Florida man arrested and charged with bomb plotting at 9-11 memorial in Kansas City

Posted on September 12, 2015 by theblacklink

Joshua Ryne Goldberg of Orange Park was arrested earlier this week on Thursday and was charged with distribution of information relating to explosive, destructive devices and weapons of mass destruction.

Goldberg offered online advice about how to make a pipe bomb. He allegedly told the person he was writing to how to make the bomb, how to make the bomb- by adding shrapnel dipped in rat poison, and he even told the person online where to have the bomb go off- at a 9/11 commemorative event in Kansas City, Missouri. But, what Goldberg did not know when he was telling all of this information to this online person, is that the person receiving all of the information was actually an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Officials tied Goldberg to a fake online identity known as “”Australi Witness” and “AusWitness” who claimed to be a Muslim living in Perth, Australia promoting jihad around the world.

The FBI became aware of Goldberg before May when he used the Twitter handle Australi Witness to encourage attacks with weapons, bombs, and knives at the Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest in Garland,  Texas. Two men, Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi – both of Phoenix, tried to attack the Art Exhibit in Garland later in May, but were unsuccessful after being shot to death by police before getting into the building.

Goldberg then posted in June that he inspired the attacks in Garland, Texas, and also said he encouraged and helped plan out attacks by two different people- one in LA, and the other in Melbourne, Australia- to carry out jihad in their respective cities and shot up local synagogues when the maximum amount of Jews were praying.

The FBI then contacted Goldberg in July through an informant and by Mid August, Goldberg was helping the informant plan an attack at the Kansas City Stair Climb, a 9/11 commemoration event held in Kansas City.

Australi Witness’ IP address was finally tied to Goldbergs home in Orange Park, Florida. FBI officials went to his house with a search warrant on September 9th and Goldberg denied he had any role in a terror plot. But then Goldberg changed his story and said he called for an attack in Garland, Texas, but he intended for the individual he was talking to online to either kill himself while making the bomb, or Goldberg was going to alert the police prior to the detonation of the bomb so he would receive the credit and be a hero.

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New Species of Human: Homo Naledi.

Posted on September 12, 2015 by williamharrelson

Scientists in South Africa, discovered earlier this week, numerous amounts of fossils. Some were fossilized birds and rats, but the real discovery, was of a previously unknown hominin species called   Homo naledi.  The discovery was made in the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. A professor at the University of Witwatersrand, Lee Berger and his team, made the discovery. Paying homage to where the discovery was made, he chose to call the specimen of fossilized bones Homo naledi, ‘naledi’ means ‘star’ in Sotho (also called Sesotho), which is one of the languages spoken in South Africa. What made this find so intriguing, was where they were actually found. Before this discovery, modern humans were the first known species to bury their dead. But after being found deep in a cave, with an underground path, Berger and his team believe this was a burial place for Homo naledi, who had to even use fire to get through the cave. In total at least 15 individuals were unearthed, and include most of the bones in the skeleton. Based on this wide range of specimens from a single site, Berger describes Homo naledi as being similar in size and weight to a small modern human, with human-like hands and feet. Furthermore, while the skull had several unique features, it had a small brain case that was most similar in size to other early hominin species that lived between four million and two million years ago. Homo naledi’s ribcage, shoulders and pelvis also more closely resembled those of earlier hominin species than those of modern humans. More information still needs to be uncovered and there is sure to be challenges from the scientific community, but the fact that this was a huge discovery, is undeniable.

*All this information was found in the eLife research article.*

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Russia threatens Sweden over NATO membership, Sweden demands explanation

Posted on September 12, 2015 by curry chandler

“Swedish membership in NATO would have politico-military and foreign policy consequences, and would bring retaliatory measures from Russia.”

These are the words of Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. In addition, Russian ambassador Viktor Tatarsintov has promised “military consequences” to Sweden if they pursue NATO membership, according to a Swedish newspaper on Thursday. However, in the past, Tatarsinkov has promised that Russia has no interest in directing military force at Sweden. What would cause Russia to begin deteriorating Swedish foreign relations?

Sweden is not a member of NATO, but has seriously considered the possibility of becoming one due to recent security concerns in Eastern Europe, namely Russian aggression in Crimea. The Nordic state regularly consorts with NATO states and even participates in collaborative military exercises. The name is true for its neighbor, Finland, who also happens to share an extensive border with Russia.

However, Russia’s innocent tone is subject to suspect. There have been reports of Russian aircraft violating Swedish airspace and of Russian submarines entering Swedish and Latvian sovereign waters. Despite Russia’s accusations that the Swedish media is aligned against them, the facts are clear: the Russian military is encroaching on the territories of several states.

“It is not acceptable to make threats,” says Swedish foreign minister Margot Wallstrom, “We are an independent country which makes independent decisions on our security policy.” Wallstrom has recently demanded that Russia explain the comments of its spokespeople.

The Swedish citizenry are still not intent on joining the military bloc, with 37% in agreement, and 36% in disagreement, according to Reuters. However, upcoming events may prove to be vital in public opinion and their decision. The Nordic states of Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland have expressed their unity on the matter of opposing Russian aggression. If Russia takes further polarizing liberties in international politics, they may lose non-aligned states to NATO and continue to cement their opposition.

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The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Finally Premieres

Posted on September 12, 2015 by sdelgado17

The much anticipated Late Show with Stephen Colbert finally made it’s premiere debut Tuesday September eighth on CBS. People weren’t sure what exactly to expect, Colbert usually catered to a certain audience when he hosted ‘The Colbert Report’ on Comedy Central and he more played a sarcastic comedic character than he did be himself. While the old host of the late show had more of an older audience and played himself, laughing at guests and himself.

Before the show premiered it was clear that Colbert was trying to advertise to a younger audience. He created a lot of short videos on a popular phone application called snap chat and he also did a lot of online videos and things through social media. The show was hoping to attain a younger audience while also keeping the older audience they had with David Letterman.

Colbert was set to have George Clooney and Republican presidential nominee, Jeb Bush, as guests. Jeb Bush decided this was prime opportunity to raise money for his campaign by raffling off a ticket to the taping. This didn’t make Colbert too happy, he made a video criticizing Jeb Bush (sarcastically of course) saying he would auction off a ticket too.

On the night of the premiere everything was all, but well. Colbert wasn’t even sure if the show would air. There were a lot of technical issues and they had to edit two hours of tape down to one in order for it to fit in the time slot of the show.

All turned out well though and the era of ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ has begun.

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Colorado to Vote on Issuing Tax Refunds Due to Marijuana Tax Revenue

Posted on September 12, 2015 by bri yost

Colorado has raised $152 million in sales taxes and licensing fees since becoming the second state to legalize the recreational use of Marijuana in 2012 according to official state data. The money collected puts the State in the unusual position of having to face the legality of making too much revenue. Colorado’s “Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights” states that if revenue exceeds projections then the state is required to issue refunds to taxpayers.

Not only has revenue exceeded projections, almost $24 million has already been allocated towards Colorado school and research programs in May, including providing grants to public school districts and charter schools. This almost doubles the $13.3 million raised for schools in 2014  A vote will be held in November to decide whether or not the government should spend the money on other favorable perpetuation or return it to the citizens.

State Senator Pat Steadman said he is hopeful voters will give school construction a bump through Proposition BB which would further fund school construction, law enforcement, substance abuse prevention and youth services. Nearly $60 million will be refunded back to  marijuana businesses and pot-shop customers via a sales tax rate reduction on recreational cannabis if the proposition in rejected.

While Marijuana has brought in millions of dollars, it is not without high regulatory costs.

“Our philosophy has been that marijuana pays its own way,” said Colorado’s deputy director Skyler McKinley. “Every dime we bring in from legalization is dedicated to the cost of legalization. That’s regulatory framework first, then public education campaigns about safe and responsible use and then prevention and treatment programs.”

 

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Grand Slam Quest Over for Serena Williams

Posted on September 11, 2015 by jehewkin

Today the sun has set on a quest for a Grand Slam title. Serena Williams, the world number one, and perennial favorite was upset in dramatic fashion. The giant slayer, if you will, was Italian Roberta Vinci who brought the history-making quest to a crashing halt Friday.
Williams had several bad breaks that she could not overcome; perhaps due to the expectation of tennis fans. Not to take away from Vinci, who no one gave a chance to win, played the match of her life shaking up the tennis world. This was Serena Williams’s third loss in 56 matches this season, and she had not been beaten in 33 straight Grand Slam Matches.

This huge defeat makes you wonder if we have witnessed the end of the great Serena Williams who has dominated tennis for so long. Only time will tell.
One thing is for sure this heartbreaking loss will be tough to swallow,not because of who she lost to, but because of the history-making opportunity that was lost. That opportunity being a chance to win all four majors. Since 1988 no one has accomplished that feat in the same year; that streak will continue.
This defeat will go down in history as one of the greatest upsets ever. Right next to David beating Goliath, Buster Douglas beating Mike Tyson, And Y.E.Yang upsetting Tiger woods at the PGA championship. Roberta Vinci has indeed  joined the ranks of other giant slayers by beating Serena Williams, who had beat her on four previous occasions.

This Loss For Serena Williams serves as a constant reminder to us all, ‘every dog has his day’.

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Dictator Nicolas Maduro v. the citizens of Venezuela – What’s really going on in the country?

Posted on September 11, 2015 by jesusalberto2120

Being myself from Venezuela, I love my home country, I love the culture that comes with it, how friendly people are and of course my whole family is there so I do miss being home. But now that I live here, I can truly appreciate my parent’s decision of moving to the U.S.A when was younger. I am certain it was hard leaving everything behind at that time, but I am so grateful we did because looking now at my home country, I am speechless of how corrupted it it, there is no democracy there.

The president at the moment is Nicolas Maduro, a dictator, even though he doesn’t refer himself to that, we can all agree he is. He is the only person making decisions, as it should but he doesn’t take into consideration what the country really needs, which for example should be: the basic human necessities like clean water, food, enough doctors to take care of patients, paved road, clean streets, no violence, just a safer country in general. But no, instead he makes all his decisions seem as if all the things he is doing are for the lower class/poverty, by giving the latest computer, cell phones or something similar but when in fact all they need is a home, a school for their kids, reliable source of income.

Let’s not forget that Venezuela main income is from the petroleum, which it gives to other countries, but president Maduro is basically giving everyone free or very low prices for it, which makes the country’s economy go ballistic and it changes every single day without a doubt.

Nothing in Venezuela is going well, the country is definitely heading down hill and it is very frustrating for me to watch ir from the outside wishing there was something I could do.

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The US Government Pressured to House Syrian Refugees

Posted on September 10, 2015 by tvguy321

The growing crisis in Syria has put an increasing pressure on all developed countries to take action and help. More, specifically, photos of drowning refugees has put a tremendous push on the Obama administration, which has caused him to order at least 10,000 refugees be admitted into the United States by the end of the 2016 year.

According to an article by AFP, a  recent petition signed by over 62,000 Americans called for the Obama administration to take in at least 65,000 Syrians by 2016, which may seem like a lot, but is not even half of the totaling four million refugees.

Each year the United States accepts 70,000 refugees from different countries experiencing struggles all over the world, a process that takes deliberate attention in order to “weed out extremists.” The whole process can take from 18 to 24 months for an accepted refugee to arrive to the US, from the time they are first submitted for approval. The US government wants to be very careful about who they are bringing in to the country. Each family must undergo a security check and meet with the Department of Homeland Security and have their names go through a government database.

Although, the Obama administration is doing what they find is best fitting, some, find their efforts insufficient. Michael McCaul, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee in the House of Representatives, believes Obama has acted in the spur of the moment and is going against federal law enforcement warnings that say, the US is not well enough prepared to house refugees of a heavy conflict area.

 

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Donald Trump’s Support Hits New Highs in National Poll

Posted on September 10, 2015 by jessicamonteagudo

Billionaire mogul and extraordinary entrepreneur Donald Trump has recently seen his support as the Republican nominee for president rise to 32 percent according to a new poll done by CNN.  Since August Donald Trump’s support has risen massively. His biggest gains have been with women voters and college educated voters, which have seen gains of 13 and 12 percent respectively. Trump continues to dominate the polls and leads the next closest candidate, Ben Carson, by 13 percent.

Neither Ben Carson or Donald Trump have been elected to a government office, but their inexperience in politics appears to be of little concern to voters. Trump’s strong understanding of business, the economy and jobs is driving his support and now 51 percent of Republicans believe Trump will eventually receive the Republican nomination to run for president.

Trump made waves when he first declared his presidential run and subsequently made questionable comments about immigration, which he has since retracted and said were skewed by the media. Still Trump refuses to tone down his rhetoric no matter how intense the media scrutiny becomes as his blunt, strong opinions seem to be amassing support. Recently Trump has declared his opponents “puppets” after they attended a fund-raiser hosted by the Koch bothers.  Trump claims his massive wealth will allow him to serve the American people and only the American people without the influence of outside organizations and donors.

As the race for the Republican nomination intensifies over the next few months time will only tell if Trump can hold on to such strong support. February kicks off primary voting in Iowa and runs through June 14th tentatively. Donald Trump is expected to face off with Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton if current polls hold true to the future.

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All day McDonald’s breakfast was answered but limits certain breakfast items. Why provide it at all?

Posted on September 10, 2015 by ivan9080

https://www.yahoo.com/food/all-day-mcdonalds-breakfast-not-as-great-as-you-128773400936.html

When I was kid, breakfast at McDonald’s was the highlight of my day. Waking up in the morning getting ready to eat the delicious McMuffin and hashbrown was delightful. My family used to call it “McSunday” because every Sunday morning we would eat McDonald’s breakfast. My siblings and I used to joke about how we wanted Mcdonald’s breakfast for dinner.  From starting with kids menu to upgrading to full items was sorta an accomplish when i was young. Although, I lost the appeal of McDonald’s due to the ingredients and menu items that I grew up with, the idea of being able to receive breakfast all day sounds like alternate choice, especially doing school hours.

After McDonald’s announce they’ll provide breakfast all day every day, felt like a goal accomplished. But like most things in life, if it sounds perfect, most likely it isn’t; and McDonald’s isn’t an exception. Much of the anticipation of breakfast for dinner, they announced breakfast is limited to certain breakfast items and cities due to demographics/restrictions.

According to Yahoo.com, McDonald’s restaurants will serve either McMuffin or biscuit sandwiches — not both — depending on local preferences, according to the company. And McMuffin sandwiches will serve only three kinds: egg, sausage with egg, and sausage.

Understandably,  the limited choices is due to grill restrictions, but it’s like providing hot dogs but without the buns, peanut butter without jelly (At least certain days). In these modern days of people expressing themselves of choosing-not choosing everything is a problem for McDonalds and their brand that can result in a negative experience.

So, lets consumer choose between all of the items or nothing at all. Don’t limit my choices.

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