TWW'S CRAZY NEWS STORIES

[TexasStooge]

Feds Want to Seize Suspects' Grillz

TACOMA, Wash. - Talk about taking a bite out of crime — government lawyers tried to remove and confiscate the gold dental work known as grillz from the mouths of two men facing drug charges.

"I've been doing this for over 30 years and I have never heard of anything like this," said Richard J. Troberman, a forfeiture specialist and past president of the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. "It sounds like Nazi Germany when they were removing the gold teeth from the bodies, but at least then they waited until they were dead."

According to documents and lawyers involved in the case in U.S. District Court, Flenard T. Neal Jr. and Donald Jamar Lewis, charged with several drug and weapon violations, were taken on Tuesday from the Federal Detention Center to the U.S. marshal's office, where they were told the government had a warrant to seize the grills.

Before being put into a vehicle to be taken to a dentist in Seattle, they called their lawyers, who were able to halt the seizure, said Miriam Schwartz, Neal's public defender. A permanent stay of the seizure order was signed Tuesday by U.S. Magistrate J. Kelley Arnold, court documents show.

Grills, popularized by rappers such as Nelly, are customized tooth caps made of precious metals and jewels which can cost thousands of dollars for a full set. Some can be snapped onto the teeth like an orthodontic retainer, and others are permanently bonded to the teeth.

Neal and Lewis have permanently bonded grills, their lawyers said, declining to provide more description.

Government lawyers who asked a federal judge on March 29 to order confiscation of the grills said they did not know the caps had been bonded to the drug defendants' teeth.

"Asset forfeiture is a fairly routine procedure, and our attorneys were under the impression that these snapped out like a retainer," said Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Seattle.

Once the government understood that removal of the grills could damage the defendants' teeth, they abandoned the seizure attempt, she said.

Schwartz and Zenon Peter Olbertz, Lewis' lawyer, criticized what they said was a clandestine attempt to have the grills removed.

"It's shocking that this kind of action by the federal government could be sought and accomplished in secret, without anyone being notified," said Schwartz. "It reminds me of the secret detentions" in terrorist cases.

Seizure warrants are typically sealed to prevent defendants from trying to move or hide valuables and evidence, Langlie and court clerks said. They become public with the filing of a return that shows what has been seized.
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Information from: The Seattle Times
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"Smile fo' me daddy."
'Whatcha lookin' at?"
"Lemme take ya Grillz."
"Let ya take my what?"

[TexasStooge]

Legislative Candidate's House Condemned

WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) - A legislative candidate's house in a historic district has been condemned after police found animal waste in at least three rooms, garbage throughout the residence and holes in the floor and roof.

Wheeling police officers described conditions at Larry Tighe's house as deplorable. Tighe is running for a seat in the House of Delegates.

"The conditions that exist there make it unlivable," said Nancy Prager, director of the city's Office of Economic and Community Development.

Tighe's house was condemned Thursday after city building inspectors and the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department found building and health code violations, Prager said. She did not say what the violations were.

Officers from Ohio County Animal Control removed two dogs and a cat from the property. The animals were taken to the county animal shelter, Prager said.

"Of course, he can get them back," she said.

Tighe disputed the findings, saying Thursday that the conditions at his house "are not considered deplorable by me."

Wheeling police called building inspectors and health department personnel to the house on Tuesday after responding to two break-in reports by Tighe. The officers found animal feces and urine covering at least three rooms on the third floor, and holes in the roof and floor, according to police reports.

Tighe refused to permit a voluntary review of the property, according to police reports. Thursday's inspection was conducted after a search warrant was obtained, Prager said.

Tighe said his dogs have been trained to leave their feces in the former servants' quarters on the third floor, and that he cleans the waste every couple of days.

"My cats use a litter box that is regularly supplied with litter," Tighe said. "All my pets are well fed and taken care of."

The house is part of the Chapline Street Row Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Information from: The Intelligencer

[TexasStooge]

Tulips 'have expired' at Arboretum

By KATIE MENZER / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - There's no tiptoeing around it.

The tulips at the Dallas Arboretum – 200,000 of them – are dead.

"Everything was going along and the tulips looked fantastic, and then one day, we came in and they didn’t look so good," said Karen Vassar, spokeswoman for the arboretum. "The tulips have expired."

The tulip tragedy is forcing arboretum officials to hustle to replace the dead flowers with 25,000 gorgeous, late-spring annuals for the final week of the arboretum’s most popular festival, Dallas Blooms.

Who's to blame for the blooming blight? Mother Nature.

A mild winter – January had the warmest high temperatures on record – befuddled tulips, irises and daffodils this year, tricking them into peaking their heads above ground weeks early.

Things that bloom early, die early – including the tulips the arboretum had planted as the traditional stars of Dallas Blooms, which runs through April 17.

Although the tulips are pushing up daisies, there’s no reason to pine the plants’ passing, said Dave Forehand, the arboretum’s vice president of gardens.

"We had a good five weeks of tulips. It just started a week and a half early and ended a week and a half early," Mr. Forehand said. "And people who regularly come to Dallas Blooms this time of year will get to see some flowers that they wouldn’t normally see."

Workers are now digging up the beds of belly-up bulbs and replacing them with thousands of begonias, petunias, torenias, marigolds, cyclamen and other late-spring blooming annuals.

A few tulips still remain – standing strong like Dutch soldiers among a sea of purple pansies – but it’s the azaleas, cherry blossoms and dogwoods that are hogging the limelight now.

"We want people to know that as they are driving around seeing tulips expire, it doesn’t mean there is nothing to see here," Ms. Vassar said.

But even Ms. Vassar – obviously a tulip fan – can't help from sounding just a little contrary about how her garden grows.

"When they were here," she said, "they were spectacular."
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ALSO ONLINE:

- The Dallas Arboretum (Official site)

[TexasStooge]

Boy calling 911 for dying mom was told not to play on phone

DETROIT, Mich. (AP) – A 5-year-old boy called 911 to report that his mother had collapsed in their apartment, but an operator told him he should not be playing on the phone, and she died before help arrived.

The family of Sherrill Turner, 46, does not know whether a swifter response could have saved her life, but relatives want to know why the operator apparently treated the call as if it were a prank.

Police said the 911 response was under investigation.

Ms. Turner's son, Robert, placed two calls to 911 after his mother collapsed Feb. 20 on the kitchen floor. During one of the calls, an operator said: "You shouldn't be playing on the phone."

In a tape of the call, parts of which were broadcast by Detroit-area television stations, the operator said: "Now put her on the phone before I send the police out there to knock on the door and you gonna be in trouble."

Delaina Patterson, the eldest of Ms. Turner's 10 children, said police did not arrive until three hours later. She said only Robert and his mother were home at the time.

Detroit police spokesman James Tate said the 911 operator remains on the job during the investigation.
_____________________________________________________________

If you're a 911 operator, you shouldn't treat any emergency call as if they were pranks.

[TexasStooge]

Wis. Man Accused of Tagging 6 Cell Blocks

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (AP) - A man who faces sentencing on graffiti violations now faces another accusation — that he tagged his jail cells, too.

Troy Lee Mosby placed his signature "Syrup" tag on the walls, beds, tables, locker and mirrors of six cell blocks at the Milwaukee County House of Correction, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday.

Mosby, 20, of Wauwatosa, was scheduled for sentencing Friday on 14 misdemeanor graffiti counts. Instead, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Paul Van Grunsven adjourned the matter to April 21 so Mosby has time to answer the new accusation.

"Given the nature (of the new case) I don't think there will be a lot of investigation needed," he said.

Assistant District Attorney Nancy Ettenheim charged Mosby with habitual criminality, a felony. Mosby pleaded not guilty to that charge Friday. He faces up to two years in prison if convicted.

On the other charges, Ettenheim had recommended jail time, restitution and probation.

[TexasStooge]

Best, worst places to live?

LONDON, England (Reuters) - Zurich is the city with the highest quality of life in 2006, while Baghdad, for the third year running, has the lowest, a survey published Monday shows.

Geneva and Vancouver made the top three in the list compiled by human resource company Mercer while Bangui in the Central African Republic and Brazzaville, the capital of Congo Republic, joined Baghdad in the bottom three.

The top three cities in the list are all unchanged from last year.

Chicago is one of the biggest climbers in the rankings since 2005, rising to 41st from 52nd due to reduced crime rates, while Cairo is one of the biggest fallers, sliding nine places to 131st out of 215 cities.

"(This was) due to political turmoil and terrorist attacks in the city and surrounding area," Mercer said.

Mercer bases its annual survey on 39 quality-of-life factors, from political stability to schools, bars, restaurants and the environment.

The full list is available at http://www.imercer.com/qol.

[TexasStooge]

Big Brother inmates released to vote

ROME, Italy (Reuters) - Contestants in the Italian version of reality TV show Big Brother were briefly allowed out of their house Sunday to let them vote in the general election.

After 80 days of seclusion, the Big Brother inmates were driven to their home towns around Italy accompanied by bodyguards to ensure they had as little contact as possible with the outside world, news agency ANSA reported.

They were returned to the "house," in the confines of Rome's Cinecitta movie studios, immediately after casting their ballot.

Big Brother is broadcast on Canale 5, one of three TV stations owned by Mediaset, controlled by Silvio Berlusconi, the center-right prime minister who is battling to retain power in the election which takes place Sunday and Monday.

Contestents on Big Brother and two other reality shows, "Music Farm" and "La Fattoria" ("The Farm"), who cannot watch TV or read newspapers, were given information on the parties' manifestos before being let out to vote, Il Giornale daily said.

[TexasStooge]

Bare buttocks cause stir

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Bare buttocks plastered on billboards in Nicosia are the talk of the town in the Cypriot capital, but officials see no need to cover them up.

Complaints have poured in to local councils over the advert for a clothes chain showing a close-up of a woman's bottom, bare except for a tan-colored thong.

One member of parliament, Maria Kyriakou, from the opposition Democratic Rally party, told Reuters it could even be a "potential distraction for drivers."

But local authorities say they have no say on the content of adverts, police say they've seen worse, and the media watchdog says billboards are beyond its standard remit.

"Regardless of that, we have to look at the matter because a complaint was filed. If it was clearly pornographic we could possibly intervene, but sometimes you see even more explicit pictures in family magazines," said Petros Petrides, secretary of the Media Complaints Commission.

That view was echoed by a police spokesman, who said: "It's not considered obscene. Magazines show worse things."

The poster takes its place among a sea of posters advertising candidates for parliamentary elections on May 21.
_____________________________________________________________

"What the 'bloody hell' is that doing on the billboards?"

[TexasStooge]

Cop sees psychic in PM death threat?

CANBERRA (Reuters) - An Australian police officer has been suspended while authorities investigate a newspaper report that he asked a psychic for help with enquiries into a death threat made to Prime Minister John Howard.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said on Monday it was investigating the matter, but declined to give details.

"The AFP investigates all allegations of the unlawful release of information seriously," the AFP said, adding that it does not condone the use of psychics in security matters.

The Sun-Herald newspaper reported on Sunday that the officer consulted a clairvoyant in the rural town of Cooma in New South Wales state for leads on an apparent threat to assassinate Howard.

"The government must now investigate how this B-grade movie script could have played out in real life," main opposition Labor's security spokesman, Arch Bevis, said in a statement.

The AFP said the suspended officer had not been part of Howard's personal police security team.

[TexasStooge]

Woman tricks herself out of reward

BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) - When a German woman found a wallet containing 1,000 euros ($1,220) she decided it was better to get a reward from the owner than to keep the money -- even if that meant resorting to extortion, police said Friday.

"It was a bit stupid. She could just have kept the wallet," said a spokeswoman for police in the southwestern city of Darmstadt. "But she wanted the finder's reward -- and might have got one anyway. But she opted to extort it instead."

Police said the 47-year-old found the owner's phone number in the wallet and told the pensioner she could only have it back for 100 euros "plus 20 euros travel costs."

The owner agreed to the terms, and tipped off police, who arrested the woman with the wallet at the handover point.

[TexasStooge]

Man Gets $218 Trillion Phone Bill Mon

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - A Malaysian man said he nearly fainted when he recieved a $218 trillion phone bill and was ordered to pay up within 10 days or face prosecution, a newspaper reported Monday.

Yahaya Wahab said he disconnected his late father's phone line in January after he died and settled the 84 ringgit ($23) bill, the New Straits Times reported.

But Telekom Malaysia later sent him a 806,400,000,000,000.01 ringgit ($218 trillion) bill for recent telephone calls along with orders to settle within 10 days or face legal proceedings, the newspaper reported.

It wasn't clear whether the bill was a mistake, or if Yahaya's father's phone line was used illegally after after his death.

"If the company wants to seek legal action as mentioned in the letter, I'm ready to face it," the paper quoted Yahaya as saying. "In fact, I can't wait to face it," he said.

Yahaya, from northern Kedah state, received a notice from the company's debt-collection agency in early April, the paper said. Yahaya said he nearly fainted when he saw the new bill.

Government-linked Telekom Malaysia Bhd. is the country's largest telecommunications company.

A company official, who declined to be identified as she was not authorized to speak to the media, said Telekom Malaysia was aware of Yahaya's case and would address it. She did not provide further details.

[TexasStooge]

Book Apparently Bound in Human Skin Found

LONDON, England (AP) - A 300-year-old book that appears to be bound in human skin has been found in northern England, police said Saturday.

The macabre discovery was made on a central street in Leeds, and officers said the ledger may have been dumped following a burglary.

Detectives were trying to trace its rightful owner and believe it may have been taken from a dwelling in the area.

Much of the text is in French, and it was not uncommon around the time of the French Revolution for books to be covered in human skin.

The practice, known as anthropodermic bibliopegy, was sometimes used in the 18th and 19th centuries when accounts of murder trials were bound in the killer's skin.

Anatomy books also were sometimes bound in the skin of a dissected cadaver. In World War II, Nazis were accused of using the skin from Holocaust victims to bind books.

In a brief statement, West Yorkshire police said the ledger, which contained handwriting in black ink, appears to date back to the 1700s, and they appealed to anyone who may be able to help identify the owners of the item to contact authorities.

West Yorkshire Police put two photographs of the book on their Web site, but officers were unable on Saturday to answer any questions about it, including the book's subject matter.
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On the Net: http://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/sect ... 12&iid2240
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[TexasStooge]

Couple accused of caging child in pet crate

McALLEN, Texas (DallasNews.com/AP) – A South Texas couple was jailed on child abuse charges for allegedly placing the woman's 10-year-old son in a pet cage as punishment for stealing and later binding his hands and feet to a pole.

Alfredo Hernandez Jr., 29, and Veronica Pintor Marcos, 32, were being held Monday night in the Hidalgo County jail on $130,000 bond each. They're charged with felony injury to a child, child endangerment and unlawful restraint.

The 10-year-old escaped from his McAllen house Friday and reported the alleged abuse by his mother and stepfather to his neighbors, who notified police.

Child Protective Services has placed the couple's four children, also including a 5-year-old boy and two girls ages 3 and 12, in foster care, The (McAllen) Monitor reported in its Tuesday editions.

A jail official did not have a listing of lawyers for the defendants, and he would not allow either of them speak to a reporter on the telephone when contacted by The Associated Press.

McAllen police say Hernandez, with the consent of his wife, placed the boy in a dog kennel for about eight hours to punish him for stealing.

They also accuse Hernandez of using tape to bind the boy's hands and feet to a bamboo pole behind his back, and then leaving him facedown in a laundry room. The boy told police that he managed to free his feet three times, and each time Hernandez taped them again. On the fourth time, the boy escaped the house.

"They accused the boy of stealing something and they were trying to punish him for that, but of course the punishment doesn't fit," McAllen police Sgt. Joel Morales told the newspaper.

The boy suffered a cut and welts and complained of pain, according to a police report.

Hernandez and Pintor each face up to 40 years in prison and $30,000 in fines if convicted on all three counts.

[TexasStooge]

Elderly woman gets $114 ticket for slow street crossing

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (AP) – Mayvis Coyle, 82, shuffled across a San Fernando Valley intersection with her cane, but couldn't cross to the other side before the light turned red.

A motorcycle officer then gave her a $114 ticket Feb. 15 for taking too long to cross the street and told her she was obstructing traffic.

"I think it's completely outrageous," said Coyle, who described herself as a Cherokee medicine woman. "He treated me like a 6-year-old, like I don't know what I'm doing."

Police have been cracking down on people who improperly cross streets because pedestrian accidents are above normal, said Sgt. Mike Zaboski of the LAPD's Valley Traffic Division. Zaboski said he could not comment on Coyle's ticket, other than to say that it is her word against that of the citing officer.

"I'd rather not have angry pedestrians," Zaboski said. "But I'd rather have them be alive."

Others, however, support Coyle's contention that the light in question doesn't give people enough time to cross the busy, five-lane boulevard.

"I can go halfway, then the light changes," said Edith Krause, 78, who uses an electric cart because she has difficulty walking.

Councilwoman Wendy Greuel said she has asked transportation officials to figure out how to accommodate elderly people.

[TexasStooge]

"Mr. Switzerland" to entice women during World Cup

GENEVA (Reuters) - For women bored at the thought of this summer's World Cup soccer finals in Germany, neighbor Switzerland is offering an alternative packed with beefcake.

A cow-milking 'Mr. Switzerland' and other handsome men are featured in a new advertising campaign seeking to entice soccer widows to leave their sports-obsessed men behind.

"Dear girls," starts the television spot, to run in France, Germany and Switzerland beginning in May.

"Why not escape this summer's World Cup to a country where men spend less time on football, and more time on you?," the advertisement, says over images of a strapping farmhand, a sexy train conductor, a fit mountain climber, a dapper ferryman and a brawny lumberjack.

It ends with Renzo Blumenthal, Mr. Switzerland 2005, milking and then leaning up against a cow.

The clip -- also on http://www.myswitzerland.com -- is meant to lure women to Switzerland during the tournament that starts on June 9, Swiss Tourism spokeswoman Veronique Kanel said.

"It was kind of a funny way to attract people, and of course mostly women, who are not interested in football to come to Switzerland while the men are watching the World Cup on television," she said in a telephone interview.

[TexasStooge]

Shop worker finds cocaine instead of bananas

MUNICH (Reuters) - A supermarket worker's discovery of 20 kilograms (44 lb) of cocaine hidden in a case of fruit had German police going bananas.

A spokesman for Bavarian state police said officers dug through 4,600 cartons of bananas after a man working at a Munich grocery store found the drugs in a shipment of fruit from Colombia.

"A worker unloading a case saw that there weren't any bananas under the first layer," a spokesman for Bavarian state police said Monday. In their place, he said was 20 kilograms of drugs.

Around 30 police officers were set to search through the remainder of the shipment but found no more suspicious packages.

The bananas originally came from Colombia and were shipped through the Belgian port of Antwerp before being trucked into Germany. The investigation is under way.

[TexasStooge]

Animal rights activists admit dug-up grave case

LONDON, England (Reuters) - Four British animal rights protesters have admitted plotting to blackmail the owners of a farm that bred guinea pigs for medical research during a fierce six-year campaign, police said Tuesday.

David Hall and Partners who ran the family business at the Darley Oaks Farm in central England, endured abuse, death threats and firebomb attacks during one of the UK's most sustained harassment campaigns by animal rights groups.

In the worst incident, in October 2004, the grave of Gladys Hammond, mother-in-law of one of the co-owners who had died in 1997 aged 82, was dug up and her remains stolen.

They have never been found.

The sustained campaign, from 199 to 2005, led the family to announce last year they would give up breeding guinea pigs at their farm in Newchurch, Staffordshire, and would return to traditional farming.

Staffordshire Police said Tuesday Jon Ablewhite, 36, Kerry Whitburn, 36, John Smith, 39, and Josephine Mayo, 38, had now all admitted conspiracy charges at hearings at Nottingham Crown Court.

They will be sentenced at hearings on May 11 and 12.

"These people orchestrated a long running and unpleasant campaign to cause fear and suffering to anyone connected with Darley Oaks farm," said Harry Ireland, the Chief Crown Prosecutor of Staffordshire.

"Although the prosecution could not prove they actually physically stole the body of Gladys Hammond, they have admitted using that theft as part of their campaign."

The Save The Newchurch Guinea Pigs campaign group said in a message left on an answerphone that its campaign was over and the group was now focused on preventing a new animal research center being built at Oxford University.

That campaign has become the focal point for animal rights activists in Britain, which is home to some of the world's most vociferous and militant groups.

Last year, the government was forced to introduce tougher legislation to target protesters who obstructed experiments and threatened medical research.

A specialist police unit was also set up to target extremists who used violence or intimidation.

That came after the UK's oldest and largest animal testing center, Huntingdon Life Sciences, nearly collapsed in 2001 when frequently violent protests caused financiers to pull out.

[TexasStooge]

Swiss Mystery Park needs savior to materialize

ZURICH, Switzerland (Reuters) - Long ago, astronauts from outer space visited earth to lay the foundations for human civilization, Erich von Daeniken says.

Now, the Swiss writer and businessman hopes for a visitor wealthy enough to save his Mystery Park theme park in Interlaken from financial collapse.

The park, set up by the author of bestsellers such as "Chariots of the Gods" and "The Gods were Astronauts," has failed to attract enough visitors and needs 4 million Swiss francs ($3.08 million) in cash to stay in business.

The park's attractions -- which showcase giant drawings in the Peruvian desert that may once have been signs for visiting spacecraft, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and more -- may close forever if the group does not find the money.

Mystery Park's shares have risen sharply in heavy volumes recently as investors speculate about its future and the stock now changes hands at around 2.50 francs. But they are still well below levels around 20 francs they stood at before 2004.

The group said Monday it had asked a court for protection from creditors to win time to propose a restructuring plan to a shareholder meeting in May.

But the company will be declared bankrupt if the plan does not get approved, it added in a news release, and the days of Mystery Park will be numbered. Unless some higher power intervenes, that is, financially or otherwise.

[TexasStooge]

Sip Slowly: a $1,000 Mint Julep

By ELIZABETH DUNBAR, Associated Press Writer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As if custom-made hats, premium box seats and limo rides weren't enough, the Kentucky Derby will now feature the $1,000 mint julep.

Sip this drink slowly.

The sweet cocktail will be made with one of the state's finest bourbons and served in a gold-plated cup with a silver straw to the first 50 people willing to put down the cash at the May 6 race.

Mint from Morocco, ice from the Arctic Circle and sugar from the South Pacific will put this mint julep in a class of its own, the distillery selling the drink said.

"We thought we would reflect on and complement the international nature of the Kentucky Derby," said Chris Morris, master distiller for Woodford Reserve. The distillery, owned by Louisville-based Brown-Forman Corp., will sell the drink only on race day to raise money for a charity for retired race horses.

The company already sells about 90,000 mint juleps at the Derby each year but hopes what's being dubbed the "ultimate" mint julep will catch on. Those who buy the $1,000 cocktail will get to watch Morris and others make it.

"People want a memory," said Wayne Rose, Woodford Reserve's brand director. "This is something they can take home and share with friends."

Mint juleps have been synonymous with the Kentucky Derby for decades. They are often served in silver or pewter cups and are meant to be sipped and savored.

The new 24-karat gold cup promotion fits in with the high-class atmosphere, said Gary Regan, a spirit and cocktail expert who's been to the Derby twice.

"I think there will be enough people with enough money at the Kentucky Derby that will go for that sort of thing," said Regan, author of "The Joy of Mixology."

Churchill Downs officials said the expensive mint juleps will help raise awareness about the needs of retired thoroughbreds.

"A concern has developed over time that these horses were finding their way to be sold for slaughter," track spokeswoman Julie Koenig said.

Churchill Downs will funnel money from the pricey juleps to the New Jersey-based Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides homes for the former race horses.

"These horses are there making these memories special to us," Kornig said. "It's nice to find a way to give back to them."

[TexasStooge]

9-Year-Old Is Veteran Bullfighter

By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer

MEXICO CITY - Rafita Mirabal does what few would when faced with an angry, 400-pound animal charging at him: He holds his ground.

He is armed with nothing but a red cape and a short sword. He is also 9 years old.

Rafita already has had about two dozen fights in bullrings since 2005, including his latest challenge on Sunday in Texcoco, just east of Mexico City.

His contests differ slightly from a regular bullfight. The animals are younger and somewhat smaller, and he does not give the matador's final death blow with his sword. The ban on swordplay isn't to protect Rafita, but rather the sport's reputation.

Rafita isn't strong enough yet to drive a full sword into a bull's heart, and as a result, "he might just wound the animals, and then they would repeat the thing about (the sport) being a massacre," said his manager, Jose San Martin, referring to bullfighting protests by animal rights activists.

San Martin expects Rafita to be killing bulls by the time he's 11 or 12. Most bullfighters start when they're 15 or older, he noted.

In Texcoco on Sunday, Rafita challenged a 2-year-old "vaquilla" — a cow with horns — and nearly lost. The vaquilla tossed him into the air, swept him to the ground between its horns and then trampled him, but left him unharmed.

Two older bullfighters who accompany and observe Rafita in the ring — but avoid interfering in his fights — distracted the animal, giving Rafita time to dust himself off and immediately return to the fight.

"That was nothing," he said, his eyes tearing "from emotion" and a bruise appearing to form on his cheek. "It was good, very good."

Rafita, who also expresses an interest in computers, says his ambition "is to continue being a bullfighter, come what may."

His father, Rafael Mirabal Martinez, is a fight fan. He sends his son into the ring without any qualms because "this has always been his passion," he said.

"I ask God to take care of him," said Mirabal, who nonetheless has established some rules: "He has to keep his grades up at school to keep on with this."

Asked about his son's future, he replied, "That depends on him, God and the bull."

San Martin discovered Rafita at a bullfighting school in the central state of Aguascalientes.

"He stood out from the rest of the boys even though he's small in stature, because of his seriousness, and his great devotion," San Martin said.

San Martin billed Rafita as "the child prodigy who just has to be seen."

"He's got it in his blood," the manager said. "He's got a great future."