SIGNS: Dutch Barking Doorbells, Baseball Ringers
Here's an interesting pair of stories. One is about a Barking Door Bell and the other is about a ringer:
Dutch Family Taxed for Barking Doorbell
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (March 23) - The Bruintjes family says a city inspector was barking up the wrong tree when he handed them an 80 euro ($97) bill for the Dutch dog tax.
The family insists it does not have a dog - only a barking doorbell.
It was the second year in a row the family had a run-in with authorities over their doorbell, which plays 15 different barking noises, Dutch media reported Thursday.
"Last year it was a huge effort to convince the inspector that we didn't have a dog, and now it's happened again," Gerrit Bruintjes was quoted as saying by RTL Nieuws.
In the Netherlands, dog owners are required to pay the "hondenbelasting," an infamous annual tax that is frequently evaded.
After pressing the doorbell and hearing the barks, the inspector in the city of Oldenzaal simply pushed a bill through the family's mail slot.
"My wife came home shortly afterward and was able to grab the inspector at the end of our street. After a lot of yipping and yapping, she was finally able to convince him," Bruintjes said.
He said he had chosen the doorbell in honor of the family's German shepherd, which died several years ago.
03/23/06 08:41 EST
Updated:2006-03-23 15:16:08
[Click Here for Original Link]
Florida Prison Uses Illegal Softball Ringer
MIAMI (March 23) - A former professional baseball player given a phantom job in a prison library to help the guards win a softball tournament was ordered to repay his $1,400 salary, the Florida attorney general said Wednesday.
Mark Guerra, a former pitcher with a Houston Astros' minor league affiliate, helped a team of prison guards win the Florida Department of Corrections' annual softball tournament last year.
Guerra, 34, was hired as a temporary worker in the library at the Apalachee Correctional Institution but never showed up during the four weeks he was on the payroll, Attorney General Charles Crist said.
Guerra acknowledged the money was for playing in the tournament and pleaded guilty to a theft charge Tuesday. He was ordered to repay the $1,400, perform 50 hours of community service and cooperate in a prison corruption investigation.
"It is disturbing that a state agency would place so much importance on a team sport that it would stoop to committing crimes," Crist said
Updated:2006-03-23 13:56:35
[Click Here for Original Link]
- I said Bliss is Evil
- I said Mike Myers is born 5/25 like Bliss
- Mike Myers was Johann Van Der Smut who was Dutch
- It's a Dutch Family
- I said Bliss is a Dog
- Baseball has a Diamond
- I said Bliss is Lynndie England who was aiding Charles Graner who got sent to prison
Dutch Family Taxed for Barking Doorbell
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (March 23) - The Bruintjes family says a city inspector was barking up the wrong tree when he handed them an 80 euro ($97) bill for the Dutch dog tax.
The family insists it does not have a dog - only a barking doorbell.
It was the second year in a row the family had a run-in with authorities over their doorbell, which plays 15 different barking noises, Dutch media reported Thursday.
"Last year it was a huge effort to convince the inspector that we didn't have a dog, and now it's happened again," Gerrit Bruintjes was quoted as saying by RTL Nieuws.
In the Netherlands, dog owners are required to pay the "hondenbelasting," an infamous annual tax that is frequently evaded.
After pressing the doorbell and hearing the barks, the inspector in the city of Oldenzaal simply pushed a bill through the family's mail slot.
"My wife came home shortly afterward and was able to grab the inspector at the end of our street. After a lot of yipping and yapping, she was finally able to convince him," Bruintjes said.
He said he had chosen the doorbell in honor of the family's German shepherd, which died several years ago.
03/23/06 08:41 EST
Updated:2006-03-23 15:16:08
[Click Here for Original Link]
Florida Prison Uses Illegal Softball Ringer
MIAMI (March 23) - A former professional baseball player given a phantom job in a prison library to help the guards win a softball tournament was ordered to repay his $1,400 salary, the Florida attorney general said Wednesday.
Mark Guerra, a former pitcher with a Houston Astros' minor league affiliate, helped a team of prison guards win the Florida Department of Corrections' annual softball tournament last year.
Guerra, 34, was hired as a temporary worker in the library at the Apalachee Correctional Institution but never showed up during the four weeks he was on the payroll, Attorney General Charles Crist said.
Guerra acknowledged the money was for playing in the tournament and pleaded guilty to a theft charge Tuesday. He was ordered to repay the $1,400, perform 50 hours of community service and cooperate in a prison corruption investigation.
"It is disturbing that a state agency would place so much importance on a team sport that it would stoop to committing crimes," Crist said
Updated:2006-03-23 13:56:35
[Click Here for Original Link]