- Kooks are everywhere and there will never be enough
security in the world to keep them all under control. Perhaps no famous
residence in the world has underscored this point more effectively in recent
years than Buckingham Palace. Britain’s royal family’s residence – when Queen
Elizabeth isn’t on her frequent and extended vacations – has endured a series
of clever and not-so-clever break-in attempts over the years, including its most famous
security breach in 1982, when Michael Fagan scaled a palace drainpipe and broke
into the queen's bedroom where she was sleeping and allegedly had a drunken
chat with the monarch before security guards arrested him. The latest security
breach at the palace came Monday, when British police arrested two men after a
break-in at about 10:30 p.m. In one of the most serious security breaches at
Queen Elizabeth's London residence in about 30 years, one suspect was found in
the palace in an area that is open to the public after scaling a fence to gain
entry to the palace grounds. The unidentified man was arrested for burglary,
trespass and criminal damage, while a second man was arrested outside the
palace on suspicion of conspiracy to commit burglary. Police did not specify
whether the two men had admitted to working together, but both suspects were
released on bail. "No members of the royal family were at Buckingham
Palace at the time of the incident," a police spokesman said. "A
review of the specific circumstances of this incident is being carried
out." Buckingham Palace declined comment on the incident, saying it was a
matter for the police to handle. The queen was not home at the time of the
invasion, as she typically spends August and September in Scotland at Balmoral
Castle as one of her 17 annual vacations……..
- Movie fans clearly had better things to do this weekend
than trudge down to the local multiplex and watch one of a series of crappy
films this weekend. Evidence of that reality shows up throughout the top 10 on
the weekend earnings list, where über-terrible newcomer “Riddick” snagged the
top spot with a truly underwhelming tally of $18.7 million in its first
weekend. “Lee
Daniels' The Butler” maintained its hold on second place for another weekend
with $8.9 million, but has managed just $20.3 million in domestic earnings
through four weeks of release. “Instructions Not Included” rose one spot to
third despite remaining in limited release, banking $8.1 million for a two-week
tally of $20.3 million and counting. Fourth place belonged to “We're the
Millers,” which brought in $7.9 million and has performed surprisingly well
thus far with $123.8 million in domestic earnings in five weeks of release. The
first animated flick on the list was “Planes,” standing fifth with $4.3 million
to boost its overall haul to $79.2 million after five weeks. Man-band hysteria
was not enough to propel “One Direction: This is Us” any higher than sixth
place as the man-band biopic could manage just $4.1 million for a two-week bank
roll of $24 million. “Elysium” continued to be mediocre at best, placing
seventh but making just $3.1 million and raising its five-week haul to a so-so
$85 million. Underdog “Blue Jasmine” was next on the list, posting $2.7 million
to claim eighth place and upping its cumulative earnings to $25.4 million. “Percy
Jackson: Sea of Monsters” was ninth with its $2.5 million in earnings and
continues to be a commercial disappointment with $59.8 million against a $90
million budget. “The World’s End” wrapped up the top 10 with $2.3 million and
has churned out $21.7 million overall. “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones”
(No. 11) and “Getaway” (No. 12) both dropped out from last weekend’s top 10……….
- Celebrate your good fortune, America. Another Summer
Olympics announcement has been made and once again, none of your cities will be
taxed with hosting an infrastructure-taxing, terrorist-attracting behemoth that
necessitates billions of dollars in spending. Instead, the corrupt folks of the
International Olympic Committee
chose one of the most crowded, congested cities in the world for the 2020
Games, selecting Tokyo over Madrid and Istanbul. Japanese prime minister Shinzo
Abe promised the IOC that Japan was a safe choice despite the Fukushima nuclear
crisis and that was enough for Tokyo to defeat Istanbul 60-36 Saturday in the
final round of secret voting. Madrid was eliminated earlier after an initial
tie with Istanbul. Tokyo last hosted the Olympics in 1964 and touted its bid
over Madrid’s by pointing to Spain's economic crisis and putting down
Istanbul’s candidacy by noting its political unrest and the civil war in
neighboring Syria. "The certainty was a crucial factor -- the certainty
that they could deliver," IOC vice president Craig Reedie of Britain said.
Going with a stable choice differed from picks such as Sochi, Russia, for the
2014 Winter Games, Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics and Pyeongchang, South
Korea, for the 2018 Winter Games and Sochi has done as much damage to the
chances of future underdog candidates as any with its cost overruns, a record
$51 billion budget, security worries and an international outcry over Russia's
anti-gay legislation. Canadian IOC member and top “should have been a porn star
instead of a corrupt sporting committee official” candidate Dick Pound
delivered a resounding endorsement of Tokyo, saying, "Maybe we need to
say, 'All right, whether it's the most exciting city in the world or not, they
will deliver.'" Now if that doesn’t sound like the winning motto for the
2020 Summer Olympics, then nothing does……..
- Going to the mall can be a stressful experience. Go at the
wrong time of day or during the holiday season and it can feel like you need a
bodyguard or some sort of personal protection from fellow shoppers. Maybe
that’s what was going through the mind of a samurai sword-wielding kook in a Santa Ana,
Calif., shopping center this weekend. Police arrested Hung Anh Nguyen
after they received numerous 911 calls about a man swinging two large
samurai-style swords in a busy part of the mall and officers responded to the
scene and found an uncooperative Nguyen doing his thing. He was swinging the
swords wildly at the shopping center along Harbor Boulevard near McFadden
Avenue about 11:15 p.m., according to a Santa Ana Police Department statement.
Amazingly enough, a man mentally unstable enough to bring two large samurai
swords to a crowded mall near midnight was not reasonable or open to suggestion
and repeatedly refused comments from officers to put down the sharp 19- and
27-inch swords. Instead, Nguyen continued to wield his weapons and began screaming
profanities at officers. When it became clear that the showdown would not have
a peaceful ending, officers broke out the Tasers and send a few dozens volts of
electricity coursing through Nguyen’s body to bring him to the ground. The
Tasers took care of the problem and the suspect was brought under control and
transported to an area hospital for psychological evaluation. One might surmise
that finding a mental issue or two wouldn’t be difficult given the
circumstances, but there is always the chance that Nguyen simply could not
believe how expensive the giant lump or sugar and icing that is a Cinnabon has
become and decided to enact some food court justice by bringing his two weapons
of choice to the mall……..
- Google’s Chrome browser is celebrating its fifth birthday
and to mark the occasion, the search giant is announcing the rollout of what it's
calling Chrome Apps. The name is good because Google has offered apps since
2010, when the Chrome Web Store opened up alongside the launch of the Chrome
OS. Chrome Apps is a new concept because it is Google’s concerted effort to
elevate the browser into a true app platform to rival Apple’s businesses model
or even the Windows platform. Google Apps are built using both Web technologies
and Chrome-specific code that means they won't be able to run on other web
browsers. They can function on their own, independent of the browser,
functioning offline and syncing across devices and operating systems.
Additionally, Google Apps will be able to access a computer’s GPU, storage,
camera, ports and Bluetooth connection. For now, they are only available
through Chrome on Windows or Chrome OS on a Chromebook. As a way of punishing
Mac users for electing to own better hardware as well as attempting to convince
them to switch their product allegiance, those users will have to wait another
six weeks before their version of Chrome will be updated. Google’s Chrome team
said its overall goal is for Chrome Apps to become refined and established
enough that users can't tell the difference because them and standards Windows
apps. If this goal is reached, Google will take a significant step toward the
overall aim of turning Chrome OS into a truly viable desktop OS instead of a
de-facto second computer. "We want to make Chrome OS a full-fledged
operating system," said Brian Rakowski, a Chrome VP. "We want to make
sure there are no reasons it’s not the right product for everyone." The
Google Apps launch is a modest one, as only 50 Chrome Apps are currently
available in the Chrome Web Store. Most big-name developers have yet to jump on
board with the project…….
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