To Starbucks, with love
Starbucks has made its way
to Russia. The first Starbucks
in the country finally opened
Thursday, two years after winning
a trademark fight over the
rights to the name. The coffee
shop is in a mega-shopping
mall north of Moscow.
The president of Starbucks
Europe, Middle East and
Africa said a second store
should be open in Moscow
by the end of the year. He
said he is looking forward
to being an everyday part of
Russians’ lives.
Gaffe down under
President Bush was pulling
out all the faux pas in Australia
on Friday. He referred to
the APEC summit as OPEC
and called Australian troops
Austrian.
On the eve of the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation summit
in Sydney, Bush thanked
Australian Prime Minister John
Howard for hosting the OPEC
summit.
The audience erupted in
laughter; Bush realized his error
and corrected it. Australia has
never been a member of the
Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries.
Later in his speech, Bush
mentioned how Howard visited
“Austrian troops” in Iraq last
year. Australia has 1,500 military
personnel stationed there,
but Austria has none.
Armed and
accommodating
Three thieves stopped halfway
through robbing a sporting
goods store in Uruguay to
spend half an hour waiting on
customers before they made
their getaway.
The armed gang locked one
employee in a back room and
demanded another worker
hand over money and merchandise.
Some customers interrupted
the heist, but the thieves
dutifully helped them before
jumping in their getaway truck
and leaving. Police are still
investigating the case.
So salty it’s a crime
A McDonald’s employee
spent one night in jail and faces
criminal charges after oversalting
a police officer’s hamburger.
The Georgia employee
is charged with misdemeanor
reckless conduct and was
released on $1,000 bail.
The woman accidentally
spilled salt on the meat and
told her supervisor, who tried
to remove as much of the salt
as possible. On her break, the
employee ate a burger made
from the over-salted meat and
said she felt fine.
Later a police officer ate an
over-salted burger and returned
to the restaurant, claiming it
made him sick. The worker
admitted to the salt spillage
and was then taken outside and
questioned by the officer.
Police have sent samples of
the burger to the state crime lab
for testing. A city public information
officer said the woman
was charged because she served
the burger “without regards to
the well-being of anyone who
might consume it.”
Meth lab mis-dials
A man who was attempting
to call information (411) mistakenly
dialed 911, and when
police arrived at his house they
arrested him for methamphetamine
production.
The Mississippi man was trying
to find the phone number
for the local TV news station
so he could complain about
not getting a FEMA trailer after
Hurricane Katrina.
Authorities were sent to the
man’s home after receiving
the 911 call to see if anyone
needed assistance. When the
man wouldn’t answer his door,
deputies broke in and allegedly
found a meth lab.
The man, his son and two
others were arrested and
charged with conspiracy to
manufacture meth. A fifth
suspect is still at large.