Saturday Open Thread | Friends of Distinction

Posted on July 25, 2015 by SouthernGirl2

About SouthernGirl2

A Native Texan who adores baby kittens, loves horses, rodeos, pomegranates, & collect Eagles. Enjoys politics, games shows, & dancing to all types of music. Loves discussing and learning about different cultures. A Phi Theta Kappa lifetime member with a passion for Social & Civil Justice.
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38 Responses to Saturday Open Thread | Friends of Distinction

  1. yahtzeebutterfly says:
    July 27, 2015 at 6:49 pm

    I had posted this about the DA’s press conference on the Monday thread. Here it is:

    The DA passed out the toxicology report and left it up to the reporters to find their own experts to interpret it.

    He also said the feds are working on “the cellphone” and that he has not received a report yet.

    (He also referred to a rumor going around, and he stated he is not married to the medical examiner.)

    Reply
  6. rikyrah says:
    July 25, 2015 at 6:00 pm

    rolling my eyes.
    get-da-phuq-outta-here.

    …………………………………………

    https://twitter.com/FiveRights/status/624971511531708416

    Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      July 25, 2015 at 9:28 pm

      @FiveRights

      THIS IS BULLISHT to the highest order. Any successful black person has had to work over, around, under and through white privilege to be successful.

      Reply
  16. rikyrah says:
    July 25, 2015 at 3:03 pm

    Grandma is not playing with her clothes on this trip

    https://twitter.com/USEmbassyKenya/status/624842337529786368

    Reply
  17. rikyrah says:
    July 25, 2015 at 2:59 pm

    this was an interesting article. of course, the right-wing doesn’t think America could learn anything from other countries

    …………………..

    Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture

    by Chantal Panozzo on July 21, 2015

    I was halfway through a job interview when I realized I was wrinkling my nose. I couldn’t help myself. A full-time freelance position with a long commute, no benefits, and a quarter of my old pay was the best they could do? I couldn’t hide how I felt about that, and the 25-year-old conducting the interview noticed.

    “Are you interested in permanent jobs instead?” she asked.

    “I could consider a permanent job if it was part-time,” I said.

    She looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language and went right back to her pitch: long commute, full-time, no benefits. No way, I thought. Who would want to do that? And then it hit me: Either I had become a completely privileged jerk or my own country was not as amazing as I had once thought it to be. This wasn’t an unusually bad offer: It was just American Reality.

    Now that I’m back, I’m angry that my own country isn’t providing more for its people

    Before I moved to Switzerland for almost a decade, American Reality was all I knew. I was living in a two-bedroom apartment making $30,000 a year in a job where I worked almost seven days a week with no overtime pay and received 10 days of paid time off a year.

    In other words, for the hours worked, I was making minimum wage, if that. The glamour of this job was supposed to make up for the hours, but in reality, working every weekend is a ticket to burnout — not success.

    My husband and I were so accustomed to American Reality that when he was offered an opportunity to work in Switzerland, we both thought about travel and adventure — not about improving our quality of life. It hadn’t occurred to us that we could improve our quality of life simply by moving.

    But without realizing it, or even asking for it, a better life quality came to us. And this is why, now that I’m back, I’m angry that my own country isn’t providing more for its people. I will never regret living abroad. It taught me to understand another culture. And it taught me to see my own. But it also taught me something else — to lose touch with the American version of reality.

    Here are seven ways living abroad made it hard to return to American life.

    http://www.vox.com/2015/7/21/8974435/switzerland-work-life-balance

    Reply
  19. rikyrah says:
    July 25, 2015 at 2:51 pm

    Behind the Lens: Photographing the President in 50 Countries
    by Pete Souza

    Today, President Obama visits Kenya — the 50th country he has visited during his Administration. It’s also my 50th country traveling with the President.

    To mark the occasion, as I did when the President visited his 50th state, I chose one photograph from each country that we’ve visited.

    Traveling abroad with the President is very different.

    Often times, I am at the mercy of the host country for access. Some countries are more accommodating to me than others. I am lucky to have counterpart official photographers in many countries who are extremely helpful to me in this regard. I of course try to return the help to them when they visit the White House with their head of state.

    We’re also rarely in any one country for more than a couple of days, which gives us only a partial glimpse of each place. And because of security, the sites we are able to visit are often limited too.

    All that said, we’ve had the incredible opportunity to visit the Pyramids in Egypt, Stonehenge in the United Kingdom, the Great Wall in China, Petra in Jordan, and the Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar (Burma). (So I really shouldn’t complain too much.)

    I hope you enjoy this gallery. And stay tuned — we’ll be adding a photograph from Kenya and additionally, Ethiopia, following his visit next week.

    https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/07/24/behind-lens-photographing-president-50-countries

    Reply
  25. rikyrah says:
    July 25, 2015 at 2:44 pm

    Back from the movies.

    Went to see Pixel.

    Peanut loved it. And, I liked it. wasn’t a bad way to spend some time in an air-conditioned place. It was funny to me.

    Reply
  27. rikyrah says:
    July 25, 2015 at 2:36 pm

    What Kenya’s Barack Obamas are saying about President Obama
    By Ishaan Tharoor July 25 at 3:30 AM

    Last month, ahead of President Obama’s visit to Kenya, my colleague Kevin Sieff journeyed to his ancestral village in western Kenya where his father was born.

    There Sieff encountered Barack Obama Okoth, one of many Barack Obamas named after the U.S. president in the wake of his political success. Here’s what the young Barack Obama told the Post about the man in the White House:

    “He lives in America, and he’s a king,” the 7-year-old said after a long pause. It’s easy to understand why the young Barack would think so. He attends Senator Barack Obama Primary School, a stop on the Barack Obama Safari Tour, near a hotel that offers a Barack Obama Suite.

    The young lad, who says he wants to be a doctor, is far from the only kid in town named Barack Obama.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/07/25/what-kenyas-barack-obamas-are-saying-about-president-obama/

    Reply
  35. rikyrah says:
    July 25, 2015 at 9:02 am

    Good Morning, Everyone :)

    Off to swim and run errands.
    Plus, I have a date with Peanut this afternoon – she wants to go see Pixels..LOL

    See you later.

    Reply
  36. Ametia says:
    July 25, 2015 at 7:08 am

    Good Morning, Everyone.

    Reply

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