thenerdguy
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OK so its not 6:00Am but its close enough.
Dead Jockey Rides to Victory
Link
Today in Odd History, Ralph Neves' life was cut tragically short at Bay Meadows Racecourse, near San Francisco, California. The 19-year-old jockey was coming into the final stretch of the third race of the day when his horse, Fannikins, tripped. She and her rider crashed through the wooden fence. Fannikins was unharmed, but Neves, who had not only broken his own mount's fall, but had also been trampled by four other horses, was dead. The track physician, assisted by two doctors who had come down from the stands when they saw Neves fall, loaded the body into an ambulance, and the race announcer called for a moment of silence. But the shocked, grieving spectators had underestimated Neves.
Doctors at the hospital did everything they could think of to revive Neves, but to no avail. By the time his friend Dr. Horace Stevens arrived, he had already been toe-tagged and sent to the morgue. Stevens, though, was not quite ready to give up. He administered a shot of adrenaline directly into Neves' heart. It had no effect. Sadly, he replaced the white sheet that covered his friend's lifeless body, and left him there. Had he waited just a few more minutes, he would have witnessed a miracle. The dead jockey arose from the chilly slab, shirtless, bloodied, shrouded in the morgue sheet and wearing a single boot. He staggered out of the hospital and hailed a cab to take him back to the racetrack.
Pandemonium broke out as Neves sprinted past the grandstand at Bay Meadows, half-dressed and still trailing his toe tag. "At one point," he said later, "I think everyone on the damn track was chasing me." He fought his way through the crowd and burst into the jockeys' room, where his colleagues were conducting a collection for his widow. She fainted at the sight of her newly resurrected husband, standing in the doorway demanding to be allowed to ride. He insisted that he didn't feel dead, but the stewards still refused to let him compete again that day. The following day, though, he rode five winners and claimed the meet's top prize--a $500 watch donated by Bing Crosby.
Neves' dramatic recovery was typical of The Portuguese Pepperpot," a man whom fellow jockey Charlie Whittington once described as "wilder than a peach orchard boar." Neves rode for 28 more years, racking up nearly 4,000 wins on more than 25,000 horses. In 1960, he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame. He died in his sleep in 1995, at the age of 79. He did not rise again.
Pay Your Taxes, Pa-Rum-Pum-Pum-Pum....
Link
HYDERABAD, India (Reuters) - Tax defaulters in southern India are being forced to face the music after city authorities hired drummers to play non-stop outside their homes until they pay up.
After many residents ignored repeated demands to settle overdue property taxes. authorities in a city in Andhra Pradesh state have sent 20 groups of drummers to play outside offenders' houses for the past week.
"They put up a spectacle outside the houses of defaulters, draw them out and explain their dues to them and the need to clear it at the earliest," said T.S.R. Anjaneyulu, municipal commissioner of Rajahmundry city.
"They don't stop until people agree to clear the dues."
The city, owed a total of 50 million rupees ($1.15 million), had been at its wits' end after sops like waiving interest and penalties had failed to recover the arrears.
The new method seems to be working, though. One week of incessant drumming has cleared 18 percent of the backlog.
Smooth Talker Apologizes
Link
OTTAWA (Reuters) - A Canadian member of Parliament charged with improving ties with the United States apologized on Thursday for saying "let's embarrass the hell out of the Americans in front of other countries."
The gaffe by Marlene Jennings came exactly two weeks after Canada's Liberal government irritated Washington by refusing to join the U.S. missile defense system.
Jennings -- the parliamentary secretary for Canada-U.S. relations -- reports directly to Prime Minister Paul Martin, who came to power in December 2003 saying he wanted better relations with Washington.
"I would apologize to the members in this House that my comments were a little bit exaggerated. I apologize," she told the House of Commons elected chamber of Parliament.
Jennings, who is herself half-American, accused the United States on Tuesday of refusing to adhere to trade treaties it had signed with Canada. One way to strike back, she suggested, was to shame Washington internationally.
"Let's embarrass the hell out of the Americans in front of other countries that they are attempting to negotiate with on new binational trade agreements ... let's just do it on the public scene," she told a parliamentary committee.
The opposition Conservative party, which says the Liberals have a history of needlessly antagonizing Washington, demanded that Martin fire Jennings for making her remarks at a time when the United States is blocking imports of live Canadian cattle.
"The Liberals have once again shown their anti-American bias ... This strategy is like poking someone in the eye and then asking them for a favor," Conservative legislator Diane Finley told Parliament.
Last November Martin kicked MP Carolyn Parrish out of the Liberal caucus after she stomped on a George Bush (news - web sites) doll on a satirical TV show.
Dead Jockey Rides to Victory
Link
Today in Odd History, Ralph Neves' life was cut tragically short at Bay Meadows Racecourse, near San Francisco, California. The 19-year-old jockey was coming into the final stretch of the third race of the day when his horse, Fannikins, tripped. She and her rider crashed through the wooden fence. Fannikins was unharmed, but Neves, who had not only broken his own mount's fall, but had also been trampled by four other horses, was dead. The track physician, assisted by two doctors who had come down from the stands when they saw Neves fall, loaded the body into an ambulance, and the race announcer called for a moment of silence. But the shocked, grieving spectators had underestimated Neves.
Doctors at the hospital did everything they could think of to revive Neves, but to no avail. By the time his friend Dr. Horace Stevens arrived, he had already been toe-tagged and sent to the morgue. Stevens, though, was not quite ready to give up. He administered a shot of adrenaline directly into Neves' heart. It had no effect. Sadly, he replaced the white sheet that covered his friend's lifeless body, and left him there. Had he waited just a few more minutes, he would have witnessed a miracle. The dead jockey arose from the chilly slab, shirtless, bloodied, shrouded in the morgue sheet and wearing a single boot. He staggered out of the hospital and hailed a cab to take him back to the racetrack.
Pandemonium broke out as Neves sprinted past the grandstand at Bay Meadows, half-dressed and still trailing his toe tag. "At one point," he said later, "I think everyone on the damn track was chasing me." He fought his way through the crowd and burst into the jockeys' room, where his colleagues were conducting a collection for his widow. She fainted at the sight of her newly resurrected husband, standing in the doorway demanding to be allowed to ride. He insisted that he didn't feel dead, but the stewards still refused to let him compete again that day. The following day, though, he rode five winners and claimed the meet's top prize--a $500 watch donated by Bing Crosby.
Neves' dramatic recovery was typical of The Portuguese Pepperpot," a man whom fellow jockey Charlie Whittington once described as "wilder than a peach orchard boar." Neves rode for 28 more years, racking up nearly 4,000 wins on more than 25,000 horses. In 1960, he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame. He died in his sleep in 1995, at the age of 79. He did not rise again.
Pay Your Taxes, Pa-Rum-Pum-Pum-Pum....
Link
HYDERABAD, India (Reuters) - Tax defaulters in southern India are being forced to face the music after city authorities hired drummers to play non-stop outside their homes until they pay up.
After many residents ignored repeated demands to settle overdue property taxes. authorities in a city in Andhra Pradesh state have sent 20 groups of drummers to play outside offenders' houses for the past week.
"They put up a spectacle outside the houses of defaulters, draw them out and explain their dues to them and the need to clear it at the earliest," said T.S.R. Anjaneyulu, municipal commissioner of Rajahmundry city.
"They don't stop until people agree to clear the dues."
The city, owed a total of 50 million rupees ($1.15 million), had been at its wits' end after sops like waiving interest and penalties had failed to recover the arrears.
The new method seems to be working, though. One week of incessant drumming has cleared 18 percent of the backlog.
Smooth Talker Apologizes
Link
OTTAWA (Reuters) - A Canadian member of Parliament charged with improving ties with the United States apologized on Thursday for saying "let's embarrass the hell out of the Americans in front of other countries."
The gaffe by Marlene Jennings came exactly two weeks after Canada's Liberal government irritated Washington by refusing to join the U.S. missile defense system.
Jennings -- the parliamentary secretary for Canada-U.S. relations -- reports directly to Prime Minister Paul Martin, who came to power in December 2003 saying he wanted better relations with Washington.
"I would apologize to the members in this House that my comments were a little bit exaggerated. I apologize," she told the House of Commons elected chamber of Parliament.
Jennings, who is herself half-American, accused the United States on Tuesday of refusing to adhere to trade treaties it had signed with Canada. One way to strike back, she suggested, was to shame Washington internationally.
"Let's embarrass the hell out of the Americans in front of other countries that they are attempting to negotiate with on new binational trade agreements ... let's just do it on the public scene," she told a parliamentary committee.
The opposition Conservative party, which says the Liberals have a history of needlessly antagonizing Washington, demanded that Martin fire Jennings for making her remarks at a time when the United States is blocking imports of live Canadian cattle.
"The Liberals have once again shown their anti-American bias ... This strategy is like poking someone in the eye and then asking them for a favor," Conservative legislator Diane Finley told Parliament.
Last November Martin kicked MP Carolyn Parrish out of the Liberal caucus after she stomped on a George Bush (news - web sites) doll on a satirical TV show.
