NBC has received plenty of criticism for its decision to cut a tribute to victims of terror from the Olympics opening ceremony broadcast in the United States. The half-assed explanation offered, however, is likely to cause even more outrage.

What happens when enterprising citizens of the world's cheekiest nation, Great Britain, are saddled with the insane brand protection regulations of the London Olympics? It sparks a cheekiness arms race to see who can most cheekily get around the rules.

If you were, say, a world-class athlete, or anyone who had just spent twenty-hours on a plane not including customs and security, the thing you'd most want to do after leaving the airport is get lost, right?

It's an open secret that the city of London's Olympic bid was nothing more than a brazen attempt to lure America's most popular fast food corporations to open up franchises in that dusty, far flung corner of the world. Now The Guardian reports London is finally getting what it craves: its very first fifty-first McDonald's.

Skeezeball leakmeister Julian Assange has squirreled himself away at the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid deportation to Sweden to face sex crimes allegations. According to a tweet by Wikileaks, he's now seeking "political asylum." ENORMOUS SIGH.

London released its plans for the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony on Tuesday, and the world felt all the breath leave its body as it suddenly realized that London has no idea how to throw a cool party.

In America, if we come across a site of historical significance, we memorialize it by transforming it into an outdoor living history space where the past comes alive or erecting a statue of Sylvester Stallone on the premises.

Everyone knows the London Olympics are going to be an advertising shit-show. But a full understanding of the Olympics' all-enveloping corporate embrace requires a trip into the "Brand Exclusion Zone," a desolate region of London where only Official Olympic Sponsors can survive.

A British watchdog group called Big Brother Watch is upset over some new closed circuit security cameras in London that have the ability to speak.

A hearty congratulations to the paleontologists of Britain's Natural History Museum, who have just discovered a new species of dinosaur! And in what exotic location did they uncover its bones? The wild Gobi desert? The harsh terrain of the Badlands? No! No, they found it in the fucking basement.

What, you thought New York had a monopoly on public transit freak shows? Here's a horrid (that's British for "bad") British lady ranting about brown people ruining her country.

It turns out the Marc Jacobs theft wasn't as bad as we first thought. But good luck for any amateur Miss Marples out there: There's a reward if you can get info about the missing duds.

Hundreds of thousands of people around the world marched on dozens of cities on Saturday, joining the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations against greed, inequality and everything else that's screwed up right now.

How many cars do you usually leap over at one time, when you do that? British long-jumper and Olympic hopeful J.J. Jegede can clear at least three, as he demonstrates in this video shot near the Tower Bridge in London. (A nifty time-lapse picture of Jegede's 20-foot jump lives here.) Jegede's personal best is 8.04 meters—still not enough to qualify for the Olympics, but there's still time.

Aside from the issues of safety and the ongoing bike lane wars there's another reason that riding your bike in the city sucks: it makes your lungs black.

At London's Notting Hill Carnival on Monday, 20 year-old Rio Andre was stabbed by a teenager after trying to break up a fight. What was that intense moment like? Well, just look at this god damn picture: There's Andre in the middle of the scene with his wound, arms out, looking stricken; there's the stabber, fleeing the scene with knife in hand; there's the heroic bystander trying to trip the perp as he runs by; there are the police, frozen, like "huh?"; there's the crowd in the background, shocked.

Here is a striking example of how detached from reality British authorities' post-riot social media crackdown is. The cop in charge of their social media efforts suggested that Twitter could force people to use their real names on the service. Has he ever been on Twitter?

The U.K. riots of the past week have done incalculable damage to businesses and homes. After the cleanup come the longer-term task of rebuilding—and many of the people who have been hit the hardest (i.e. small business owners) can't afford the high costs involved.

On the fourth night of England's riots, 10,000 police flooded London streets and the city remained mostly calm. But the riots spread to other cities, leaving three men dead in Birmingham. British Prime Minister David Cameron promised a "fightback" to squelch unrest.

As looting and rioting continues across London for a fourth evening, residents are steeling themselves for another night of mayhem. Here's what parts of the city looked like before nightfall, as officers battled rioters, fires continued to burn, and optimistic store owners began the cleanup process.