- New York City taxi drivers may soon find themselves subjected to a stricter dress code that would mandate “presenting a professional appearance.” Now I know what you’re thinking……wait, Manhattan taxi drivers actually have a dress code? The answer is yes and you can find that dress code in section 4-15 (b) of the Taxicab Drivers Rules manual. It stipulates that drivers face a $25 fine for failing to be "clean and neat in dress and person." In other words, drivers can't wear underwear, tank tops, tube tops, body shirts, swimwear, bathing trunks or cut-off shorts as their outer layer of clothing. Given how few cab drivers are hot chicks, I tend to agree with those rules. But that isn’t enough for the powers that be and as such, the rule that drivers "present a professional appearance" will be debated by the Taxi and Limousine Commission at a public hearing on Dec. 16. In between now and Dec. 6, the agency is also accepting comments through the NYC Rules Web site. "The TLC believes that a general requirement better states its concerns and that a detailed list is outmoded and impractical," the agency said in a notice on its site. "The TLC believes that the public is entitled to drivers who present a neat and professional appearance." Oddly enough, revising the rules is actually part of an effort to simplify the 62-page rulebook, according to TLC Chairman David Yassky. Yassky expects the change to be approved at the December hearing, which came as news to Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. “What was it about? Somebody wore shorts?” Desi asked. “I would be concerned if the idea of professional attire is left to the naked eye to decide.” I would concur with Desai on that one. This seems like a regulatory body with too much time on its hands and feeling a little power hungry, so they decide to drop cabbies into monkey suits and force them to dance. Fact is, tourists and locals would a) be a lot better off to just take the subway or b) enjoy it more if the city decided to reduce the absurd rates cab companies can charge for their services as opposed to worrying about what cabbies are wearing. The TLC is bundling the new rule up with a completely unrelated proposal that eliminates the need for drivers to inform passengers at the start of the trip that they must pay for any tolls, under the basis that "the riding public is aware, generally, that passengers are responsible for tolls." Don’t think y’all are fooling anyone on this, TLC. We see what you’re doing and we don’t like it………
- Attention visitors: Don’t murder anyone or commit any sort of violent crime while you’re in Switzerland or flee there after being convicted of such a crime. A recent vote by the Swiss approved a referendum to ease the expulsion of foreigners convicted of serious crimes such as murder. The measure would expel foreigners found guilty of serious crimes such as murder automatically, as proposed by the right-wing Swiss People's Party. The law would strengthen the current system, which deals with deportations on a case-by-case basis. It makes sense even to someone who has only had the chance to visit Switzerland for five days or so; no one wants violent criminals from other countries hanging around. Switzerland is a peaceful, neutral place filled with picturesque mountains, beautiful scenery, delicious chocolate and awesome cheese. The Swiss don’t need murderers and assaulters from abroad ruining what they have going on. Speaking of not ruining what they have going on, Swiss voters also (unsurprisingly) a proposal to impose a minimum cantonal (their equivalent of a state) tax on the über-wealthy. The proposal from the center-left Social Democrats would have imposed a minimum cantonal tax on the wealthiest citizens. Basically, various cantons attempt to attract wealthy citizens by slashing tax rates in a sort of financial fire sale. The practice is what draws so many foreign millionaires and multinationals to Switzerland and cantons still want those people to come - assuming they aren’t also violent criminals. Referendums are held in Switzerland several times a year at the federal, cantonal and municipal levels in a very direct form of democracy. Mandatory referendums apply to all amendments to the constitution and proposals for membership of specific international organizations and a double majority is required for passage, meaning a majority of votes cast plus a majority of cantons. On the other hand, a so-called 'facultative referendum' is held on federal laws and certain types of international treaties if at least 50,000 people or eight cantons have petitioned for one within 100 days of the measure’s official publication.
- While dorks may not have been camping out at their local multiplex to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this weekend, the latest adaptation of one of J.K. Rowling’s wizard books was still the top film at the box office with a take of $50.3 million. As impressive as that figure is, it represents a 60-percent decline from last weekend. Overall, Deathly Hallows has made $220.4 million in two weekends of release. It did well enough in its second frame to hold off animated newcomer Tangled, which posted to $49.1 million for the weekend to finish in second place and has made $69 million overall since opening mid-week. The third spot on the list went to another animated movie, Pixar’s Megamind, which has fallen off slightly since opening at No. 1 three weekends ago but held strong this week with $12.9 million, a drop-off of just 20 percent to boost its cumulative take to $130.5 million. That means the movie has officially broken even and now can actually bring in a little bit of profit from here on out. Burlesque, the hack-job rip-off of 2002’s Chicago, debuted in fourth place with $11.8 million for the weekend. Rounding out the top five was Denzel Washington’s train thriller Unstoppable, which hasn’t blown anyone away but keeps chugging ahead with respectable showings week after week. The rest of the top 10 was comprised of: newcomer Love and Other Drugs (No. 6 with $9.8 million), fellow newbie Faster (debuting at No. 7 with $8.7 million), the surprisingly strong Due Date (No. 8 with $7.3 million after a scant 18-percent decline from its last weekend to boost its overall take to $85 million), Russell Crowe’s mega-disappointing prison break flick The Next Three Days (No. 9 with $4,840,000 and having made just $14.5 million in two weeks of release) and the equally disappointing Morning Glory (falling four spots from last weekend to finish at No. 10 with $4.1 million and only $26.5 after three weekends). Falling out of the top 10 from last weekend was Fair Game, which held the 10th spot last time around but was 12th this weekend. Inching past it and to the verge of the top 10 was the true story 127 Hours, telling the harrowing tale of climber Aron Ralston amputating his own arm to free himself from under a boulder. The movie made $1.7 million in limited release and should pick up steam in the next couple weeks……..
- Not that any of you want to hear this, America, but it’s once again time to hammer home the point that eating healthy foods such as yams, carrots, pumpkin, can make you a healthier person. The latest confirmation of that reality comes from a team of researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While everyone knows that the beta-carotene in those foods benefits several aspects of a person’s health, the CDC team discovered something else beneficial about these particular eats: alpha-carotene, which it credits with helping people live longer by eating orange or dark green foods. Both beta-carotene and alpha-carotene are members of the carotenoid antioxidant family and once digested, they are converted to vitamin A. Researchers found that alpha-carotene helps to defend cells' DNA from attack. In terms of scientific studies, this one was an extremely long-term project, spanning 14 years. During that time, CDC researchers found individuals with more alpha-carotene in their blood had lower risks of disease and death. Dr. Chaoyang Li of the CDC led the study and explained alpha-carotene’s role in overall health. "Alpha-carotene may be at least partially responsible for the risk reduction; however, we are unable to rule out the possible links of other antioxidants or other elements in vegetables and fruits to lower mortality risk," Li stated. To get these exciting alpha-carotene benefits, just eat carrots, squash and sweet potatoes or dark leafy greens like kale, broccoli, spinach and collard greens. That advice will undoubtedly fall on deaf ears with many Americans who fall into the two-thirds of the populace that the CDC has found to eat less than two servings of fruit each day. Never mind that these foods can be an effective way to fight certain cancers while also filling a key spot in a diet that will keep you from ballooning to 100 pounds overweight, pass the pie and pick up another double cheeseburger on your way home………
- What’s the market for an aging wide receiver who has spent the past 20 months in prison? If you believe bombastic, egocentric agent Drew Rosenhaus, the market for that type of player is rather brisk. Rosenhaus’ client, Plaxico Burress, is currently serving out the final few months of a 20-month prison sentence for accidentally shooting himself in the thigh at a Manhattan nightclub with a gun that had not been licensed in the state of New York. Initially, Burress was defiant - well, after he had teammate Antonio Pearce drive him to an emergency room and lied about who he was while seeking treatment for his gunshot wound. He seemed to believe that the state’s gun laws didn’t apply to him and rejected plea deal after plea deal from the prosecutor’s office. Eventually, he accepted a plea offer and went to prison in September 2009. He has sought entry into the prison’s work release program twice and was rejected both times, so he comes up for potential full release on June 6, 2011. After that, he will be on probation for two years. Yet in spite of all of those black marks on his record, Rosenhaus remains bullish on Burress’ career prospects. Rosenhaus said Friday that two teams have stayed in contact with him about the availability of his client. "I'm very confident that Plaxico will be playing next season in the NFL," Rosenhaus said. He refused to specify the two teams interested in Burress, clearly reading right out of the agent handbook for dealing with radioactive clients who have a difficult road ahead of them in finding a new team. Talk big, claim that teams are interested in them and then hide behind agent-client confidentiality in refusing to disclose the allegedly interested teams. That way, other teams can't know for sure who is pursuing the player and might be lured into the bidding themselves. Rumors did swirl around the league last offseason that the New York Jets explored the possibility of signing Burress and others speculated that the Giants would be open to bringing him back. Still, Burress’ case is drastically different than that of the league’s current poster boy for reclamation projects, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick. Burress is four years older than Vick and is nowhere near the physical freak that Vick was at the time of his incarceration. Even though Vick’s crime was far worse than the one Burress plead guilty to, the idea that he is anywhere near as desirable a player as Vick is laughable at best………
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