El Chupacabra Mystery Solved: Case of Mistaken Identity

Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster rank as the top two best-known monsters in the world, but since its 1995 debut, El Chupacabra has made a Justin Bieber-like ascension to No. 3 on the charts. The relative newcomer to the monster world is the go-to culprit for weird livestock deaths and creates a massive media stir whenever it's "sighted." It even has a fan club on Facebook.

That could all end, now that Benjamin Radford, author of several books on monsters and paranormal phenomena, managing editor of the journal The Skeptical Inquirer and LiveScience columnist, has released what he says to be definitive proof that El Chupacabra is not real; it's not even a hoax, he said, but rather a leftover memory of a science- fiction film.

Stories of El Chupacabra first surfaced in March 1995 in Puerto Rico, Radford said, when dead, blood-drained goats began showing up (El Chupacabra translates to "goat sucker"). That August, a newspaper printed an eyewitness description of a bipedal creature, 4 to 5 feet tall with spikes down its back, long, thin arms and legs, and an alienlike oblong head with red or black eyes. That depiction became associated with El Chupacabra, and it reports of similar creatures began popping up throughout the Caribbean, in Latin America, Mexico and Florida.

Read more from LiveScience.com

Puerto Rico Heineken International Regatta

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President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status Submits Report to Obama

 The President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status said island residents should determine its  political fate – and that the decades-old political limbo should be settled by the end of next year.

In its report to President Obama, the task force, among other recommendations, said only Puerto Rican residents – and not their mainland counterparts – should vote in two plebiscites. The first vote should determine if Puerto Ricans want to be a part of the United States or independent. The second plebiscite would give residents a choice among four options: statehood, independence, free association and commonwealth.

"The issue is a difficult one," the report said, referring to limiting the vote to island residents. "But on balance, those who have committed to the island by residing there have strong arguments that only they should vote on its future."

The task force, made up of 18 members, urged the President, Congress and the leadership of Puerto Rico to come to a resolution on the island's status by the end of 2012. It recommended that President Obama draft legislation and work with Congress to push it through.

"The legislation should commit the United States to honor the choice of the people of Puerto Rico (provided it is one of the status options in the legislation) and should specify the means by which such a choice would be made," the report said.

President Obama, who presumably will be running for reelection in 2012, said he wants to work with Congress to ensure that Puerto Ricans can determine their political future.

"I am firmly committed to the principle that the question of political status is a matter of self-determination for the people of Puerto Rico," the president said in the letter.

"Both the president and Congress have roles to play to help Puerto Rico settle on its future status," he added. "I am committed to working with Congress to ensure that a fair, clearly defined, and transparent process for the people of Puerto Rico to decide on their future for themselves."

Obama signed an executive order in October 2009 that directed the task force to examine Puerto Rico's status, as well as economic development, health care and job creation, among other issues. The task force was first created in 2000 by President Bill Clinton. President George W. Bush, too, received two reports by the task force -- one in 2005 and the other in 2007.

The report submitted to Obama also recommended that if voters were to choose statehood, Puerto Rico should control its own cultural and linguistic identity. If Puerto Ricans choose independence, the report said, the president and Congress should commit to preserving U.S. citizenship for Puerto Ricans during the political transition.

The task force touched on another hot-button issue for Puerto Ricans – Vieques. The report said the U.S. Navy – which used the tiny Puerto Rican island as a bombing range for years – should accelerate the pace with which it is cleaning inert explosives. Further, the U.S. Health and Human Services should seek ways to improve health care for residents there, the report said.

"The task force believes that a needs assessments should be completed to identify the most effective and efficient way to ensure that the people of Vieques receive the care, including expertise in environmental medicine, that they need," it said.

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2011/03/16/presidents-task-force-puerto-ricos-status-submits-report-obama/#ixzz1Gq2lTEfm

Ricky Martin to promote Puerto Rico tourism on world tour

Published March 14, 2011

San Juan –  Singer Ricky Martin will collaborate with the government of Puerto Rico on a campaign to boost tourism to the Caribbean island during his world tour, which will begin on March 25, officials said Monday.

The "Puerto Rico lo hace mejor" (Puerto Rico does it better) campaign will be featured in the advertising and on the concert entry tickets in the more than 70 cities where Martin will perform on his "Musica, alma, sexo" tour, Economic Development and Commerce Secretary Jose Perez-Riera said in a statement.

During the artist's shows, videos will be played that show landscapes, tourist attractions and culinary and gastronomic delicacies of Puerto Rico, Perez-Riera said.

"By joining Ricky Martin's world tour as a presenter, we can continue strengthening our "Puerto Rico lo hace mejor" campaign on the international level presenting Puerto Rico as a synonym for quality," Perez-Riera went on to say.

Martin will kick off his world tour in the Jose M. Agrelot Colosseum in San Juan with four shows and will then travel to the U.S. cities of Orlando and Miami, as well as to Montreal, Canada.

The singer, meanwhile, emphasized that Puerto Rico "is always present" within him and expressed his gratitude for "the chance to be able to collaborate with this effort to position our land" more advantageously in the tourism industry via the campaign.

"The chance for Puerto Rico to have a presence on each stage of this tour is an honor," the singer said.

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/entertainment/2011/03/14/ricky-martin-promote-puerto-rico-tourism-world-tour/#ixzz1Go9mK0Fi