#African Top Models

[shoppingpaldotbiz]

Adut Akech at the Sidaction 2023 Gala held at Pavillon Cambon Capucines on July 6 in Paris

[kimludcom]

Katoucha muse of St Laurent body found in French river! The African Pearl!

[latestnews69]

Quannah ChasingHorse: The Indigenous American supermodel on bringing change

Read more click here

[2001hz]

Jean Paul Gaultier fall/winter (1994)

a continuation of Gaultier’s 'les tatouages' s/s 94' collection which björk made a surprise appearance on the runway, bewildering references that included men in skirts, hip-hop denim volumes, joan of arc–style armor, tattoo trompe l’oeil tops and yes, even corsets. a very controversial and bold approach to indian and african tribal nods played a significant role in this fierce outing of models.

[sseditorialnews]

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[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Little Richard - Tutti Frutti 1955

Richard Wayne Penniman was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Architect of Rock and Roll", Richard's most celebrated work dates from the mid-1950s, when his charismatic showmanship and dynamic music, characterized by frenetic piano playing, pounding backbeat and powerful raspy vocals, laid the foundation for rock and roll. Richard's innovative emotive vocalizations and uptempo rhythmic music played a key role in the formation of other popular music genres, including soul and funk. He influenced singers and musicians across musical genres from rock to hip hop; his music helped shape rhythm and blues for generations.

Richard was honoured by many institutions. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of its first group of inductees in 1986. He was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was the recipient of Lifetime Achievement Awards from The Recording Academy and the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. In 2015, Richard received a Rhapsody & Rhythm Award from the National Museum of African American Music.

"Tutti Frutti" (Italian for "all fruits") is a song written by Little Richard and Dorothy LaBostrie, recorded in 1955, which was his first major hit. With its energetic refrain, and its hard-driving sound and wild lyrics, it became not only a model for many future Little Richard songs, but also for rock and roll itself. The song introduced several of rock music's most characteristic musical features, including its loud volume, powerful vocal style, and distinctive beat and rhythm. In 2007, an eclectic panel of renowned recording artists ranked "Tutti Frutti" at number 1 on Mojo's "The Top 100 Records That Changed The World" and hailed the recording as "the sound of the birth of rock and roll". In 2009, the US Library of Congress National Recording Registry added the recording to its registry, claiming the "unique vocalizing over the irresistible beat announced a new era in music". It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.

"Tutti Frutti" received a total of 86,3% yes votes!

[milesmolasses]

maybe e-42 miles x black fem fashion designer reader 👉🏾👈🏾 and she makes all different types of clothes like street wear and party dresses, and some girls even pay her to make their prom dresses and miles being her model for stuff.

my lil fashionista (e-42 miles x african!reader)

— I’ve added a small twist to this request I hope you don’t mind

— designer… but make it african

— this song has been on my mind all day

— ⚠️: use of the igbo language, some things may be confusing because they are written in broken african english, cursing, this one is on the longer side

in your room scattered with fabrics and sewing materials, you were on the phone with a last-minute client who wanted a prom dress done for her daughter. she was a close friend of your mothers and she called you expecting you to help her out on this last minute request, with prom only a month and a half away. but hey, if she was willing to pay double, who were you to refuse?

she was sending designs and inspo pictures, as well as different materials she wanted you to use on the dress. your mind was reeling, trying to write everything down as she spoke to you on the phone about all of the measurements of her daughter.

"ah, see the picture I sent to you now on whatsapp, that's kind of the style of dress we want for her. the long skirt one," she yelled into the phone. you could hear all the traffic from the road she was on, as well as gospel music from the speakers of her car.

"aunty have you changed the colors of the dress now?" you asked, praying she would say no as you looked at the photo she sent. you had already taken the fabrics out of your wardrobe and laid them out, so a change in colors would only stress you out more.

"no, same colors—"

just then, the woman was cut off by the sound of your phone ringing. you could hear it buzz on the wood of your floor, and when you went to check on who it was, you saw it was your boyfriend miles. "ahhh leave me nah!" you groaned as you picked up the phone to decline his call.

"are you talking to me?"

"no! no no no aunty, someone called me sorry," you pleaded, not wanting to seem rude to the woman who was paying you good money to make a dress on such short notice. you haphazardly threw your phone to your bed as you focused on remembering all of the measurements she told you and writing them down.

"biko (please), what did you say her busts were?" you requested.

"ahn that one is—"

just as she was about to tell you the measurement, your phone cut off. looking at the device on your bed, you saw miles was calling you again. you sucked your teeth as you declined his call, once again. knowing miles, you placed your phone on dnd to make sure you wouldn't get any more of his calls.

you sighed as you just decided to re-take all the girls' measurements whenever she got to your house.

"am nearing your house now, can you buzz me in?" the woman on the other line asked of you.

"of course, just tell me whenever you ring," you said. the commotion and traffic you heard before were gone. "she must be close," you thought to yourself.

you threw your notebook and pen alongside your phone on your bed as you went to focus on the half-finished dress on your mannequin. it was your own prom dress that you chose to make completely on your own, choosing to go for a more cultural look this prom season. you left the needle and thread looped through the sleeve of the dress to attend to the client you had on the phone, but now you went back to the dress you were working on.

the top of the dress was a beautiful, deep, dark red corset with jewels decorating the bust of the dress going all the way up to the sleeves. a swirl pattern of shimmering vines decorated the rest of the top portion. the bottom of the dress—a beautiful maroon color that was also decorated in shimmering, floral vines— went straight down in a tight fit to accentuate all your curves. not yet added to the dress, was the matching train, which you would sew later.

you were about to make the last loop around before finishing off the first sleeve of the dress when you heard a buzz from the front of your apartment. sticking a random hole in the dress to place the needle in, you tugged your bonnet off your head and ran to the buzzer. after buzzing the woman in, you waited by your door patiently.

after a few minutes, your doorbell rang. after waiting a few seconds to make it seem like you weren't literally right next to the door, you unlocked the door and swung it open.

"Y/N, kedu ka ị mere? (how are you),” she asked, leaning in to hug you.

“adị m mma aunty (i'm fine aunty), I was just finishing up a dress i’m working on," you responded. you looked at the girl right next to the woman; she looked just about your age.

"Adaoma you don't greet? is this not your agemate?" she looked to her daughter who made a face of discomfort. you understood exactly what she was feeling as her mother said that, so you shook your head as you chuckled and smiled.

"it's fine aunty, come inside both of you," you affirmed as you walked backward into your apartment.

as they sat down on your couch, you turned to your kitchen and headed straight for the fridge, "do you guys want some lemona—"

you couldn't even get the sentence out as you heard your buzzer buzz again. without thinking, you walked to your door and buzzed whoever the perpetrator was in.

"ah ah, are you having visitors?"

"no, it's probably just my mom. I think she forgot her key on her way to the market," you reasoned. walking back to your kitchen, you poured two glasses of lemonade into glasses and walked back to the living room couch where your visitors stayed.

"thank you my dear," said the woman. her daughter mumbled a small "thank you" as you handed them the cool drink.

"I have the measurements written down somewhere, hold on," you said, running to your room.

as you were searching your room for the small book you kept full of measurements and designs, you heard your doorbell.

"fuck where is it?" you whispered, scolding yourself for losing it so easily. your bell rang again, and then it rang a third time.

"oh my god— I'M COMING!"

finally, after recking your room completely, you found the book on your bed right next to your phone. you were too happy to beat yourself up about how stupid you were to not check your bed first, so you ran back to the living room, placing your things on the small coffee table.

you muttered an apology to your guests as you turned to the door, unlocking it. who you expected to see was your mom frantically telling you about how she left her keys at home before going to the market. however, what you were met with instead only made you even more annoyed.

"why you not answering the phone, hm?" came a deep, calm voice from the other side of the door.

sighing, you calmly tried to collect yourself, tilting your head back and saying a small prayer to the lord up above.

"miles, please. i'm doing something right now," you pleaded. the last thing you needed was your passive-aggressive boyfriend pissing you off when you already had so much to get done.

tilting his head forward, he peeked into your apartment looking at the people sitting on your couch. when he saw that the older woman was wearing a blouse with an African print—an Ankara blouse— he knew to watch his mouth when he entered your home.

"Y/N, who is that? is it your mum?" she questioned. sighing, you opened the door wider, revealing miles standing there with his head down facing you.

"no aunty, one of my friends came to visit," you said, putting on the fakest smiles known to man.

"introduce yourself, friend—" you grunted that last part, hoping miles got the message.

"good afternoon ma'am, my name is miles," he said walking up to the lady to shake her and her daughter's hands. he gave a small smile to seem less intimidating than he usually did and straightened out his back a little.

pulling miles away from your guest, you excused the both of you, walking over to the kitchen. "are you insane just coming here like you own this place? you couldn't even bother to call me before showing up here?" you whispered, not needing anyone but miles to hear you.

"excuse me, but you're the one ignoring my calls and leaving me on delivered. I sent you like ten messages but you ain't even look at them huh?" he accused sounding annoyed with you. you thought back to when he was calling you and you ignored him completely, going as far as to put your phone on dnd.

"if you did look at my messages, you would've seen one of me telling you I'm coming over. but you obviously too busy for me," he chuckled, but ain't shit was funny to him. "my fault, lemme get out your way—"

cutting him off, you grabbed his hand under the kitchen island to make sure any lingering eyes couldn't see you. you never want him to feel like you don't have time for him, miles was everything to you.

"no, no i-i'm sorry miles, i'm just a lil stressed right now. i'm handling a lot... don't go, baby stay."

he sighed looking around the room. he was definitely mad in the moment, but he understood what you were dealing with right now at this moment. he squeezed your hand from under the island and nodded his head yes. immediately, you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him in for a hug with a smile.

that was until you heard a cough coming from your living room. turning your head, you were met with the eyes of a wide-eyed woman with her hands folded on her lap, seeming very uncomfortable. almost immediately, you shoved miles away from you and turned to face the woman.

"ahem, uh, s-sorry aunty— i'll be right there," you said looking down at your feet ashamed. you turned to miles and gave a small head nod towards your bedroom, signaling him to reside in there until you were finished.

It only really took around 30 minutes for you to discuss plans on what the dress would look like, and to take the girl's measurements. she showed you her pinterest board of prom dresses she had in mind and you even helped her settle on a photo for you to refer to while making the dress. after the thirty minutes were over, you gifted them some puff puffs your mom cooked earlier that morning and bid them farewell.

sighing in exhaustion, you walked back to your bedroom ready to relax and focus on your current project, only to find your boyfriend hovering over it. he looked absolutely entranced at the sight of the dress, from the jewels sewn into the plunging neckline to the way the rest of the dress shinned whenever the sun from your window hit it just right. he'd seen you wear clothes like this to weddings and whatnot, but every time you managed to blow him away with how effortlessly gorgeous you looked in them.

"it's stunning mi reina," he said, finally turning to face you. you walked up closer to him and leaned your entire body into his, wrapping your arms around his waist. "you think so?"

"baby I know so. you don't even have the dress on and i'm blown away," he reassured to you as he held you closer to him.

looking up at him you reached up to peck his lips, that was until he moved his head back to avoid your kiss.

"what's wrong?" you questioned.

he smirked down at you as he shrugged his shoulders, "nothin', i'm just wondering when you gon' make me a nice suit to match ya dress."

— lord have mercy

— i’m like dying here

— please read lol (｀_´)ゞ

[riding-with-the-wild-hunt]

"There was also a strange Elf clad in green and brown, Legolas, a messenger from his father, Thranduil, the King of the Elves of Northern Mirkwood." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Council of Elrond"

↳ thank you to beloved mutual @kookyburrowing for the prompt!

[ID: an edit comprised of four posters in shades of green with brown accents. All the posters have green backgrounds.

1: Two circular images positioned at the top and bottom of the poster, which is framed by a light green border. The first image shows Kita Updike, a chippewa/african-american model with brown skin and straight dark hair. Her head is turned to the side so we see her in profile. The bottom images shows traditional ojibwe (chippewa) beadwork and embroidery. Both circular images have green frames, and a divider meant to resemble leaves separating them / 2: The bottom part of the poster is taken up by an image of sunlight coming down through trees and hanging vines. Above the picture, hollow green text reads "legolas" in all caps, and below that in smaller text in two shades of green, “He was tall as a young tree, lithe, immensely strong, able swiftly to draw a great war-bow and shoot down a Nazgûl, endowed with the tremendous vitality of Elvish bodies, so hard and resistant to hurt that he went only in light shoes over rock or through snow, the most tireless of all the Fellowship.” / 3: The left side of the poster shows a quiver of arrows lying on green shrubbery. Hollow text in the upper left corner reads "prince of" in all caps, while bicolored vertical text on the left side reads "eryn galen" in all caps / 4: Same format as Image 1, but the top image shows hide boots decorated with ojibwe beadwork depicting flowering plants, and the bottom image shows Kita Updike, this time facing slightly to the left with a neutral, serious expression //End ID]

[vampirememory]

Intuitive PAC: What is your next partner's appearance?

Hi guys! Here is a simpler, intuitive pick a card today about what your next partner's appearance may be.

Now go ahead and pick a pile 💖🎻🪿

Disclaimer; remember that people are very vast & unique, meaning that there's a chance that this reading won't resonate. Just make sure you use discernment and let go what doesn't resonate 💖.

Also, the PAC's intentions was to be for your next partner, but it is possible to ask for your future spouse/there is a possibility they may be your future spouse, but take what resonates as it's different for everyone.

Pile one is the silver & pink tiara, pile two is "baby", pile three is the hello kitty radio, and pile four is a heart.

Pile One

♡ Brown hair and blue eyes.

♡ Somewhat of a shaggy hairstyle. Their hair may touch slightly below the ears (regardless of gender). Might have a blue or teal streak in their hair or previously had one (or will have one in the future).

♡ Baggy clothes, streetwear. Might also have somewhat of an interest in cyberpunk.

♡ May have a unique facial feature (ex: uniquely placed freckles, moles, or skin dis/coloration). Might also have acne marks or scars that you find to be attractive.

♡ I'm seeing paler skin, although darker skin is a possibility. I'm seeing that you find their skin very attractive regardless. Their skin has somewhat of a natural glow. Vitiligo may be in the picture.

♡ Taller, more lanky (regardless of gender).

♡ This is the shortest pile, spirit/the universe/whoever you believe in may not want you to know specifics about this person.

Pile Two

♡ Muscle man. Might have somewhat of an appearance of those strong guys from circuses ? (Unsure of the name, but a very stereotypical, burly & muscular man with a full beard/mustache and tattoo combo).

♡ Might have lengthy hair. Their hair may reach past their hips.

♡ I keep seeing/hearing body hair, they have a lot of it (I'm seeing this regardless of gender. Women may feel more comfortable letting their body hair grow OR may constantly be complaining about it/shaving it. She might shave in some areas and not shave in others (ex: regularly shave her legs, but her arms are unshaved)). Might have something characteristic like sideburns or a unibrow (ladies w a unibrow: btw I love you you're so pretty ily genuinely)

♡ Brown hair or darker colored hair.

♡ This particular person might be Asian, specifically hearing Middle Eastern or South Asia (Pakistan? India?). Also possibly Egypt or North African.

♡ They have medium toned skin. Obviously, the countries listed are a lovely spectrum of skintones and there is not one particular skin tone for one region, but they are more than likely brown versus being white or black.

♡ lovely voice I heard, not particularly a physical characteristic but you'll love their voice.

♡ might have very nice...feet? You'll like their feet, something about them is lovely in a foot model way but also sturdy, or they may have a certain gait or way of walking you find to be attractive.

♡ may smell distinctly of roses or some other flower, like jasmine. A very pungent, beautiful flower that you don't forget (I'm being reminded of night-flowering jasmine, which in my household is known as "lady of the night").

♡ People here are more than likely asking for a woman. If you're trying to find out about a dude, they might have a goatee ?? They may appear to have somewhat more feminine traits; his eyelashes are beautiful holy shit !!!!

♡ lovely, lovely eyes. May be very dark but you almost get lost in them, very beautiful. Or they can be a unique shade of brown or green, you love them regardless.

Pile Three

♡ excellently fashioned. Specifically said. You might really like their fashion taste. Best dressed (being brought to the best dressed game on animal jam, they may model or just have top notch fashion, always on top of trends or may wear things that are classy, chic).

♡ may be genetically French. Not seeing them being from France (obviously if you are in Europe this is more likely, take what resonates), but a similar appearance to Pile One's person.

♡ stronger, square jawline.

♡ I'm being brought to an image of some tiktoker, but his female version for videos? She usually has freckles from the filter & longer brown hair.

♡ might dress in blue a lot or blue is their favorite color.

♡ pale af. Nothing wrong with pale people but they're pale lol. Whatever you consider pale is them.

♡ might be well off, as seen with the first choice, might come from old money OR they might be a tiktoker and making bank (infinite money glitch was the exact phrasing).

♡ might look very good in gold jewelry, they dont think silver isn't really their color BUT I'm seeing that they probably have a cool/green/blue undertone.

♡ very nice nails, regardless of gender they always look very nice.

♡ might be tall, 6'0-6'4

Pile Four

♡ darker skin, brown locs

♡ might have colorful extensions, you'll find their hair style very beautiful and unique, "fresh"

♡ lemony fresh, might have somewhat of a fresh & clean feel to their essence and appearance

♡ bluish brown vest, might like wearing vests or layering their clothes. Somewhat of an academia look.

♡ might wear glasses or might have contacts, might change out the color occasionally just for fun.

♡ might own a pair of pink contacts

♡ aura is very friendly and "fruitful", they have a really nice aura to them that shines in their physical appearance.

♡ skin, nice skin.

♡ has very nice teeth, they might be eerily perfect. Whatever you consider to be nice or perfect teeth for a partner is what they'll have.

♡ if you've been manifesting or trying to script a perfect partner, they might be the exact replication of your desires.

♡ "fantasia", something important for someone out there.

♡ "ET" (the song), women might somewhat have a similar appearance to Katy Perry, or this person might embody the music video in some way. Fringe & chrome.

♡ high cheekbones with fuller cheeks.

Thank you so much for reading! As usual, feel free to check out my masterpost with more readings, or you can support me by purchasing a reading by clicking here. Thanks for the support, let me know which pile you picked and if it resonated or not :)!

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Inside Climate News:

Africa’s top human rights commission said the Democratic Republic of Congo violated the rights of Indigenous Batwa people when it forcibly evicted them from their ancestral territories and imposed a national park on those lands without the original inhabitants’ consent. 

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights ordered the DRC to provide the Batwa legal title to their homelands, among more than a dozen other prescribed remedies. 

The decision was decided in 2022 but wasn’t made public until late June of this year. Lawyers involved said publication was delayed because of mistakes made in the text of the French version of the decision, and that the DRC has not taken any action to comply with the decision.

The government’s embassy in D.C. did not respond to a request for comment and also did not participate in the Commission’s proceedings despite requests that it do so.

Since Kahuzi-Biega National Park was established in 1970, the DRC has forced about 6,000 Batwa people, sometimes violently, from an area of rainforest in the eastern DRC the size of West Virginia. Those evictions began on the recommendation of a Congolese conservation organization, according to the Commission’s decision, despite the Batwa having a long and proven track record of protecting and preserving their homelands.

In its decision, the commission sharply criticized the logic behind “fortress conservation,” the removal of Indigenous peoples from their land in the name of protecting nature. That model, born in the United States with the creation of national parks like Yellowstone, has been exported around the world. Increasingly, it is being used in conjunction with some carbon offset programs. 

“If the purpose of creating a park is to protect biodiversity for the good of all, should the way of life, culture and environment of the indigenous populations occupying it not be taken into account?” the commission wrote.

The Batwa’s culture is entirely based on a thriving ecosystem, the commission said, and their removal may have worsened biodiversity in the region because park guards and governmental officials granted forest access to non-Batwa groups that carried out extractive activities including mining and logging, leading to severe deforestation and environmental degradation. The Congo Basin is home to sensitive ecosystems with iconic species, including chimpanzees, forest elephants and critically endangered gorillas. 

[greenbirdgreen]

good dogs

design choice info beneath the cut

from the top left, clockwise: the first wolf is an holarctic grey wolf, no specific subspecies, for the ashen wolf.

second wolf is a red wolf for the rusty wolf; red wolves live in coastal areas and their range would've once expanded through the Florida's everglades, so they make for good jungle wolves.

third is an aardwolf—a close relative of hyenas—for the striped wolf. cute guy :D

beneath the aardwolf is an eastern timber wolf for the tricolor wolf. eastern timber wolves are either a subspecies or a species of wolf; which they are is still under debate.

next beneath the timber wolf is a k gene wolf for the black wolf. k gene wolves—or any predominately black wolf in north america—is a wolf that has dog blood in its ancestor. it seemed fitting to place it next to the dog.

the dog is the pale wolf, or the original wolf. it's modeled after a great pyranese; i kept one ear floppy, in a reference to the supposed domestication syndrome, but the other one up as a nod to spitz-type dogs. it's got grey around the muzzle.

the white wolf is actually a Great Plains wolf, not an arctic wolf; it's the snowy wolf. this is grizzer from the international wolf center in ely, minnesota. RIP. he was used to people, so he fit well next to the dog.

finally the african painted dog is the spotted wolf. i tried to mimic the model's spots, as each dog as a unique pattern.

thanks for reading!!

[lingthusiasm]

Lingthusiasm Episode 96: Welcome back aboard the metaphor train!

We're taking you on a journey to new linguistic destinations, so come along for the ride and don't forget to hold on! 

In this episode, your hosts Lauren Gawne and Gretchen McCulloch get enthusiastic about metaphors! It's easy to think of literary comparisons like "my love is like a red, red rose" but metaphors are also far more common and almost unnoticed in regular conversation as well. For example, English speakers often talk about ideas as a journey (the metaphor train) or as if they're visual - clear or murky or heavy or maybe fuzzy, but not as fluffy or feathery or metallic or polka-dotted, but other languages can use different metaphors. We also talk about the process of metaphor design, and how metaphors can help us understand - or misunderstand - abstract concepts like electricity or language learning.

Note that this episode originally aired as Bonus 30: Welcome aboard the metaphor train! We've added a few new things about metaphors and an updated announcements section to the top. We're excited to share one of our favourite bonus episodes from Patreon with a broader audience, while at the same time giving everyone who works on the show a bit of a break.

Click here for a link to this episode in your podcast player of choice or read the transcript here.

Announcements:

In this month’s bonus episode we get Tom Scott's Language Files team together on one call for the first and last time! We talk with host/writer Tom Scott, as well as researcher/writer Molly Ruhl and animator Will Marler, about their roles putting the videos togehter, Gretchen's role in the brainstorming and fact-checking process, and what it's like working on a big, multi-faceted project like the Language Files videos.

Join us on Patreon now to get access to this and 90+ other bonus episodes. You’ll also get access to the Lingthusiasm Discord server where you can chat with other language nerds.

Here are the links mentioned in the episode:

Original 'Welcome aboard the metaphor train!' episode on Patreon

Because Internet

Metaphor - etymology (Wikipedia)

Conceptual metaphors 

Gentner, D. (1983). Flowing waters or teeming crowds: Mental models of electricity. In D. Gentner, & A. L. Stevens (Eds.), Mental Models (pp. 99-129). Hillsdale, New Jersey: Erlbaum. (Gentner and Gentner 1983, 2014 reprint)

German 'wichtig'  

Michael Erard's metaphor for language learning 

FrameWorks Institute 

Malaphors 

Cakewalk 

After recording this episode we researched more about cakewalks, which turned out to have their origin in 19th Century dance events held by African Americans. This article by Nicole Emmanuel goes into more on the history of cakewalk. 

You can listen to this episode via Lingthusiasm.com, Soundcloud, RSS, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also download an mp3 via the Soundcloud page for offline listening.

To receive an email whenever a new episode drops, sign up for the Lingthusiasm mailing list.

You can help keep Lingthusiasm ad-free, get access to bonus content, and more perks by supporting us on Patreon.

Lingthusiasm is on Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Mastodon, and Tumblr. Email us at contact [at] lingthusiasm [dot] com

Gretchen is on Bluesky as @GretchenMcC and blogs at All Things Linguistic.

Lauren is on Bluesky as @superlinguo and blogs at Superlinguo.

Lingthusiasm is created by Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne. Our senior producer is Claire Gawne, our production editor is Sarah Dopierala, our production assistant is Martha Tsutsui Billins, and our editorial assistant is Jon Kruk. Our music is ‘Ancient City’ by The Triangles.This episode of Lingthusiasm is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license (CC 4.0 BY-NC-SA).

[mariacallous]

On Jan. 20, as U.S. President Donald Trump was being inaugurated in Washington, D.C., some 8,000 miles away in Dar es Salaam, the government of Tanzania was reversing prior denials and declaring that there was, in fact, an outbreak of Marburg virus. Marburg, a highly contagious hemorrhagic virus, is a cousin to Ebola with a case fatality rate as high as 88 percent, and it could bring the kind of global attention the Tanzanian government has long tried to avoid.

Using lessons from the West African Ebola outbreak that began in 2014, which took two years and more than $2 billion of U.S. funding to contain, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were mapping a way to stop the Marburg outbreak early.

The same day in the Western Hemisphere, officials were tracking a new outbreak of the extremely rare and Ebola-like Chapare hemorrhagic fever in Bolivia as they readied to prepare a response. But two weeks later, no plans have been executed, and the USAID leaders who would be responsible are on administrative leave as part of the new administration’s assault on foreign aid. None of the outbreaks have been contained.

Now, Trump has ordered an ill-considered scheme that contravenes U.S. law, could tear apart the international aid infrastructure built with bipartisan support over decades, and which would mean many more outbreaks and other disasters worldwide.

In the early hours of Monday, Feb. 3, Elon Musk—the businessman-turned-top Trump advisor—declared that he and the president had reached a decision about USAID—“we’re shutting it down.” USAID staffers were told that the agency’s headquarters were closed, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that he was the new head of the agency, and the White House confirmed plans to merge it with the State Department. Reporting suggests the move would include laying off many or most of the USAID staff responsible for crucial programs.

To be clear-eyed: This is neither good policy nor legal under the most basic elements of U.S. law and the Constitution.

There are many reasons to demand reform at USAID. Critiques of the agency have emerged from the left and the right. Too much aid is poorly designed for the world of 2025, the agency too often operates in a neocolonial model, and not enough of the investment reaches those who need it most. But many of the critiques from Musk are completely baseless.

And aid money saves lives. Halting it has shut down efforts to prevent children from dying of malaria, stopped clinical trials for various drugs and medical devices, threatened a resurgence of HIV, and more.

And any reforms should be done legally. The U.S. Agency for International Development is an independent agency with authorities legislated by Congress. Its history is complex, but its status is clear. The president—let alone Musk, who is neither elected nor confirmed by Congress—does not have the legal authority to abolish USAID or move it under the State Department unilaterally.

USAID traces its origins to a bill introduced by U.S. Sen, William Fulbright that passed Congress in September 1961 and became the Foreign Assistance Act. After signing it into law in November, then-President John F. Kennedy created USAID by executive order to implement the law. Originally, the agency functioned under the authority of the secretary of state.

However, after significant debate in Washington over the independence of the agency, President Jimmy Carter created the United States International Development Cooperation Agency (IDCA) in 1979, bringing development and security assistance programs together and moving USAID from the State Department and into the agency. The order delegated the authorities created by the Foreign Assistance Act to the director of the IDCA.

In 1998, Congress took up reform of the aid infrastructure, passing the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act, which abolished the IDCA. That act formally established USAID as an independent agency, stating that “there is within the Executive branch of Government the United States Agency for International Development as an entity described in section 104 of title 5” of the United States Code.

The law required the president to come up with a plan and provided the option to, within 60 days, alternatively move all of USAID’s functions into the State Department. President Bill Clinton declined to do so and, as a result, USAID was confirmed as an independent statutory agency created by Congress. As it had done since inception, the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act provided that the secretary of state would give foreign-policy guidance to USAID.

Since 2016, Congress has passed five authorizing laws that define new authorities, oversight, and authorizations of funding levels, and USAID’s independence has been maintained throughout. As such, USAID remains a distinct statutory agency with separate authorization, appropriation, and authorities. Several senators have already weighed in to make this argument.

Dissolving USAID or merging it into the State Department without the authorization of Congress would be unconstitutional. Article I of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the legislative prerogative to create and abolish agencies. And that authority has been affirmed by the judiciary in the years since: “To Congress under its legislative power is given the establishment of offices, the determination of their functions and jurisdiction,” wrote the Supreme Court in Meyers v. United States (1926).

Because Congress established USAID by statute, the executive branch lacks the unilateral authority to abolish it or subsume it without a corresponding act of Congress. This is not a small or a limited issue: The separation of powers doctrine is central to U.S. constitutional government, and allowing the executive to reshape or eliminate an agency that Congress created and continues to fund would deeply weaken the legislature’s independence.

Rubio, in fact, has been among the most recent legislative architects of USAID. He was the lead sponsor of the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2016, which enacted USAID’s obligation to establish measurable goals and monitor them with results posted online. Rubio also co-sponsored a follow-up bill that required USAID to publicly share which countries and organizations received the funds.

This is exactly why USAID needs highly trained, well-qualified professional staff of the type that is now threatened with dismissal.

Ongoing disease outbreaks demonstrate why attacks on USAID are not just unconstitutional, but also bad policy. Aid should be independent. Merging with the State Department and initiating mass layoffs do not serve U.S. interests as defined by Rubio in a Jan. 26 press statement. It does not make the United States safer or stronger.

A Jan. 27 report from the Africa CDC indicates that there have already been nine deaths from the Marburg outbreak—surpassing the total number of deaths from the last outbreak in Tanzania. It is occurring in the Kagera region, which borders multiple countries and is a major transit hub, creating a very real risk of spread to other Central and East African countries—and beyond.

If the virus is not quickly contained, it could develop into a regional epidemic, as occurred in West Africa in 2014 when a small Ebola outbreak spread to more than 13,000 cases in a matter of months. Although they occurred primarily in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, infections spread as far afield as the United States and Spain. It took two years and the deployment of the United States military to contain it.

But the Tanzanian government has little interest in talking to the U.S. State Department about its outbreaks. Indeed, the Tanzanian government first denied there was any Marburg outbreak—much as it has done with mpox and did previously during COVID-19. The diplomatic arm of the United States government is very unlikely to be seen as a partner, since U.S.-Tanzania relations are complex and fraught. China, not the United States, is the country’s largest trading partner, while India is the largest investor.

Tanzania has worked hard to build a middle position between Washington and Beijing, and as such, U.S. diplomats are engaged across multiple strategic areas with the government of Tanzania—from military bases to trade to human rights and democracy. The independence of agencies such as USAID and the CDC allows them to engage differently.

USAID is both funding and personnel. It funds the local organizations around the world that can often be most effective in addressing health, while also providing expertise to secure accountability and transparency. USAID helped with the effective Marburg virus response in 2023, when it supported the Tanzanian government and UNICEF to secure needed equipment, medicines, and people. It funded the Red Cross to engage its network of community-based volunteers to respond. All of that capability is now frozen, and it could be lost altogether.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization currently reports 118 other separate health emergency events. There are new outbreaks of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Uganda. The clade I strain of mpox has been detected in the Americas. Bird flu is a growing regional and global crisis. The AIDS pandemic continues.

Every one of these outbreaks not only puts lives at risk around the world, but also has implications for U.S. foreign policy, existing within complex trade-offs of geopolitics and human need. None are best tackled by the State Department directly.

Usually, the World Health Organization would take the lead on such efforts. But Trump’s recent executive order cut off U.S. cooperation with WHO and ordered the secretary of state to find bilateral alternatives—which, in a more normal world, would include USAID.

Doing aid better—and with the outcomes and focus that Rubio has pushed for—requires people, infrastructure, and political independence.

That should give us pause. Is this move really about aid at all, or is it about auditioning tactics in the aid sector that Trump and allies want to use in other areas of government, no matter the impact?

[readyforevolution]

History They Didn't Teach You In School

Scholars have left him out of the history books and Hollywood couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge his existence either. He was Howard Hughes’ top engineer and lifelong best friend. This is about Frank Mann, the hidden genius behind much of Howard Hughes’ success in the world of aviation and mechanics. Frank Calvin Mann (November 22, 1908 – November 30, 1992) was an African American engineer who was known for his participation in many Howard Hughes's projects including the Spruce Goose. He also starred in the Amos 'n' Andy radio show. Apparently, his lifelong friendship with Hughes was instrumental in opening doors for Mann's exceptional talents.

A native of Houston, Texas, Frank Calvin Mann's parents wanted him to become a schoolteacher, but from childhood, he had a natural ability to fix things. At age 11, he had his own mechanic shop. As a teenager, he worked alongside airplane mechanics, repairing engines. By the ago of 20, he had designed and built several of his own Model-T cars. It was unheard of in the 1920s for a Black man to have anything to do with cars, trains, or airplanes. His life-long friend Howard Hughes was instrumental in opening doors for Mann's exceptional talents.

Mann attended the University of Minnesota and UCLA where he earned a mechanical engineering degree. World War II equipment that revolutionized military weaponry would not exist if not for his involvement. Incredibly, few Americans are aware of Frank Mann. He was the first Black commercial pilot for American Airways. He was also a distinguished military officer. In 1935, following Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia, Frank Mann flew reconnaissance missions for the Ethiopian army.

He served in the World War II Army Air Corps and was the primary civilian instructor of the famous Tuskegee Airmen in 1941. He left Tuskegee after a rift with the U.S. government, which didn't want the Squadron, an all-Black unit, flying the same high caliber of airplanes as their White counterparts. An angry Mann had refused to have his men fly old "World War I biplane crates," because his airmen had proven themselves as equals.

Though they were being given inferior equipment and materials, their squadron never lost a plane, bomber, or pilot, and they were nicknamed the "Red Tails.” After the war, Mann was instrumental in designing the first Buick LeSabre automobile and the first communications satellite launched for commercial use.

His pride and joy was a miniature locomotive enshrined in the Smithsonian Institute, Mann also played a principal role in the Amos ‘N’ Andy radio show. He moved back to his hometown in the 1970s.

Frank Mann died November 30, 1992 in Houston.

[getjoys]

Dazzling Daisy Bloom: Her Internet Fame Journey

Some people are born to shine, and Daisy Blooms is one of them. The 22-year-old social media sensation has captivated millions of fans with her radiant smile, uplifting posts, and generous spirit. But how did she go from being a regular girl named Daisy to a dazzling celebrity known as Daisy Blooms? In this article, we will explore her remarkable journey to internet fame, and how she uses her platform to spread joy and positivity to the world.

Birth, Parents and Education of Daisy Blooms

Daisy Blooms is not her real name, but a stage name that she adopted for her social media career. Her real name is Jameliz Benitez Smith, and she was born on June 9, 2001, in the United States. She is of mixed ethnicity, as her father is African-American and her mother is Puerto Rican. She has a younger sister named Jazmin, who also appears in some of her videos.

Daisy Blooms grew up in a musical family, as her father is a rapper and her mother is a singer. She was exposed to various genres of music from a young age, and developed a passion for singing and dancing. She also learned to play the guitar and the piano. She attended a local high school in the United States, where she was popular among her peers and participated in various extracurricular activities, such as cheerleading, drama club, and choir. 

In 2019, she completed her high school education and made the decision to pursue her aspiration of becoming a social media influencer. She then enrolled in an online college to study business and marketing. She enrolled in an online college, where she is studying business and marketing. She hopes to use her education to expand her brand and reach more audiences.

Rise to Social Media Stardom

Daisy Blooms started her social media career in 2022, when she was only 18 years old. She created an Instagram account under the name @jellybeanbrainss, where she posted photos and videos of herself wearing colorful outfits, posing with flowers, and sharing positive messages. 

Daisy Blooms quickly gained a dedicated following due to her cheerful personality, unique style, and motivating captions. In addition to her successful Instagram account, she also established a presence on TikTok under the username @daisyblooms. Her content on this platform included dance, lifestyle, and modeling videos set to popular rap and hip-hop songs. 

Daisy rose to fame on TikTok after a video of her dancing on top of a car went viral and amassed over 2 million views. As a result, she became one of the most influential and well-known celebrities on social media, with millions of followers across various platforms.

Daisy Blooms has collaborated with other notable stars such as James Charles, David Dobrik, and Emma Chamberlain. She has also secured endorsements from major brands including Nike, Sephora, and Coca-Cola. Her success has also been recognized by various magazines such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Teen Vogue. 

Relationship

Daisy Blooms is a social media star who has not revealed much about her relationship status. She does not share any videos or photos that indicate that she has a romantic partner, nor does she refer to anyone in her captions or comments. She seems to focus on her career and her fans, and does not disclose much about her personal life.

Social Media

Daisy Blooms has a presence on Instagram.........Read More

Source: Getjoys