$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Sept 1, 2007 9:42:35 GMT -5
FOXNEWS.COM HOME > SCIENCE Texas Woman Claims to Have Found Mythical 'Chupacabra'
CUERO, Texas — Phylis Canion lived in Africa for four years. She's been a hunter all her life and has the mounted heads of a zebra and other exotic animals in her house to prove it. But the roadkill she found last month outside her ranch was a new one even for her, worth putting in a freezer hidden from curious onlookers: Canion believes she may have the head of the mythical, bloodsucking chupacabra.
"It is one ugly creature," Canion said, holding the head of the mammal, which has big ears, large fanged teeth and grayish-blue, mostly hairless skin.
Canion and some of her neighbors discovered the 40-pound bodies of three of the animals over four days in July outside her ranch in Cuero, 80 miles southeast of San Antonio. Canion said she saved the head of the one she found so she can get to get to the bottom of its ancestry through DNA testing and then mount it for posterity.
She suspects, as have many rural denizens over the years, that a chupacabra may have killed as many as 26 of her chickens in the past couple of years.
"I've seen a lot of nasty stuff. I've never seen anything like this," she said.
What tipped Canion to the possibility that this was no ugly coyote, but perhaps the vampire-like beast, is that the chickens weren't eaten or carried off — all the blood was drained from them, she said.
Chupacabra means "goat sucker" in Spanish, and it is said to have originated in Latin America, specifically Puerto Rico and Mexico.
Canion thinks recent heavy rains ran them right out of their dens.
"I think it could have wolf in it," Canion said. "It has to be a cross between two or three different things."
She said the finding has captured the imagination of locals, just like purported sightings of Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster have elsewhere.
But what folks are calling a chupacabra is probably just a strange breed of dog, said veterinarian Travis Schaar of the Main Street Animal Hospital in nearby Victoria.
"I'm not going to tell you that's not a chupacabra. I just think in my opinion a chupacabra is a dog," said Schaar, who has seen Canion's find.
The "chupacabras" could have all been part of a mutated litter of dogs, or they may be a new kind of mutt, he said.
As for the bloodsucking, Schaar said that this particular canine may simply have a preference for blood, letting its prey bleed out and licking it up.
Chupacabra or not, the discovery has spawned a local and international craze. Canion has started selling T-shirts that read: "2007, The Summer of the Chupacabra, Cuero, Texas," accompanied by a caricature of the creature. The $5 shirts have gone all over the world, including Japan, Australia and Brunei. Schaar also said he has one.
"If everyone has a fun time with it, we'll keep doing it," she said. "It's good for Cuero."
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Sept 2, 2007 11:34:43 GMT -5
FOXNEWS.COM HOME > U.S. Man Dies After Getting Caught in Car Wash
Wyoming, Mich. — A car wash employee got entangled in the giant, automatic brushes and died, authorities said.
Police were investigating the death of Ricardo Alberto Martinez, 18, but foul play wasn't suspected.
Martinez was closing the car wash Friday night when a customer returned to have his vehicle washed again. After the vehicle entered the car wash, Martinez went inside and somehow became entangled, police said.
Another customer later found the body at the business in this western Michigan community located near Grand Rapids, police said
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Post by 9 on Sept 2, 2007 17:07:15 GMT -5
At least he'll be clean for the burial.
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Sept 4, 2007 14:45:48 GMT -5
FOX.NEWS.COM
Larry Birkhead Fires Back at Woman Claiming He Had Sex With Howard K. Stern
Larry Birkhead, the father of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter, is firing back at the woman who's claiming that he and longtime Smith companion Howard K. Stern were lovers.
According to a new book, “Blond Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith’s Death” by journalist Rita Cosby, Smith and a friend allegedly caught Stern and Birkhead engaged in oral sex, the New York Daily News reported Sunday.
"Their bodies were intermingled," says Jackie Hatten, described as one of Smith’s closest friends, according to a copy of the book obtained by the Daily News. "It was obvious what was happening."
But in Tuesday's Daily News, Birkhead says that former pro volleyballer Hatten "isn't a credible source," and adds that she "tried to come to the Bahamas to see Anna last year and Anna wouldn't let her ... This book is coming from the losers' club because they all have axes to grind."
Hatten's brother is Mark Hatten, who's in a California prison for stalking Smith and once claimed to be the father of Smith's daughter, Dannielynn.
Jackie Hatten once said that she thought that Birkhead and Smith were "madly in love" after their first date.
"They were trying to have babies the first day they met in my bed, OK?" she told Larry King back in February.
Birkhead and a lawyer for Stern strongly denied the allegations in Cosby’s book and promised to take the author to court.
“None of it is true,” Larry Birkhead told the Daily News Sunday. “I’m gonna sue Rita Cosby for it.”
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Sept 5, 2007 9:31:14 GMT -5
FOXNEWS.COM HOME > U.S. Man Charged With Assault for Throwing Cheetos at Dad
DES MOINES, Iowa — A Des Moines man was charged with domestic assault Sunday after throwing a bag of Cheetos at his father.
Twenty-two-year-old Patrick Hamman was arrested after the bag of cheesy chips hit his father, Michael Hamman, in the face.
Police said the bag hit his father's glasses, causing a cut to the bridge of his nose.
The police report said — quote— "Michael's T-shirt was also covered in Cheeto dust."
Police said Patrick, who lives with his father, admitted that he was on methamphetamine at the time of the argument.
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MSBNYY
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Post by MSBNYY on Sept 5, 2007 9:38:52 GMT -5
How about that crippling taxi strike?
I love on the news they were talking about how Bloomberg was saying the city won't be affected a bit. Most of them aren't going on strike either. Turds.
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Sept 5, 2007 10:32:22 GMT -5
Stinks for tomorrow...we have a company boat trip leaving from 23rd and the East Side pier from 1-4, and most of us were planning on cabbing it over there after noon. Looks like we may need to make other arrangements.
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MSBNYY
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Post by MSBNYY on Sept 5, 2007 11:04:15 GMT -5
Doubt it. You'll likely be able to hail a cab from all the people who didn't strike.
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Sept 5, 2007 11:09:52 GMT -5
Well, that leads to my next question. I am not in the city today, I am in our Long Island office. I was assuming a lot of cabs were not rolling today. Am I wrong?
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MSBNYY
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Post by MSBNYY on Sept 5, 2007 11:12:58 GMT -5
I left Manhattan too early to notice. They said on the news that at Penn Station, nothing looked wrong, but at LaGuardia, you noticed.
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Sept 5, 2007 11:17:07 GMT -5
People in the city office just told me there are a Hell of lot less cabs on the road, and most of the ones they are seeing are empty for some reason. Maybe they are just showing off that they are not working or something, and just driving around.
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Post by kingdzbws on Sept 5, 2007 11:37:58 GMT -5
I saw plenty of taxis this morning on the way to work....perhaps 15-20 percent less than normal, but they're out there for sure. But still there were lots of people on the UES eager to hail one.
Made traffic noticably lighter, though.
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MSBNYY
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Post by MSBNYY on Sept 5, 2007 11:38:21 GMT -5
That would be stupid since they would be wasting gas. Less cabs are good. Less traffic.
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Post by Domi on Sept 5, 2007 11:55:17 GMT -5
Maybe they can make it a year-long strike.
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Post by Jason Giambi on Sept 5, 2007 12:56:04 GMT -5
aren't most cabdrivers independent? ?
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Sept 5, 2007 12:58:00 GMT -5
You get your cab license from the city, and have to follow city fare and regulatory rules. So the answer is no, absolutely not.
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Post by baldvinny on Sept 5, 2007 13:09:12 GMT -5
well, to an extent they are....the medallions that they have to get from the TLC (taxi and limo commision) is some riduclous fee....upwards of 100k
usually companies pay for them and lease them to the drivers. its up to the drivers how much they earn, and how fast they pay off the medallion
but even after its paid for, many cabbies still stay tied to the company they leased their medallion from cause they get better rates on repairs and maintence on the vechiles
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Post by kingdzbws on Sept 5, 2007 13:33:56 GMT -5
Upwards of 100K.... maybe 15 years ago!!!
Today a medallion cost and individual $423,000.00
AND
Costs a corporation $597,000.00!!!!
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MSBNYY
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Post by MSBNYY on Sept 5, 2007 13:53:06 GMT -5
I don't get it. With so many cabs in the city, why is it so expensive? For the same money, the cab driver could get a college AND grad school education and make more money, with far less danger.
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Post by Jason Giambi on Sept 5, 2007 14:35:38 GMT -5
so why, if they are independent contractors are they going on strike? It seems that they are only hurting themselves by striking. Balls is right, you can go to med school for less.
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Post by kingdzbws on Sept 5, 2007 14:48:51 GMT -5
You can go to med school for less, but you can't sell your MD license at a profit when you want out.
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Sept 5, 2007 15:19:02 GMT -5
Luciano Pavarotti is in "very serious condition" and near death, due to the ravages of cancer. He's made front page on the Fox News website, so they are not expecting him to last much longer.
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Post by kingdzbws on Sept 5, 2007 15:50:38 GMT -5
Balls, were is your crass joke??
"Looks like the Fat Man is Singing."
M
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Post by Jason Giambi on Sept 5, 2007 16:02:43 GMT -5
that's pretty good. I think it's outside his limits however.
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MSBNYY
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Post by MSBNYY on Sept 6, 2007 7:57:52 GMT -5
La Dead Immobile!!!
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MSBNYY
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Post by MSBNYY on Sept 6, 2007 7:59:12 GMT -5
You can go to med school for less, but you can't sell your MD license at a profit when you want out. ===================
But you will earn a hell of a lot more while you're in. One article in the Post mentioned a 12 hour work day where the guy earns $200. That may not include taxes, gas, etc.
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Post by IronHorse4 on Sept 6, 2007 8:32:41 GMT -5
Bear in mind a couple of things:
- The drivers get paid primarily in cash, so they aren't going to claim their entire income
- Being independent contractors affords them the opportunity to write off expenses like lease payments, fuel, office in the home, some food, entertainment, etc.
- They aren't paying into any sort of benefits like health, social security, etc. (This isn't something I see as a benefit, per se, but for single people looking to make money, it can be appealing.)
It's not a glamorous job, and it's certainly one of the most dangerous in the city, but being an independent contractor can be a profitable venture, if the revenue stream is steady.
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MSBNYY
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Post by MSBNYY on Sept 6, 2007 8:38:51 GMT -5
True, but $200 a day figure just isn't that much. And that's for a hell of a shift.
It's a VERY tough job for very little payout. Not to mention the massive debt they start out with just to get that medallion--an expense I still don't see the logic behind.
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Post by IronHorse4 on Sept 6, 2007 8:45:31 GMT -5
Well, most drivers don't buy the medallion anyway. They'll drive hack for however many years, then split.
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MSBNYY
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Post by MSBNYY on Sept 6, 2007 8:51:23 GMT -5
If they really wanted to organize, they would say, "fuck your medallion" and really strike. A license to drive a cab should be a small fee, in the HUNDREDS of dollars range, not the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS.
You could buy a mansion in North Carolina for that.
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