fenty said he was aware of the controversy over the visa denial. The UAE does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

"I did know one Israeli was banned," Fenty said.

A spokeswoman at the UAE Embassy in Washington asked for written questions about Fenty's visit, but she declined to answer them after they were provided in an e-mail.
The Washington Post

"It's not her job, and we're not paying her to do that."

Rhee took 29 days of personal leave and 15 days of official travel in the calendar year 2008. She declined to be interviewed.

Rhee appeared at a news conference in Sacramento in November as a member of the transition team for then-Mayor-elect Kevin Johnson. The Sacramento Bee reported in December that she and Johnson "seemed inseparable," with Rhee visiting almost every other week. A January item in The Post's Reliable Source column linked them romantically. Some observers wondered how the leader of the troubled D.C. school system could find time to help Johnson's transition.

"It's not her job, and we're not paying her to do that," said Mary Lord, a D.C. State Education Board member.

from the Washington Post

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Find out more about Masta Killa at peta2.com.

Find out more about Masta Killa at peta2.com.