Wednesday Open Thread

Posted on July 11, 2018 by rikyrah

Happy HUMP Day, Everyone!

22-Year-Old Ginai Seabron Surprised To Learn She’s The First Black Woman To Graduate From Virginia Tech’s Nanoscience Program  “Know that you aren’t the only one struggling. Keep pushing.”

Ginai Seabron has made history as the first black female nanoscientist in the state of Virginia. The 22-year-old was surprised to find out she is the first black woman to graduate with her bachelor’s from Virginia Tech’s nanoscience program, although she did notice she was the only black student most of the time, said NBC12.

“We talked to the department head, and he looked it up and confirmed it,” Seabron told the outlet.  Seabron shared her incredible feat on Twitter and did not expect her tweet to go viral. It’s received over 70K likes and 14K retweets.

Technology Overview

What is nanoscience?

The word itself is a combination of nano, from the Greek “nanos” (or Latin “nanus”), meaning “dwarf”, and the word “science.” Nano refers to 10-9 power, or one billionth. In these terms it refers to one billionth of a meter, or a nanometer (nm), which is on the scale of atomic diameters. For comparison, a human hair is about 100,000 nanometers thick! Nanoscience is the study of atoms, molecules, and objects whose size is on the nanometer scale (1 – 100 nm).

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78 Responses to Wednesday Open Thread

  1. Liza says:
    July 11, 2018 at 11:30 pm

    There are no words to describe Mitch McConnell’s incomparable evil and corruption. A truly despicable and soulless hater of democratic ideals and mankind.
    https://twitter.com/ValerieJarrett/status/1016670879227490305

    Reply
  11. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 3:01 pm

    Trump Proposes Turning Europe Into Armed Camp
    By Josh Marshall | July 11, 2018 3:34 pm

    The Washington Post has just confirmed that in his quest to sow chaos and generally blow up NATO President Trump is now demanding that NATO raise its member state defense spending from a current goal of 2% (by 2024) of GDP to 4%. This is of course blathering nonsense. But I thought I’d try to put some numbers to this in any case.

    By my admittedly extremely crude calculation this means adding roughly $625 billion of new defense spending to the aggregate military budget of all NATO member states. To put that in some perspective, the big run up in the military budget passed in President Trump’s first budget pushes Pentagon spending to $700 billion. So President Trump wants additional spending roughly on part with the entire US military budget, or at least what it was until last year. I suspect there’s no military planner in the US or Europe who would have any idea what to do with all that money.

    How do I get these numbers? Again, very crude calculation. Not exaggerating. Very back of the envelope. But it gets us in the ballpark.

    ……………………

    Again, these numbers are total nonsense and intended as nonsense. It’s not a real proposal. It’s just the US President’s effort to toss another smoke bomb into the summit.

    Reply
  12. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 2:24 pm

    Judge orders Paul Manafort transferred to Alexandria city jail, where it appears he’ll lose the V.I.P. treatment he’s enjoyed in rural Virginia jail. https://t.co/hyQo3pNpH8 pic.twitter.com/B79yQOyspY— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) July 11, 2018

    Reply
  13. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 1:46 pm

    How 20-Year-Old Kylie Jenner Built A $900 Million Fortune In Less Than 3 Years

    Natalie Robehmed Forbes Staff
    Jul 11, 2018, 06:52am

    ………………………

    What her half-sister Kim Kardashian West did for booty, Jenner has done for full lips. Like Kardashian West, she has leveraged her assets to gain both fame and money. But while her sister is best-known for the former, Jenner has proved adept at the latter. In historic fashion.

    Just 20 when this story publishes (she’ll turn 21 in August) and an extremely young mother (she had baby daughter Stormi in February), Jenner runs one of the hottest makeup companies ever. Kylie Cosmetics launched two years ago with a $29 “lip kit” consisting of a matching set of lipstick and lip liner, and has sold more than $630 million worth of makeup since, including an estimated $330 million in 2017. Even using a conservative multiple, and applying our standard 20% discount, Forbes values her company, which has since added other cosmetics like eye shadow and concealer, at nearly $800 million. Jenner owns 100% of it.

    Add to that the millions she’s earned from TV programs and endorsing products like Puma shoes and PacSun clothing, and $60 million in estimated after-tax dividends she’s taken from her company, and she’s conservatively worth $900 million, which along with her age makes her the youngest person on the fourth annual ranking of America’s Richest Self-Made Women. (We estimate that 37-year-old Kardashian West, for comparison, is worth $350 million.) But she’s not just making history as a woman. Another year of growth will make her the youngest self-made billionaire ever, male or female, trumping Mark Zuckerberg, who became a billionaire at age 23. (Snapchat’s Evan Spiegel also became a billionaire in his early 20s, though it’s less clear when he passed that threshold.)

    Ultimately their fortunes all derive from the same place. “Social media is an amazing platform,” Jenner says. “I have such easy access to my fans and my customers.”

    That and a large dose of tastemaking are pretty much her entire business, an invention of the Instagram age. Hewlett and Packard immortalized the garage–Jenner has her (or her mom’s) kitchen table. Her near-billion-dollar empire consists of just seven full-time and five part-time employees. Manufacturing and packaging? Outsourced to Seed Beauty, a private-label producer in nearby Oxnard, California. Sales and fulfillment? Outsourced to the online outlet Shopify. Finance and PR? Her shrewd mother, Kris, handles the actual business stuff, in exchange for the 10% management cut she takes from all her children. As ultralight startups go, Jenner’s operation is essentially air. And because of those minuscule overhead and marketing costs, the profits are outsize and go right into Jenner’s pocket.

    Reply
  16. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 12:14 pm

    h/t-TPV

    After Miscarriages, Couple Starts Throwing Massive Birthday Parties for Homeless Kids Instead
    By Good News Network – Jul 5, 2018

    Children from homeless families are already deprived of so many things that privileged families take for granted – like having birthday parties.

    But one Los Angeles-based charity is ensuring that even homeless kids can enjoy the birthday celebrations that they deserve.

    Worthy of Love is a nonprofit that throws massive rooftop birthday parties for kids living on Skid Row.

    It was started by Mary Davis and her husband Ari Kadin as a means of emotionally recovering from two miscarriages.

    “So many children in Skid Row needed to feel important and loved,” Davis told CBS News. “We didn’t realize how much joy they were going to bring us, and that was so healing for me.”

    When they first started throwing parties six years ago, there were maybe only fifteen people in attendance – now there are roughly 200 guests per celebration.

    Though Davis and Kadin finally managed to have a child of their own, they say that they don’t plan on stopping their mission of love any time soon.

    Reply
  17. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 11:09 am

    LMAO

    (CNN) Former US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin lashed out at the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, claiming he tricked her into an interview for his upcoming TV show.

    Palin said she was lured in under the auspices of doing an interview for what she thought was a legitimate historical documentary for a US TV network, Showtime. She sat for a long interview with someone she “presumes” to have been Cohen — disguised as a disabled U.S. military veteran.
    “I join a long list of American public personalities who have fallen victim to the evil, exploitive, sick ‘humor’ of the British ‘comedian’ Sacha Baron Cohen,” Palin wrote in a Facebook post.

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      July 11, 2018 at 11:20 am

      ALWAYS count on this idiot to rear her ugly head and continually validate her total lack of awareness and STUPIDITY.

      Reply
      • Liza says:
        July 11, 2018 at 1:08 pm

        I’m surprised she hasn’t been given a BIG JOB in the Trump-Putin Administration as no one is too stupid or too incompetent.

        Reply
  18. Ametia says:
    July 11, 2018 at 10:46 am

    Congressman Tears Into President Donald Trump’s Border Policy | Morning Joe | MSNBC

    Reply
  22. Ametia says:
    July 11, 2018 at 10:25 am

    WAY-MINUTE, according to that orange POS 45, Canada, UK, NATO in general, are our enemies and North Korea and Russia are nice folks?

    OK THEN….

    Reply
  23. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 10:25 am

    Renter believes he was racially profiled after being confronted at apartment pool, asked to leave
    11 JUL 2018 AT 10:46 ET

    An Indianapolis man said a woman confronted him at an apartment pool in a case of racial profiling.

    Shane Holland was sitting at the pool Friday at River Crossing Apartments, where he lives, when a white woman demanded to know where he lives and asked him to leave, reported WRTV-TV.

    “She didn’t introduce herself, she didn’t say hello,” said Holland, who is black. “She says, ‘Do you live here?’ I’m like, ‘Yes, I live here, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t live here.’”

    The woman — who Holland later learned was an off-duty police officer — wasn’t satisfied and demanded to know exactly where he lives.

    “I’m like, ‘I live over there, but if you’re asking me for my address, I mean, I don’t feel comfortable giving you my entire address without knowing who you are,’” Holland said.

    Holland showed the woman his key fab, which he used to enter the pool area, and she grabbed it from his hand.

    The property manager eventually came outside and recognized Holland, but still asked him to leave the pool area.

    HE pays his rent…
    BUT, WAS ASKED TO LEAVE ANYWAY?

    DA PHUQ?

    Reply
  24. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 11, 2018 at 10:13 am

    My little Carson is here. He’s sleeping after eating eggs, grits and pan sausage this morning.

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      July 11, 2018 at 10:30 am

      Not one bit surprised. Never liked that chicken any way. My peeps know how to cook fried chicken, And never bought any of the crackas so-called secret recipe.

      Reply
    • vitaminlover says:
      July 11, 2018 at 10:01 pm

      He is continually looking for racist things to say and then take back! He is looking for a fight!

      Reply
  27. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 9:58 am

    Soon the Senate will vote on the confirmation of Brian Benczkowski to lead DOJ Criminal Division. 3 things to know about him:
    1. He’s never tried a case
    2. He’s worked for the Russian Alfa Bank
    3. He was a top aide to Jeff Sessions

    All reasons to vote NO. pic.twitter.com/jaeJqLBWvo

    — Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) July 11, 2018

    Reply
  28. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 9:56 am

    THE LAST WORD WITH LAWRENCE O’DONNELL 7/10/18
    ‘I will come back for you’: families torn apart by Trump…
    The Trump administration did not meet the deadline to reunite 102 children under the age of five with their parents. Gabe Gutierrez joins Lawrence to tell the stories of parents still separated from their children after crossing the U.S. Mexico border

    Reply
  29. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 9:53 am

    Kavanaugh in for a long, hard fight for Supreme Court spot

    Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, talks with Rachel Maddow about the high stakes of Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court and the considerable baggage Kavanaugh brings to his confirmation hearings that will drag out the process.

    Reply
  30. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 9:52 am

    Questions about past Kavanaugh lie follow him to new confirmation

    Rachel Maddow shows that after he’d already been confirmed as a federal judge, new information called into question the truthfulness of Brett Kavanaugh’s answers during his first confirmation hearing – a matter sure to come up in his next confirmation hearings.

    Reply
  31. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 9:50 am

    Democrats see Trump pick of Kavanaugh as act of self-preservation

    Senator Jeff Merkley talks with Rachel Maddow about Democratic concerns that Donald Trump has chosen Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court on the belief that Kavanaugh’s position on executive power will protect him from any prosecution stemming from the Mueller investigation.

    Reply
  32. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 9:50 am

    Allies brace for train wreck as Trump heads to Europe, then Putin

    Rachel Maddow reports on concerns of U.S. allies as Donald Trump heads to a NATO summit with a chip on his shoulder ahead of his one-on-one meeting with Vladimir Putin.

    Reply
  33. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 9:48 am

    Trump pushes lawyer who repped Russian Alfa Bank for key DoJ post

    Rachel Maddow reports on Donald Trump’s odd choice of Brian Benczkowski to lead the DoJ’s criminal division despite a lack of prosecutorial experience, though he did help whitewash an awkward situation between Donald Trump and Russia’s Alfa Bank.

    Reply
  34. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 9:44 am

    Mueller prosecutors still not done with Mike Flynn: court docs

    Rachel Maddow points out that while Michael Flynn’s lawyers have expressed an eagerness to get through the sentencing of former Donald Trump national security adviser Mike Flynn, court documents show that Robert Mueller has told the court they are not ready for sentencing because they are not finished with Flynn.

    Reply
  35. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 9:42 am

    Judge calls Manafort’s bluff on pre-trial jail location

    Rachel Maddow shows how former Donald Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort is running out of legal tricks to forestall his trial as he withdrew a request to change jails once the judge showed willingness to consent, and he lost another bid to suppress evidence taken from his storage locker.

    Reply
  36. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 9:29 am

    *RED ALERT* Senate votes Wed July 11 to confirm Benczkowski to head DOJ-Criminal Div. If he’s in, then Trump WILL fire Rosenstein. Benczkowski is next in line & will shut down Mueller. This guy has never tried a case & has ties to Alpha Bank investigation-exonerated them. CALL 👇 https://t.co/qoUl87d0pz
    — Helen Armstrong (@HelenArmstrong5) July 11, 2018

    Reply
  37. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 9:26 am

    The doctor who chose to stay in the cave

    It was his rare combination of talents that led Australian doctor Richard Harris deep into the Tham Luang cave in Thailand.

    When the Wild Boars football team was located deep inside the cave, after being missing for a week, the Adelaide anaesthetist abandoned his holiday in Thailand and volunteered to help.

    He went in to assess the boys’ health and stayed with them for three days.

    It was under his direction that the weakest boys were first led out with the others successfully following in the complex operation.

    Dr Harris, known as Harry, is believed to have been one of the last rescuers out of the cave.

    ……………………………………..

    Dr Harris was specifically identified by British divers and requested by the “highest levels” of the Thai government to join the rescue, according to the Australian government.

    “He was an integral part of the rescue attempt,” Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said.

    “[The Australians] have been a big help, especially the doctor,” the leader of the rescue mission, acting Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osotanakorn told an Australian Nine News reporter on Wednesday.

    Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      July 11, 2018 at 8:25 am

      Suck it up.
      Pull yourselves by those bootstraps.
      You’re just MAGA, Bytches.
      Join the rest of Greer at those low paying jobs, cause you know the BMW plant was THE best paying job in the area for someone without a college degree.
      They’ll be lucky if their next non-BMW job pays 40% of what they were earning at BMW. Let alone the benefits….

      Reply
    • Ametia says:
      July 11, 2018 at 9:44 am

      EXACTLY what RIKYRAH SAID!

      Reply
  40. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 8:09 am

    they STOLE THEIR CHILDREN.
    Now, THEY have to pay for the DNA test?
    PHUCK.OUTTA.HERE.
    This is but another obstacle to put up, because…
    THEY NEVER HAD ANY INTENTIONS OF RETURNING THESE CHILDREN.
    THEY DON’T KNOW WHERE THEY ARE.
    It’s a stalling tactic – period.

    ……………………………………

    WE BROKE IT, YOU BUY IT
    Government Told Immigrant Parents to Pay for DNA Tests to Get Kids Back, Advocate Says

    Authorities separated families and took their documents, leaving genetic tests as the only way to verify who they are. And a secret contractor is doing the work.
    JUSTIN GLAWE
    ADAM RAWNSLEY
    07.10.18 8:00 PM ET

    DALLAS—U.S. government officials recently told four immigrant women that they must pay for DNA tests in order to be reunited with their children, according to the shelter that housed the women.

    The tests are the latest ad hoc effort by the Trump administration to reunite families it had separated—in some cases because authorities took documents from adults proving they are related to their children. The tests are being administered by a private contractor on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement, which oversees the care and housing of children. HHS has refused to name the contractor, which may be a violation of federal law.

    “None of them have the money [for the tests], so it’s going to fall back on us to push back on that,” said Ruben Garcia, the director of Annunciation House, an immigrant shelter in El Paso where the women are staying.

    Reply
  41. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 8:05 am

    LMAO!

    The image of small-ball nazi Stephen Miller indignantly tossing $80 of uneaten sushi on the way back to the million dollar apartment his parents pay for will sustain me for weeks. https://t.co/wX8l70GQKh pic.twitter.com/jvoCO0ysSF

    — Rob Flaherty (@Rob_Flaherty) July 9, 2018

    and yeah, Stephen Miller’s such a pathetic troll shitbag he’s probably deliberately going to Mexican/Japanese/Indian/etc joints in HOPES of getting yelled at cuz it’s the only way he can ever feel feelings.

    Still, don’t miss the opportunity, cuss his Slenderman ass TF out.

    — zeddy (@Zeddary) July 9, 2018

    Reply
  42. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 8:03 am

    Man, if this muthaphucka doesn’t go get the ENTIRE PHUCK OUTTA HERE!

    They got everyone out ALIVE…but, was supposed to use his untested device.
    If this isn’t pure Caucanese, I don’t know what is.

    Elon Musk has questioned the expertise of Thai rescue officials who turned down his offer of a submarine, despite their having organised the successful rescue of all 12 boys and their football coach from a flooded cave. The entrepreneur had offered his help and posted footage of tests being carried out on the apparatus he proposed in recent days. But while Narongsak Osatanakorn, the head of the joint command centre co-ordinating the operation, acknowledged Musk’s offer he said that the mini submarine would not have been practical for the cave rescue.

    “Even though their equipment is technologically sophisticated, it doesn’t fit with our mission to go in the cave,” Osatanakorn told reporters.

    In response, Musk said Osatanakorn was “not the subject matter expert”, adding that he believed he had been “inaccurately described as rescue chief”, and should be more accurately referred to as the “former Thai provincial governor”. Osatanakorn stepped down as the governor of Chiang Rai during the rescue operation, but remained its commander.

    Musk posted an image of his email correspondence with Dick Stanton, the British diver who first made contact with the football squad and their coach, in which Stanton asked the inventor to keep working on a project that could potentially bear fruit. “Moreover, based on extensive cave video review and discussion with several divers who know journey, SpaceX engineering is absolutely certain that mini-sub can do entire journey & demonstrate at any time,” Musk added.

    Reply
  43. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 8:00 am

    Inside Mueller’s New Army
    As the special counsel zeroes in on Russia’s online arsonists, he’s brought in a new crew of cyberspy fighters—and a straight-up street crime prosecutor, too.
    Betsy Woodruff
    BETSY WOODRUFF
    07.11.18 5:01 AM ET

    Chelsea Manning, Iranian extortionists, and Hillaryland’s original hacker—they’ve all been targets for prosecutors that now work for Team Mueller.

    As special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe has quietly chugged along, outraging the president and encircling some of his top campaign officials, the investigation has slowly grown. When Mueller first started his investigation into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, he brought on just over a dozen seasoned prosecutors—some from inside the Justice Department and others from private practice—to work on his team.

    In the past six months, the number of prosecutors working on cases he has brought has expanded significantly, with new additions casting light on the special counsel’s potential priorities and focuses. Court filings show that at least half a dozen new names are participating in Mueller’s work, all current Justice Department prosecutors. Their backgrounds vary widely, from prosecuting violent crimes to cyber attacks.

    Reply
  45. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 7:55 am

    lips pursed.

    “Germany is totally controlled by Russia,” Pres. Trump tells NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg as they sit down together for bilateral breakfast ahead of Brussels summit. https://t.co/CmyplgrxzN pic.twitter.com/6RnFk8Drgs

    — ABC News (@ABC) July 11, 2018

    Reply
  46. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 7:49 am

    tech companies: we can solve any problem with the magic of code, ingenuity, and pizza!

    everyone: you’re infested with nazis

    Tech companies: there is no solution possible https://t.co/TolIyVpT7b

    — Pat Dennis (@patdennis) July 10, 2018

    Reply
  47. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 7:48 am

    Don’t tell me that it wasn’t divine providence looking after the Thai soccer team:

    Thai cave rescue: water pumps failed just after last boy escaped

    In the first detailed account of the mission to be published, rescuers say they heard screaming and a scramble for dry ground

    The rescue operation to free the last of the 12 boys and their football coach from a Thailand cave could have been a disaster, divers have revealed, with water pumps draining the area failing just hours after the last boy had been evacuated.

    Divers and rescue workers were still more than 1.5km inside the cave clearing up equipment when the main pump failed, leading water levels to rapidly increase, three Australian divers involved in the operation told the Guardian on Wednesday, in the first detailed account of the mission to be published.

    Reply
  48. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 6:43 am

    Long thread, but connected all the dots from Kennedy to Kavanaugh .

    https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1016825672277397504

    Reply
  49. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 6:37 am

    PragmaticObotsUnite (@PragObots) Tweeted:
    RT @kylegriffin1: The Trump admin has announced, for the 2nd year in a row, that it’s slashing grants to nonprofits that help people get he… https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1016826905113255936?s=17

    Reply
  53. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 6:32 am

    Thread

    Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) Tweeted:
    RT @atrupar: On CNN, @RajShah45 does not deny that a deal was made between outgoing Justice Anthony Kennedy & Trump about Kavanaugh being K… https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1016659854101041153?s=17

    Reply
  54. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 6:19 am

    Congratulations to Ms. Seabron👏👏👏

    Reply
  55. rikyrah says:
    July 11, 2018 at 6:17 am

    Good Morning, Everyone 😄😄😄

    Reply

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