#_author:Mark Kaufman

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Woman accidentally informs the U.S. that she's a terrorist via online travel form

While planning a visit to the United States, a British woman unwittingly answered "Yes" to an online travel application query asking if she had ever engaged in terrorist activity.

Accordingly, Mandie Stevenson's U.S. travel application was promptly denied, reports the BBC.

"At first I thought it was a bad dream and then I realised what I had done," Stevenson said on the BBC radio show "Mornings with Stephen Jardine."

A screenshot of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ESTA homepage.

Image: screenshot/department of homeland security

Stevenson had been applying for a travel application using the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Electronic System for Travel Authorization site, or ESTA, when she erred. Specifically, Stevenson was applying for a "visa waiver program," wherein citizens of some countries can enter the U.S. without going through a more tedious visa process.

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To rectify the digital mishap, Stevenson had to visit the U.S. embassy in London. There, after a series of interviews, U.S. authorities granted her a travel visa to visit the States, but she had to significantly alter her travel arrangements and fly at a later date. The embassy appointment cost 320 pounds ($416).

And so goes this latest instance of beware of what and where you click — especially on government websites. 

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You can bid on a war hero's century-old chocolate in an online auction

It appears a distinguished World War I soldier,   Richard Bullimore, only ate one of his 10 Cadbury chocolate bars while awaiting battle in the war's notorious trenches, according to the online auction company Eddisons CJM. The chocolate tins were apparently a wartime Christmas present to troops. 

Eddisons CJM, which also auctions off massive pieces of industrial equipment, will offer Bullimore's 103-year-old chocolate in a package with his other belongings on Tuesday, June 5. 

SEE ALSO: Lebron James says if social media negativity is bothersome, you should delete it

Just the chocolate tin itself is rare, noted CJM's Paul Cooper, "but to find the chocolate still inside is just unreal.”

“The chocolate actually looks in pretty good shape," he added. 

But it almost certainly shouldn't be eaten, contrary to Cooper's assertion that experts say extremely old chocolate isn't dangerous. 

World War solider Richard Bullimore.

Image: Eddisons CJM

According to Kansas State University professor of food science Fadi Aramouni, quoted in Newswise (and backed by recommended guidelines from the  National Confectioners Association), dark chocolate, if kept in a cool and dark environment, is safe to eat for one or two years; milk chocolate even less.

Aramouni said there have been cases of salmonella poisoning from eating expired chocolate. 

Whomever wins Bullimore's collection will also find century-old cigarettes (only three are missing), along with a collection of letters and other items. 

For those in or around Scunthorpe, England, the chocolate bars can be viewed in person at the  Eddisons CJM Auction Center on Monday, June 4, prior to the day of the online auction.  

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Lebron James says if social media negativity is bothersome, you should delete it

Lebron James turns off his social media accounts before the playoffs begin each year, largely because it's a toxic place for celebrities. 

Public backlash after the late-game mistakes by his teammates in Game 1 of the finals proves James' point, as the criticism and memes have dominated the Twitterverse and other social media.

While acknowledging the merits of social media in rapidly sharing news and events, James said at a Saturday news conference that it also often results in a barrage of negativity and rash reactions.

"If you're a celebrity, then you realize it's actually really bad for you," James said. 

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James, who has played in some 1,400 NBA games, called Thursday's loss one his "toughest" ever when, after some questionable calls by referees, point guard George Hill then missed a free throw with less than five seconds left (which would have given the Cavs the lead). 

Cavs guard J.R. Smith then gave the team new life, grabbing an offensive rebound, but after evading a seven-foot block-shocking defender in front of him, failed to put up a shot before time expired. Smith may not have realized the game was still tied, and now says that he's not even quite sure anymore what transpired in those few, dramatic moments. 

The game went to overtime, the Cavs lost, and the opposing coach, Steve Kerr, admitted the defending champion Warriors "got lucky."

Too soon? I hate this but it’s too funny #kingjames #lebronjames #lebron #jrsmith #cavs #warriors #stephcurry #nba #nbafinals #meme #memes #lol #funny #haha #dankmemes #comedy #score #henny #jr #hillaryclinton #trump #maga pic.twitter.com/pWrpH8cCt8

— Phillip Wesson (@rikkjamesB) June 1, 2018

James said the rapid-fire criticism athletes like Smith receive is largely coming from ignorant critics whose primary objective is to disparage.  

"Like, if you really pay attention, there's people out there that really try to tear you down," said James."

"You have to realize that, one, you don't know who they are. Two, they don't know what they're talking about. Three, they've never stepped in your shoes or been in the light to understand what it means to have to perform or whatever the case may be." 

And if this rampant criticism can't be ignored, James recommends that his teammates — or perhaps anyone, really — ditch social media. 

"If you're a part of it and it bothers you, then you probably should just delete it off your phone," said James.

When James entered the league in 2003, he noted that it took a while for public criticism, or that from media, to reach a player. Today, it hits right away. 

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Neil deGrasse Tyson reminds us how grotesquely rich Jeff Bezos is

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who is keen on calculations, has put Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' wealth into a space-themed perspective for us.

In the last year, Bezos became $40 billion richer, ballooning his wealth to over $130 billion. If this were put into dollar bills, each 6.14 inches long, Tyson calculates that the chain of greenbacks would "circle Earth 200 times then reach the Moon & back 15 times then, with what’s left over, circle Earth another 8 times." 

SEE ALSO: Learn how to make serious money on Amazon

Not that anybody asked, but @JeffBezos' 130-Billion dollars, laid end-to-end, can circle Earth 200 times then reach the Moon & back 15 times then, with what’s left over, circle Earth another 8 times.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) May 12, 2018

For a deeper perspective — not that you asked — the moon's average distance from Earth is about 238,000 miles, and the Earth's circumference is about 24,900 miles.

Bezos' wealth, of course, is driven by Amazon's success. And a foundational component of Amazon's success is an "obsession" with giving the customer what they want, as Bezos said in a 2016 letter to shareholders. 

"Even when they don’t yet know it, customers want something better, and your desire to delight customers will drive you to invent on their behalf," he said. "No customer ever asked Amazon to create the Prime membership program, but it sure turns out they wanted it, and I could give you many such examples."

Now, Amazon is backed by so much wealth, it can innovate in wild, futuristic ways, and simply absorb the costs or potential failures at no threat to the company's sustainability. Take, for instance, the development of Amazon's autonomous Prime Air delivery drones.

"One day, seeing Prime Air vehicles will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road," Amazon maintains.

Bezos' wealth, backed by Amazon stock, will almost certainly continue to trend up. For now, people are coming to terms with Tyson's current analysis of the Amazon founder's bank account.

And that's still shorter than a @cvspharmacy receipt.

— Justin Hanson (@Xenogenic) May 12, 2018

How about if it's in pennies? Can it get to Saturn or even Uranus?

— mleshy (@mleshsky) May 12, 2018

excited for 100 replies about how net worth isnt the same as spendable money

— Mike 🦆🐦 (@Mike_Agresta) May 7, 2018

My net worth literally can’t make it from my couch to the front door.

— Addison Harris (@AddisonAlan) May 12, 2018

But one history professor pointed out to Tyson — who likes to point out obvious things to people — that his calculations aren't tenable:

I’m going to pull a Neil deGrasse Tyson here, and point out that the motion of the earth, moon, and atmosphere would prevent you from doing this. https://t.co/jh1uU6lFNk

— Lisa Daly Lehmann (@LisaDaly) May 12, 2018

(☝ There's a whole thread to unpack, in case it's not clear.)

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Starbucks faces social media backlash over tepid apology for alleged racial profiling

Cell phone video captured a bewildered man at Starbucks this week asking Philadelphia police why they were arresting his two black friends. 

Onlookers said there didn't appear to be a reason for the arrest. The men were simply sitting at the coffee shop, waiting for their business associate — the aforementioned bewildered man — to show up before placing their orders.

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Now, Starbucks has confirmed that the incident was a mistake, and "are disappointed this led to an arrest."

The three-sentence apology, however, is short on details or a even just a blunt admission of guilt. The company did not reply to Mashable's request for more details at the time of this publication. 

We apologize to the two individuals and our customers for what took place at our Philadelphia store on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/suUsytXHks

— Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) April 14, 2018

On April 12, a Twitter user posted a 45-second video of the arrest online, in which she commented: "All the other white ppl are wondering why it’s never happened to us when we do the same thing."

@Starbucks The police were called because these men hadn’t ordered anything. They were waiting for a friend to show up, who did as they were taken out in handcuffs for doing nothing. All the other white ppl are wondering why it’s never happened to us when we do the same thing. pic.twitter.com/0U4Pzs55Ci

— Melissa DePino (@missydepino) April 12, 2018

The "same thing," specifically, is waiting for a friend or sitting at Starbucks before ordering a drink. This is obviously common in many Starbucks scenarios, as Starbucks is one of the nation's most popular meeting places. 

As the company states on its website:

Details are still lacking, but it appears a Starbucks employee may have called the police on the two black men who — according to Commissioner Richard Ross — didn't leave the establishment after they were refused access to the bathroom because they weren't paying customers.

In the tweeted statement, Starbucks apologized to the two customers. It's unlikely such a public apology would have occurred if Starbucks wasn't directly responsibly for the arrest.

It's also unlikely that Starbucks would have been forced to publicly apologize for the event had the video of the wrongful arrest not been published to social media. It became an issue they couldn't ignore. 

As of 4:30 p.m. Eastern time on April 14, the Twitter video has accumulated nearly four million views and the social media conversation around it continues.

How revealing that a @Starbucks employee, who works in a place where people spend hours sitting around using the wifi and tapping away on their laptops with or without coffee, gets alarmed enough to call the cops just because black men enter the space and don’t order right away. https://t.co/pdzXYfMc09

— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) April 14, 2018

You'll notice that nowhere in this "apology" was an admission of wrongdoing. Starbucks doesn't think the employees were wrong to call the cops on those men, they're just sorry the men got arrested over it. https://t.co/wcE6s20lwk

— EricaJoy (@EricaJoy) April 14, 2018

This is an example of saying a lot but saying nothing. Who called the cops, why did they call the cops, why were the black men targeted for minding their business. I have been to starbucks all over the country 50% of people there not doing nothing but chilling. Need better answer https://t.co/SdfDHSxK0C

— Robert Littal (@BSO) April 14, 2018

It took Starbucks two days to issue a paragraph.

— Mohamed Salih (@MohamedMOSalih) April 14, 2018

Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson addressed the situation that occurred in Philadelphia later on Saturday with a statement posted in the company's newsroom. It owns what happened more explicitly than the initial statement, notably in this passage.

UPDATED April 15, 2018, 11:12 a.m. ET with Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson's statement.

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U.S. boxer wearing 'border wall' shorts gets pounded by Mexican opponent

Mexican boxer Francisco Vargas crushed the border wall on Thursday night.

His opponent, U.S. boxer Rod Salka, donned shorts  reading "America 1st" that were embellished with a brick wall design, a clear reference to President Trump's desire to construct a formidable border wall between the U.S and Mexico, and have the latter nation pay for it.

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Vargas proceeded to dominate Salka, hitting the American with an uppercut in the fifth round that sent Salka wobbling. The next round, Vargas' blows left Salka with a nasty cut under his left eye. After assessing their battered boxer, Salka's trainers decided to throw in the towel before the seventh round could begin.

Following the fight, Salka's face was covered in bruises and cuts. Vargas incurred some minor swelling, but appeared mostly unblemished.

According to Salka's Wikipedia page, which includes his complete professional boxing history, his nickname now reads "The Racist."

Salka had previously been battered by U.S. boxer  Danny Óscar García in 2014, who was born in Puerto Rico. Garcia knocked him to canvas in the second round. 

Trump's actual wall remains in limbo. The president has requested $18 billion to extend the wall over the next decade. Some of the wall prototypes reach about 30 feet in height. As of yet, Congress has not approved this long-term funding for the wall. 

This new border wall prototype looks weak as hell pic.twitter.com/Rl6QMfzdHs

— DICK HERCULES (@RatCatcherMpls) April 13, 2018

Lmao enjoy getting plastered by a Mexican my guy pic.twitter.com/uQnETLC0vE

— Phil Lo Grey-Co (@BoxrecGrey) April 13, 2018

pic.twitter.com/eYHuzIK11Q

— ☭ amandinha ☭ (@jujudavan) April 13, 2018

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