Herbert Brewer

A Borges story about a guy who gets AI to summarize all the world’s information for him, and then summarize the summary, until the AI has the whole world summarized into a single word. He sits alone at his desk, staring at the word, repeating it endlessly, certain he is experiencing everything

Mahmood Mamdani · The Asian Question: On Leaving Uganda President Yoweri Museveni was careful not to refer to Asians as citizens; he explained that they were ‘investors’,...

A thing that makes that Times story especially odious is that Zohran Mamdani's father was LITERALLY expelled from Uganda during Idi Amin's fascist effort to scapegoat Asian Ugandans as not really African www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1. Purpose. This order continues the reduction in the elements of the Federal bureaucracy that the President has determined are unnecessary. Sec. 2. Reducing the Scope of the Federal Bureaucracy. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the non-statutory components and functions of the following governmental entities shall be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law, and such entities shall reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law: (i) the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; (ii) the United States Agency for Global Media; (iii) the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the Smithsonian Institution; (iv) the Institute of Museum and Library Services; (v) the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness; (vi) the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund; and (vii) the Minority Business Development Agency. (b) Within 7 days of the date of this order, the head of each governmental entity listed in subsection (a) of this section shall submit a report to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget confirming full compliance with this order and explaining which components or functions of the governmental entity, if any, are statutorily required and to what extent. (c) In reviewing budget requests submitted by the governmental entities listed in subsection (a) of this section, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget or the head of any executive department or agency charged with reviewing grant requests by such entities shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law and except insofar as necessary to effectuate an expected termination, reject funding requests for such governmental entities to the extent they are inconsistent with this order.

Waiting until after Democrats caved on the CR, Trump issues a late night order to eliminate 7 agencies “to the maximum extent” allowed by law, including the organization running the Voice of America, the agency that helps fund museums and libraries in all 50 states, and so on. Order in alt text:

Miss Roberta Flack

Trump is threatening to take over the Panama Canal, which Panama owns outright President-elect Donald Trump says he wants ships to pay less to move through the Panama Canal, and he said he would demand control over the canal if he doesn’t get what he wants.

Trump is dreaming of a white isthmus
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

For enslaved people, the holiday season was a time for revelry – and a brief window to fight back Whether it was spent feasting or plotting escapes, the week between Christmas and the new year offered a rare opportunity for enslaved men, women and children to reclaim their humanity.

Ana Lucia Araujo in the Conversation theconversation.com/for-enslaved...

I read that the wonderful DR Congo’s Zaiko Langa Langa is Africa’s longest surviving music group. It was founded Dec. 24, 1969. Zaiko performed at the Kenyan lakeside city of Kisumu on Dec. 14, 2024, as part of the Mzuqa festival. Is it true though that it’s the oldest? 1/2

We regret to informe thee that due to budget cuttes the Tortured Poets Departmente will be combined wyth the departmentes of Chemistrye and Hotel Management. We are certayn the Tortured Poets will fynde synergye yn thys new combinacioun and do more wyth less.

YouTube video by AfricanaCarr December 12, 2024

In the wake of her transition this week, we dug into the @urbanviewradio.bsky.social archives to rebroadcast Brother #MichaelVick ‘s beautiful reflection on his days as a student of #NikkiGiovanni at #VirginiaTech . Give a listen: youtube.com/shorts/pZqXv...

Africa experts out there: Can someone point me to a few good sources on the intellectual and social formation of Kagame and the Rwandan leadership.

YouTube video by THIS IS YOUR CONSCIENCE Nikki Giovanni interviews Muhammad Ali

youtu.be/6XqAudjvtjU?...

Screenshot from https://www.slaveryarchive.com/book-club/2024-2025-slaveryarchive-book-club/?fbclid=IwY2xjawHBEtRleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHY_VFkQdaUiwVARs6eMgY6kDFdWuAQ-c-yQ4--gYIJJGf32FjSLuHEbgHQ_aem_cmchYk7euBPIFIt0CQ4cdg

Check out the @slaveryarchive.bsky.social 2024-2025 Book Club lineup. www.slaveryarchive.com/book-club/20...

Ghana heads to the polls: why the economy is the biggest issue for many voters Ghana’s economy has struggled over the past four years.

theconversation.com/ghana-heads-...

Thank you for bringing it to my attention. We're going to go see it on Sunday.

Reminding myself that all hypocrites aren't the same. There are degrees of hypocrisy, just like there are degrees of murder.

Ad for the position posted at interfolio @ apply.interfolio.com/159279

Could you all share? We're advertising a 2 yr postdoc position for someone who works in #VastEarlyAmerica #VastEarlyAmericas to help coordinate the @jcblibrary.bsky.social projects and programs around 2026. Fuller info here: apply.interfolio.com/159279 and v happy to answer questions!

‘Ridiculous’ to criticise Barbra Banda for BBC award, Emma Hayes insists www.theguardian.com/football/202...

There are thousands of people in prison who not only deserve pardons amd commutations but are actually innocent of the crimes they've been convicted of.

Colombians in Sudan Show Rise of Military Contractors in Africa Colombia’s president called last week for hundreds of mercenaries from the South American country fighting in Sudan to return home, a sign of how private military contractors have proliferated across ...

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro called last week for hundreds of mercenaries from the South American country fighting in Sudan to return home, a sign of how private military contractors have proliferated across Africa in the fight against armies, rebel groups and Islamist insurgents

Surprise! AI is exploiting workers in Africa!

Please add me. Thanks.

IndAroma, Little River Tnpk in Annandale. Also, Ginger and Spice Indian Market next door.

Senegal🇸🇳 President Faye tells France to close all its army bases in the country, noting it was “incompatible” with Senegal’s national sovereignty.

“Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country and sovereignty does not accept the presence of military bases in a sovereign country."

“[The US president-elect] admires foreign autocrats and shows little interest in Biden’s goal of championing democracy abroad. He is hostile to international organizations and treaties."

So is this the end of western human rights advocacy as we know it? www.nytimes.com/2024/11/29/u...

Aya: Claws Come Out” the latest installment in Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie’s (translated from French by Edwige Renée Dro) long-running series about life in Ivory Coast gets a nod as one of the Best Graphic Novels of 2024
www.spokesman.com/stories/2024...

Started with Lyndon Johnson.

And some of them get aggressive when politely asked to remove their feet.