Friday, December 9, 2011

How Treasury Secretary Geithner Deals with Traffic Jams

Martin Crustinger of AP has a solid story on the opulent way Treasury Secretary Geithner has been traveling in Europe during his recent meetings with European Union officials.

But what really caught my eye is how the Geithner motorcade deals with traffic jams:
To meet with national leaders and financial officials in five cities in three countries in three days, you need a little help getting around. That's where a police-escorted motorcade comes in handy.

Geithner's caravan of limousines and vans for staff and reporters drew police escorts in each city he visited.

It all worked well until Geithner's entourage hit Marseilles right at rush hour. The road from the airport to a downtown hotel where Geithner was meeting Spanish Prime Minister-elect Mariano Rajoy Brey was jammed.

Still, not to worry. The motorcycle escorts simply squeezed between the two lanes of cars headed into town. The cars were forced to both sides of the road, clearing a path in the middle for the motorcade.
I think I may try this in DC. Any interns out there willing to hop on motorcycles to clear a path for me?

1 comment:

  1. Compare Europe's treatment of US politicians to America's treatment of European capitalists:

    http://www.autoblog.com/2011/11/21/german-mercedes-manager-arrested-in-alabama-under-new-illegal-im/

    Alabama's strict immigration laws have helped land a Mercedes-Benz executive in jail. The Associated Press reports that an unnamed Mercedes executive was arrested after being pulled over for a routine traffic stop.

    The arrest came after the 46-year-old exec was unable to produce any identification other than his German ID card. The executive was pulled over because his rental car reportedly did not have any tags, but he was later released after an associate was able to present his passport for inspection. Mercedes-Benz spokesperson Felyicia Jerald called the incident "unfortunate," and added that the incident was resolved once a colleague was able to produce a driver's license.

    When Alabama Governor Robert Bentley heard of the executive's arrest, he reportedly contacted State Homeland Security Director Spencer Collier to get details. We're guessing that doesn't happen when most other immigration arrests in Alabama, but Mercedes-Benz has a substantial footprint in the state. Mercedes has built vehicles in Tuscaloosa since 1993, and the facility currently produces the ML, R-Class and GL.

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