Wednesday Open Thread | Sheku Kanneh-Mason Week

Posted on May 30, 2018 by rikyrah

Happy HUMP Day, Everyone! Hope you’ve been enjoying Sheku week.

FML – Young Musician Of The Year and his Family
Pictured Sheku Kanneh-Mason
Sheku Kanneh-Mason is the 17 year-old winner of BBC Young Musician of the Year. He has six siblings all of whom play instruments to world-class levels. So the piece will ask ‘is this the most talented family in Britain’. Idea is that this they are a very ordinary family, not rich, kids go to comprehensive school, parents have made big sacrifices to pay for music lessons etc.
Family ‚øø Dad is Stuart Mason, Mum is Kadie Kanneh. Kids are Isata 19, Braimah 18, Sheku 17, Konya 15, Jeneba 13, Aminata 10 and the youngest Mariatu is 5 and plays the cello, but has not been part of the family ensemble so far.
Photo credit: Chris Winter

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76 Responses to Wednesday Open Thread | Sheku Kanneh-Mason Week

  22. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 4:06 pm

    No way Melania wrote this.

    Let her speak in front of live news cameras, otherwise she’s still MIA. #WheresMelania?

    — Cassandra (@CassandraApollo) May 30, 2018

    Reply
  24. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 2:39 pm

    Um……Michael….it’s called attempted destruction of evidence, Boo.

    BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

    Federal prosecutors revealed on Wednesday in the Michael Cohen case that they will present to the court shredded documents that have been reassembled. During a hearing in federal district court on Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Maimin said that prosecutors would provide “the contents of a shredding machine” in coming days, according to New York Daily News court reporter Stephen Brown.

    Former FBI Special Agent Asha Rangappa noted that the FBI has an “amazing” ability to reassemble shredded documents. “This will not end well for the defense,” she wrote on Twitter.

    Reply
  27. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 12:48 pm

    ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES.

    22-18 #Hanger budget passes the @VASenate. Medicaid expansion is included in proposal. House of Delegates have already passed this proposal and @GovernorVA has supported it @CBS6 #VaGA #vapol #MedicaidExpansion pic.twitter.com/MJNGF3DXUu

    — Jake Burns (@JakeBurnsCBS6) May 30, 2018

    Reply
  32. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 10:52 am

    These coons, just like Marc Lamont Hill, must NEVER BE ABLE TO REWRITE WHAT THEY DID IN 2016.

    They must be called out for their treachery. Will make it easier for us to nail the ratphuckers in 2018.

    Inside the Pro-Trump Effort to Keep Black Voters From the Polls
    Breitbart staffer recruited Sanders activist Bruce Carter to get African Americans to support the Republican—or stay home

    Breitbart News landed an election scoop that went viral in August 2016: “Exclusive: ‘Black Men for Bernie’ Founder to End Democrat ‘Political Slavery’ of Minority Voters… by Campaigning for Trump.”

    If the splashy, counterintuitive story, which circulated on such conservative websites as Truthfeed and Infowars, wasn’t exactly fake news, it was carefully orchestrated.

    The story’s writer—an employee of the conservative website run by Steve Bannon before he took over Donald Trump’s campaign—spent weeks courting activist Bruce Carter to join Trump’s cause. He approached Carter under the guise of interviewing him. The writer eventually dropped the pretense altogether, signing Carter up for a 10-week blitz aimed at convincing black voters in key states to support the Republican real estate mogul, or simply sit out the election. Trump’s narrow path to victory tightened further if Hillary Clinton could attract a Barack Obama-level turnout.

    …………………………

    “If you can’t stomach Trump, just don’t vote for the other people and don’t vote at all,” Carter, 47, recalls telling black voters. It’s the message he says the Trump campaign wanted him to deliver. “That’s what they wanted, that’s what they got.”

    The work Carter says he did, and the funds he was given to do it, also raise questions as to whether campaign finance laws were broken.

    The group Carter founded, Trump for Urban Communities, never disclosed its spending to the Federal Election Commission—a possible violation of election law. In hindsight, Carter says, he believed he was working for the campaign so he wouldn’t have been responsible for reporting the spending.

    Reply
  33. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 10:41 am

    Cohen’s not having a good day:

    At Michael Cohen hearing, Judge Wood tells defense lawyers to pick up the pace on privilege review, threatens to turn review over to DOJ “taint team” https://t.co/ibBG1xZv91

    — Alison Frankel (@AlisonFrankel) May 30, 2018

    Reply
  34. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 10:40 am

    I will repeat:

    All Democrats need to have the attitude of either:
    Ted Lieu
    or
    Maxine Waters

    No no no, #ConManDon. No matter what you wish, your lawyers Emmett Flood and Rudy Guiliani cannot be included in the classified briefings, and neither can your friends Kanye West and Roseanne Barr.

    — Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) May 30, 2018

    Reply
  35. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 10:32 am

    China awards Ivanka Trump’s company several new trademarks
    05/29/18 10:08 AM—UPDATED 05/29/18 10:18 AM
    By Steve Benen

    …………………………

    [T]he remarkable timing is raising familiar questions about the Trump family’s businesses and its patriarch’s status as commander in chief. Even as Mr. Trump contends with Beijing on issues like security and trade, his family and the company that bears his name are trying to make money off their brand in China’s flush and potentially promising market.

    The most recent slew of trademarks appear to have been granted along the same timeline as Ms. Trump’s previous requests, experts said. But more broadly, they said, Ms. Trump’s growing portfolio of trademarks in China and the family’s business interests there raises questions about whether Chinese officials are giving the Trump family extra consideration that they otherwise might not get.

    Before the president’s supporters shrug their shoulders, they may want to consider how they’d react if a President Hillary Clinton were engaged in trade talks with China, while at the same time, Chelsea Clinton’s private business were receiving valuable trademarks from officials in Beijing.

    How many hearings do you suppose a Republican-led Congress would hold on the subject?

    An Associated Press report from last year continues to ring true

    Using the prestige of government service to build a brand is not illegal. But criminal conflict of interest law prohibits federal officials, like Trump and her husband, from participating in government matters that could impact their own financial interest or that of their spouse. Some argue that the more her business broadens its scope, the more it threatens to encroach on the ability of two trusted advisers to deliver credible counsel to the president on core issues like trade, intellectual property, and the value of the Chinese currency.

    “Put the business on hold and stop trying to get trademarks while you’re in government,” advised Richard Painter, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer under George W. Bush. […]

    “Ivanka has so many China ties and conflicts, yet she and Jared appear deeply involved in China contacts and policy. I would never have allowed it,” said Norman Eisen, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer under Barack Obama. “For their own sake, and the country’s, Ivanka and Jared should consider stepping away from China matters.”

    Reply
  36. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 10:28 am

    Why can’t Trump tell the truth about military pay?
    05/29/18 09:22 AM—UPDATED 05/29/18 09:34 AM
    By Steve Benen
    ………………………………………………

    “We just got you a big pay raise. First time in 10 years. We got you a big pay increase. First time in over 10 years.

    “I fought for you. That was the hardest one to get, but you never had a chance of losing. I represented you well. I represented you well.”

    If this sounds familiar, it’s because this wasn’t the first time Trump made this claim. A few weeks ago, the president delivered remarks at a Celebration of Military Mothers and Spouses Event in the White House at which he twice boasted with pride about approving the first military raises “in 10 years.”

    All of which leads to an awkward question: what kind of president lies to servicemen and women about their pay?

    First, the basic elements of reality are in dispute. As we discussed the last time Trump made this claim, there were raises for our military in 2017. And 2016. And 2015 and 2014. And every other year of the Obama era. And every year of the Bush era. And every year of the Clinton era.

    In fact, the military has gotten a raise practically every year since the end of World War II. It’s the sort of detail a competent Commander in Chief should probably be aware of.

    Second, while Trump said on Friday that he secured “a big pay increase” for servicemen and women, but in inflation-adjusted terms, the raise was actually quite modest.

    Third, Trump’s description of the politics – he said the raise was “the hardest one to get” – is a fairy tale. There was no organized opposition pushing back against pay increases for the military.

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      May 30, 2018 at 11:46 am
      Reply
      • Liza says:
        May 30, 2018 at 1:21 pm

        LMAO. Yeah, that “ambien tweeting” is about as lame as it gets especially when you consider this is part of Roseanne’s (long) history. The tweet yesterday about Valerie Jarrett was really just the last straw.

        Reply
  38. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 10:12 am

    Trump falsely blames Democrats for his own immigration agenda
    05/29/18 08:00 AM—UPDATED 05/29/18 10:01 AM
    By Steve Benen

    The stories are gut-wrenching. Hundreds of immigrants, many of them legally seeking asylum, are reaching the U.S. border, only to have American officials take their young children away. In some cases, literal toddlers have been forcibly removed from the arms of their parents.
    The outrage and public condemnations of these practices has left Donald Trump with a choice. He can defend his administration’s policy; he can pretend the policy doesn’t exist; or he can try to blame others for what he’s done. In this case, the Republican president has decided to look behind Door #3, as evidenced by this tweet over the holiday weekend.

    “Put pressure on the Democrats to end the horrible law that separates children from there [sic] parents once they cross the Border into the U.S. Catch and Release, Lottery and Chain must also go with it and we MUST continue building the WALL! DEMOCRATS ARE PROTECTING MS-13 THUGS.”

    Much of this is gibberish, but the part of this that matters was the president’s insistence that Democrats approved a “horrible law” that requires him to separate children from parents.

    Trump is clearly lying. There is no such law. As NBC News reported the other day, there’s a 2008 law “requiring children traveling alone at the border to be released in the ‘least restrictive setting’ while their cases are processed,” but it doesn’t require Trump to separate children from their parents, and it was a bipartisan measure signed by George W. Bush.

    Reply
  39. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 9:58 am

    THE LAST WORD WITH LAWRENCE O’DONNELL 5/29/18
    Report: Sessions key witness in Mueller obstruction probe
    The New York Times reports that Trump berated Jeff Sessions and tried to get him to reverse Sessions’ recusal on the Russia probe. Mueller is now investigating the incident. And Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani says they are preparing for the possibility of impeachment. Lawrence discusses with John Heilemann, Harry Litman, and Jason Johnson.

    Reply
  42. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 9:37 am

    The number of migrant children in custody has surged in the wake of the new Trump/Sessions border crackdown.

    HHS is now holding more than 10,000 of them:https://t.co/dXqDYEnAeB

    The whole point of the policy is that it’s supposed to be awful, so it functions as a deterrent: https://t.co/Ter9LSOHhr

    — Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) May 30, 2018

    Reply
  44. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 9:29 am

    Yes, she should sue those muthaphuckas

    A Texas nurse who had $41,000 seized by US customs last autumn as she tried to travel to Nigeria to start a medical clinic has the money back but plans to continue her lawsuit against the government.

    After her case attracted widespread media attention, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) mailed Anthonia Nwaorie a cheque that she received last Friday.

    “I’m glad to have my money back, but this isn’t over,” she said in a statement. “I want to make sure nobody else has to go through what I’ve been through.”

    Reply
  46. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 9:22 am

    From BJ:

    @Baud: Perhaps not, but I am coming to believe this is a coordinated campaign, which is much more serious and insidious that mere reflection of various party’s tendencies. Why suddenly the spate of op-ed pieces on what the Democrats R DOING RONG? From so many sources and directions? When the corruption and death-dealing evil of the T maladministration and GOP are so freaking blatant! No investigation required, really, it’s front and center. It’s misdirection. It’s gaslighting. It’s complicit and I am coming to believe it’s intentional. Much more serious than following general tendencies within the population.

    Reply
  47. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 9:17 am

    House Republican candidates are blanketing the airwaves with TV ads embracing a hard line on immigration — a dramatic shift from the midterm elections in 2014, according to a USA TODAY analysis of data from Kantar Media.

    Reply
  48. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 9:14 am

    Russian Facebook ads inflamed Hispanic tensions over immigration after Trump election
    Jessica Guynn,
    USA TODAY Published 5:00 a.m. ET May 25, 2018 |

    SAN FRANCISCO — In the months after Donald Trump rode to victory while calling for mass deportations, Russian operatives bought dozens of Facebook ads targeted at the Hispanic community seeking to further inflame tensions already roiled by the campaign’s racially charged rhetoric, according to USA TODAY analysis.

    Thousands of ads released by House Democrats this month showed Russian operatives focused on race during the presidential election in what experts say was a clear effort to amplify existing divisions.

    They didn’t stop there. In the first half of 2017, as Trump aggressively moved to restrict immigration, fake Facebook pages set up by a Russian propaganda operation started pushing ads on both sides of the immigration debate.

    Reply
  49. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 9:09 am

    “In October…Trump decided to favorably compare the official death toll in Puerto Rico, which was then 16, to the death toll after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, which was 1,833”

    Harvard study estimates death toll at 4,645

    PR govts death toll: 64https://t.co/G3t1k6SfhC

    — David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) May 29, 2018

    Ps: I’m flying to Puerto Rico to interview 1 of the lead authors of the study.
    We’re waiting to hear whether Gov. @ricardorossello is available for an interview.
    We’ll also interview San Juan Mayor @CarmenYulinCruz who’s been criticized for questioning the governments death toll. https://t.co/EHWGWyYVu4

    — David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) May 29, 2018

    Reply
  50. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 9:06 am

    A key line from that Puerto Rico study: Their estimate of 4,645 dead after Hurricane Maria “is likely to be conservative.” In terms of loss of human life, that’s a tragedy deadlier than 9/11, and it happened right under our noses. https://t.co/sQmL8H2ivZ

    — Matt Pearce ?? (@mattdpearce) May 29, 2018

    Reply
  51. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 9:06 am

    Harvard study: nearly 5,000 citizens died in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria; Trump made it a secondary concern, tweeted insults at the San Juan mayor while she tried to save lives & awarded shady contracts to unqualified contractors, delaying recovery. https://t.co/yqRpjiyCbq

    — Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) May 29, 2018

    Reply
  52. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 9:05 am

    As the true death toll from Hurricane Maria comes into focus, a reminder that the USG responded far slower, with far fewer resources and little of the coordinated international response…than we committed for Haiti in 2010.

    Trump could have done far much more. He chose not to.

    — zeddy (@Zeddary) May 29, 2018

    Reply
  53. SouthernGirl2 says:
    May 30, 2018 at 9:03 am

    Enjoy your coffee, Maria. Sip slowly………….

    https://twitter.com/MariaChappelleN/status/1001805016175403008

    Reply
  55. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 8:53 am

    Profile of Avenatti:

    “He’s very bright, very thorough, very aggressive,” said William Cornwell, a Florida-based attorney who went up against him. “I didn’t agree with all his tactics. There’s a fine line between what’s generally considered appropriate. He’s going to push the envelope. Would I hire him? Depending on the case, absolutely.”

    Cornwell had another observation, one to chill the White House. “He’s not bluffing, generally, when he makes a threat or a promise.”

    Reply
  56. rikyrah says:
    May 30, 2018 at 8:37 am

    Good Morning Everyone 😄 😄😄

    Reply
  57. SouthernGirl2 says:
    May 30, 2018 at 8:20 am

    Hurry Mueller. Please make this nightmare upon us end.

    https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1001810249060405248

    Reply
  58. SouthernGirl2 says:
    May 30, 2018 at 8:13 am

    LOOK AT THIS………….

    My God! This is so disturbing. He’s talking about the entire group of immigrants but pretending he’s talking about MS-13 gang members. He’s going to get someone hurt or possibly killed.

    https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/1001811544718618626

    Reply
  60. SouthernGirl2 says:
    May 30, 2018 at 8:00 am

    It’s Haley’s birthday! She’s 13! Whoa!

    Reply
  61. SouthernGirl2 says:
    May 30, 2018 at 7:58 am

    Good morning, everyone!

    Reply

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