#Otis Washington

[dalekofchaos]

Dead Rising 1 fancast

I already did a Dead Rising fancast, but this time I will only be focusing on Dead Rising 1 as I did not fancast the psychopaths.

Credit to this reddit thread for most of the fancast pics

Jensen Ackles as Frank West

or Chris Pine as Frank West

Melissa Barrera as Isabella Keyes

Margot Robbie as Jessie McCarney

Mike Colter as Brad Garrison

Roger Aaron Brown as Otis Washington

Malcolm McDowell as Doctor Russell Barnaby

Cooper Andrews as Ed DeLuca

Diego Luna as Carlito Keyes

Woody Harrelson as Brock Mason

Paul Walter Hauser as Adam The Clown

Michael Rooker as Cliff Hudson

Patton Oswalt as Steven Chapman

Angus Sampson as Cletus Samson

Austin Butler as Kent Swanson

Lea DeLaria as Officer Jo Slade

Colton Haynes as Sam Franklin

Raoul Max Trujillo as Miguel Sánchez

Michael Jai White as Reginald Jenkins

Steven Weber as Roger Hall

Sean Grandillo as Jack Hall

Nicholas Hamilton as Thomas Hall

Willem Dafoe as Sean Keanan

John Carroll Lynch as Larry

Keir Gilchrist as Paul Carson

[mannytoodope]

[filosofablogger]

♫ R.E.S.P.E.C.T. ♫

I like to drag this one out of the archives and give it a bit of oxygen every couple of years, for it is a timeless song by the undisputed Queen of Soul!  This post is from back in 2018 when I first learned of Ms. Aretha Franklin’s imminent death … she died on August 16th 2018, the day after I first posted this … I had another song planned for tonight, but when I heard that Aretha Franklin is…

[frithwontdie]

Do white Americans owe reperations to blacks? NO!

In America, Reparations have already been paid. To the point that it’s beyond ridiculous. Whites have gone out of their way to artificially boost Nonwhites at every turn. Trillions of tax dollars and donations have been spent over decades trying to boost non-white achievements and social status. Also dept relief, Crt, affirmative action, first step act, donations for past wrong doings, school degrees, food stamps, welfare programs, etc.

Alot of whites and some jews through out American history tried to help blacks become a separate & self-reliant people (the pursuit of Booker T. Washington) through education.

The Freedman's Bureau (1865 to 1872) :

The Freedman’s Bureau (officially known as ‘The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands’) was created by Americans to feed and provide other life necessities to the Negro population of the South after the Civil War ended in 1865. However, well before the end of the Civil War, Americans organized all over the North various organizations to feed, clothe, educate and provide other needed necessities for the newly freed Negro people Note: according to W.E.B Du Bios, more than 50 organizations were active in relief capacity for the southern Negro by 1866.

"The First white people in America, certainly the first in the South to exhibit their interest in the reaching of the Negro and saving his soul through the medium of the Sunday-school were Robert E. Lee and 'Stonewall Jackson'. ...Where Robert E. Lee and 'Stonewall' Jackson have led in the redemption of the Negro through the Sunday-school, the rest of us can afford to follow. " - Booker T. Washington 1910

The Tuskegee Institute:

This icon of Black education was founded by the great Booker T Washington and was also the brainchild of an Alabama prominent banker by the name of George W. Campbell (White man). Another White man, an Alabama state senator named W.F. Foster, spearheaded the necessary funding for the Institute through the state legislature. The result was a yearly appropriation of $2000.

The following white Americans, all self-made millionaires, gave small fortunes - their own hard earned money - to this Negro self-sufficiency school over their lifetime:

--Andrew Carnegie

--John D. Rockefeller

--Henry Rodgers

--Collis Huntington

And,

--Julius Rosenwald*

--Anna T. Jeanes*

* Julius Rosenwald was an immigrant Jew and self-made millionaire.

* Anna T. Jeanes, a white woman, was not a self-made millionaire, but inherited her money from her husband.

Howard University

Howard University was chartered in 1867. It was championed by an American Civil War General, Oliver Otis Howard (November 8, 1830 – October 26, 1909), and the school hence bears his name. Howard University is also the ONLY higher education school ever to be directly funded by the US taxpayers (it still is).

Lincoln University

Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) was an exclusive college for Negroes and was created in 1854 by a white man named John Miller Dickey, who also became its first president. Lincoln University was originally named Ashmun Institute. The first Black president of the university was not elected until 1945.

Fisk University

Fisk University was an all-Negro college that was established by three whites, Erastus Milo Cravath, John Ogden and Edward Parmelee Smith in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1866.

Wilberforce University

Wilberforce University, located near Xenia, in Ohio, was an all-Negro college created by whites from the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1856. It was named after a white man, William Wilberforce, who was an 18th century abolitionist.

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania was an all-Negro school established in 1837. A white man named Richard Humphreys had bequeathed $10,000 in his will (10% of his estate) in 1832 for the sole purpose of creating a place of education for the Negro race.

Atlanta University

Atlanta University was founded by whites associated with the American Missionary Association, in 1865. Around 1866, its survival then shifted to, and depended upon, the Americans associated with the Freedman’s Bureau.

In 1922, the Carnegie Corporation and the Rockefeller Memorial gave $25,000 each to create the Journal Of Negro History.

In 1924, George Eastman (Kodack Co.) gave Tuskegee Institute $1 million dollars.

John D. Rockefeller

Mr. Rockefeller donated almost $180 million dollars to the General Education Board, which was chartered by Act of Congress in 1903. Much of this money was spent supplying educational aid to the Negro people, specifically in the southern states (Mr. Rockefeller‘s $180 million translates to almost 2 billion dollars in today's dollars!)

George Peabody Education Fund for poor Southerners

George Peabody Education Fund was established by a white man named George Peabody, and was designed to help Negro colleges in the South at the turn of the century.

The Slater Fund

The Slater Fund was established by white, James Fox Slater, in 1882. Its primary purpose was to support southern Negro schools. Around 1915, this fund was worth about $1.75 million.

The Jeanes Fund (Jeanes Foundation)

A white woman named Miss Anna T. Jeanes, a Quaker, created 'The Fund for Rudimentary Schools for Southern Negroes’ in 1907 from the monies left to her by her late husband. The purpose of the fund was to help Negroes create teachers for their people. It was endowed at one million dollars (a staggering sum at the time).

The Southern Education Board: In or around 1900, whites created the The Southern Education Board. It's funding was initially provided by the Slater Fund and the Jeans Funds. Americans, trained in the area of farming, would go to rural farms (Negro and American) and educate them on better farming techniques. The Southern Education Board was also very concerned with the high southern Negro illiteracy, which was, in 1900, almost 50% (for southern Americans, around 11%).

Phelps-Stokes Fund

Established in 1911, a white philanthropist and self-made millionaire Anson Phelps Stokes created this fund for the purpose of improving Negro life through education. Its endowment was approximately $900,000.

Minor Fund

This fund was established by a white female, Miss Myrtilla Minor, in 1851. Its purpose was to provide aid to schools who would teach Negro girls to be teachers for their people.

In 1910, according to the US census, 50% of Negroes (about 4.8 million) lived in urban centers (all created by white males). That means there would be approximately 2.4 million Negro males living in the urban centers of America. About 1/3rd would be too young to work, so that means there were about 1.6 million Negro males of working age living in American-built cities in 1910. Of those 1.8 million Negro males, 350,000 (almost 20%!) worked in a factory job (all factory jobs for the Negro were supplied by White men i.e. not ONE factory job in America was created by a Negro male --so, concomitantly, no white man was employed by a Negro male in a factory job. Note: At this time in American history, you worked or you starved. (source: Chronological History of The Negro pg. 358)

Naturally, with whites, being so generous supplying jobs to black men, naturally, more black men were encouraged to come to the American-built urban areas.

Julius Rosenwald

Without question one of the most generous of the Euro race toward the black people was Julius Rosenwald (Jewish). Most of his charity was gifted through the Rosenwald Fund (depleted in 1948)

Cushing Fund

A white woman, Miss Emeline Cushing, established this fund in 1895 for the purpose of financially assisting colored schools.

Whites Create Special School - In Mississippi. - For Negro Boys To Own Land

Daniel Hand Fund

A white self-made millionaire, Daniel Hand, established the Daniel Hand Fund in 1888. It was endowed at $1 million dollars (two-thirds of Mr. Hand’s entire personal wealth!). Mr. Hand stipulated that all of the Fund would be directed toward Negro education in the former slave states. When Mr. Hand died in 1893, he bequeathed the rest of his remaining wealth to this fund.

Andrew Carnegie

Mr. Carnegie, when he retired, was considered the richest man in the world. He also became the biggest philanthropist in America and gave generously to Negro educational causes, which included giving $600,000 to the Tuskegee Institute in 1903.

Harmon Foundation

The New York City Harmon Foundation was established in 1922 by an white man named William Harmon (1862-1928). Its purpose was to aid and assist Negro art, artists, businesses, education for Negroes, farming needs, music, and other causes for the Negro.

Garland Fund

This White-male-established fund was used to help the NAACP through the Great Depression.

John D. Rockefeller Jr.

Mr. Rockefeller, Jr. built the Dunbar Apartments in New York City, a mammoth complex consisting of six buildings - 511 apartments - specifically to house low-income Negroes in Harlem. He also built and funded a bank in NYC solely for Negroes.

Katharine Drexel

Katherine Drexel was born November 26, 1858 and died March 3, 1955. She was an American female, a nun, philanthropist, educator and later canonized as a Roman Catholic saint.

"She became a nun, and took the name Sister Katharine, dedicating herself and her inheritance to the needs of [non-occupational ranking] Native Americans and African-Americans in the western and southwestern United States, and was a vocal advocate of racial tolerance. She established a religious order, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. She also financed more than 60 missions and schools around the United States, and founded Xavier University of Louisiana[1] - the only historically Black, Roman Catholic university in the United States to date."

The United Negro College Fund

In 1944 the United Negro College Fund was created. Almost all of the funding for its initial operation was provided by the General Education Fund and the Rosenwald Fund.

Mr. William Trent, a black man, in the course of his 20-year tenure as its first executive director, raised over $78 million for this fund, almost all of it coming from generous white liberal Americans (Senator John F. Kennedy gave all of the profits from his book ‘Profiles in Courage' to this fund).

Also American Jews also gave money to black people. Before 1950, it was mostly coming from the Rosenwald fund.

Minority scholarships:

Low income:

It’s open to illegal immigrants, too, but white people? Forget it. And when we learn that “800 Compton residents to get guaranteed income in two-year pilot program,” since Compton is only 2 percent white – yes, just 2 percent – white people won’t get that money.

Having to change the requirements of mental retardation, because too many blacks IQ's were that low.

https://mn.gov/mnddc/parallels2/pdf/90s/99/99-MRI-MLW.pdf

[mogai-sunflowers]

MOGAI BHM- Belated Day 16!

happy BHM! today i’m going to be listing different important inventions by Black people!

Black Inventors-

Marie Van Brittan Brown invented modern home security systems.

Jane C. Wright invented several chemotherapy drugs still in use today.

Alan Emtage invented the first internet browser, which he called ‘Archie’.

George Carruthers invented the ultraviolet spectrograph, which eventually accompanied probes to the moon.

Mark Dean invented forms of processor chips and co-created the IBM computer in 1987.

Patricia Bath pioneered early laser cataract surgery.

Lonnie Johnson invented the popular Super Soaker.

Lewis Howard Latimer helped invent the telephone and invented carbon filaments which hugely improved incandescent light bulbs.

Garrett Morgan invented a form of a gas mask and the three-position traffic signal.

Dr. James West helped co-invent microphone technology.

Lisa Gelobter was crucial to inventing Shockwave, the internet’s first web animation technology.

Frederick McKinley Jones invented and innovated refrigeration technology, including refrigerated trucks which were crucial in WWII.

Alexander Miles invented automatic elevator doors.

Madame CJ Walker invented a huge hair and beauty line for African American hair.

Elijah McCoy invented the portable ironing board and Sarah Boone innovated it.

Alice Parker invented a heating furnace system still used by many today.

Charles Brooks invented the design and technology for modern trucks that clean and sweep city streets.

George Alcorn invented x-ray imaging spectroscopy.

Benjamin Banneker invented America’s first clock.

Otis Boykin invented improved electrical resistors that are used today in everything from TVs to computers to radios.

Dr. Charles Drew created innovations in blood plasma that led to the creation of blood banks.

Dr. Philip Emeagwali invented the world’s fastest computer.

James Parsons work led to the invention of stainless steel.

George Washington Carver invented many, many culinary products derived from peanuts.

There are many, many more. I can not list them all here. I highly recommend looking more into the history of Black inventors and innovators, especially in the field of STEM! There are some good resources below to get you started!

Tagging @metalheadsforblacklivesmatter 

Sources-

https://www.black-inventor.com/

https://www.eduporium.com/blog/eduporium-weekly-celebrating-significant-stem-accomplishments-by-black-innovators/

https://sphero.com/blogs/news/black-leaders-in-stem

https://www.idtech.com/blog/black-stem-innovators-who-defined-modern-world

https://news.vmware.com/dei/10-black-technology-inventors-innovators

https://www.biography.com/inventors/madam-cj-walker-black-inventors

https://www.black-inventor.com/george-alcorn

https://www.black-inventor.com/benjamin-banneker

https://www.black-inventor.com/otis-boykin

https://www.black-inventor.com/dr-charles-drew

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/african-american-inventors-20th-and-21st-century/

[kickable]

when you get this, list 5 songs you like to listen to, publish. then, send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (positivity is cool) 💙

omg thank you :3

[levitationroom]

Upcoming shows, East & West

August 29 - Malibu, CA - Aviator Nation (Dreamland)

September 5 - Black Cat , Washington DC September 6 - Otis Mountain Get Down, NY September 7 - Brooklyn Bowl, NY September 8 - Ardmore Music Hall, PA

October 5 - Hardly Strictly Blue Grass

FULL DATES / INFOR & MORE AT

https://linktr.ee/LevitationRoom

[illimitable-freedom]

Portraits of Thomas Jefferson, Sorted generally in order of my preference.

Edgehill Portrait by Gilbert Stuart

I quite like Gilbert Stuart's portraits, as a general rule. He did iconic portraits of Washington, Madison, Jay, Adamses, and Monroe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Stuart. I think I like that they seem more 'republican' (small r) than aristocratic, with their muted colors and generally conservative dress (except for military officers who were painted in uniform).

In the version of the painting with a brown background from 1821, Jefferson's eyes are vibrant and captivating. The Edgehill portrait (blue background) was a family favorite and is generally agreed to be a good likeness.

John Trumbull, 1788 (depicting Jefferson as he looked in 1776, as part of the process of creating his Declaration of Independence painting). My preference is generally for portraits of the younger Jefferson,  with the red hair, more brightly colored clothes, and generally more youthful and slender appearance.

Charles Wilson Peale, 1791-1792

I like this portrait of a slightly younger Jefferson, featuring not-yet-totally gray hair. Love the upturned collar as well.

John Trumbull, 1788. This Jefferson is much more European than the Trumbull's other depiction.

Medallion Portrait by Gilbert Stuart

Similar to a Ceracchi bust, which was lost in a fire at the Library of Congress, this work portrays Jefferson in a style reminiscent of Rome. The fact that he and his family liked both 'Roman' versions may be because they appreciated the connection to Rome, or because, as they claimed, the likenesses were very good. Jefferson looks strong and muscular in this image.

Official Presidential Portrait by Rembrandt Peale, 1800

This is a very common image of Jefferson, but I don't have very strong positive or negative feelings about it. It's certainly very familiar. I feel like he is looking directly at me, and generally I don't feel very good about that (for example when I was reading The Art of Power and had to flip the book over every time I put it down because I couldn't take Jefferson staring at me).

Aquatint by Michel Sokolnicki (1760-1816), engraver, after Thaddeus Kosciuszko (1746-1817)

I was really hoping to like the Kosciuszko drawing, because wouldn't it be charming to have a portrait done by his friend. And I heard it was bad, but I was hoping it was bad in a likeable sort of way. But no, it's not charming; Jefferson looks rather angry and unlikeable. At least it got this quote from William Thornton:

"[W]hen I saw it, I did not wonder that he lost Poland—not that it is necessary a Genl should be a Painter, but he should be a man of such Sense as to discover that he is not a Painter."

Pasted from <https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/jefferson-engraving-sokolnicki-engraving/>

Rembrandt Peale, 1805

I've never really been fond of this portrait. Probably because of the coat. I suppose it doesn't mesh well with the image in my head of a lithe, slender Jefferson. I'd rather see whatever red/orange coat he's wearing underneath.

Thomas Sully, 1821 (Copy by George Catlin). Jefferson wasn't captured in many full-length portraits; part of me wishes we had more. His head looks like it has been chopped off at the top, and he is hidden under many layers of clothing (and still wearing that hideous fur coat, or at least a similar one).

Mather Brown, 1786

Generally agreed to be a bad likeness of Jefferson, and depicting him of an irregularly European character. However, at least the painting is pleasant to look at.

By Charles Peale Polk, 1799-1820. It looks like the artist was working from one of Charles Wilson Peale's paintings, butchered Jefferson's hair, and dressed him in the outfit from Rembrandt Peale's presidential portrait.

Engraving by John B. Neagle, 4 Nov 1796 - 17 Sep 1865

Copy after Bass Otis, 1784 - 1861

Jefferson looks pained in this portrait (done in 1816). His hair looks almost feminine and his face seems distorted. William Thornton described it as an "injustice".

Pasted from <https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.82.207>

https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/life-portraits-thomas-jefferson/

[callmebrycelee]

MY MAN CRUSH MONDAY IS...DANIEL KALUUYA SPOOKY SEASON EDITION

FULL NAME: Daniel Kaluuya

DATE OF BIRTH: February 24, 1989

PLACE OF BIRTH: Camden Town, London, England

AGE: 34

SIGN: Pisces

BEST KNOWN FOR: Portraying Black Death in the black comedy superhero film Kick-Ass 2; Chris Washington in Jordan Peele's psychological horror film Get Out; Ernest "Slim" Hines in Queen & Slim; Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah; Otis Jr. "OJ" Haywood in the Jordan Peele Neo-Western science fiction horror film Nope; and Hobart "Hobie" Brown / Spider-Punk in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

HEIGHT: 5 feet tall 9 inches

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 9.9

Beer Birthdays

Julius Zupansky (1850)

Gregg Glaser

Ryan Niebuhr (1976)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Hugh Grant; actor (1960)

Michael Keaton; actor, comedian (1951)

Otis Redding; R&B singer, songwriter (1941)

Harlan Sanders; chef (1890)

Leo Tolstoy; Russian writer (1828)

Famous Birthdays

James Agate; English writer (1877)

Mary Austin; writer (1868)

William Bligh; British navy admiral (1754)

Frank Chance; Chicago Cubs 1B (1876)

Frankie Frisch; New York Giants/St. Louis Cardinals 2B (1898)

Jane Greer; actor (1924)

James Hilton; English writer (1900)

Rachel Hunter; model (1966)

Doug Ingle; rock keyboardist (1946)

Michelle Johnson; actor (1965)

The Amazing Jonathan; comedian (1958)

John Kricfalusi; animator (1955)

Joseph Leidy; scientist (1823)

Garry Maddox; Philadelphia Phillies CF (1949)

Anna Malle; porn actor (1967)

Sylvia Miles; actor (1932)

Cesare Pavese; Italian writer (1908)

Dennis Ritchie; computer scientist (1941)

Cliff Robertson; actor (1925)

Adam Sandler; comedian, actor (1966)

Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder; television sportscaster, oddsmaker (1923)

David Stewart; rock musician (1952)

Joe Theismann; Washington Redskins QB (1949)

Henry Thomas; actor (1971)

Michelle Williams; actor (1980)

Tom Wompat; actor (1951)

[filosofablogger]

♫ It's Just A Matter Of Time ♫

I think I’ll take you way back in the time machine today.  The year is 1959, a time when pop and rock songs were simpler, with everyman lyrics and great melodies to say what needed to be said and nothing more, often in less than three minutes.  Brook Benton was just coming into his own, bringing his smooth voice to the Mercury Records label. From American Songwriter … Written by Benton, Clyde…

[angelloverde]

"Mo Soul" Player Playlist 18 March

Bartel - Boogie

Carl (Sherlock) Holmes - Your Game

Etta James - Light My Fire (JR.Dynamite's Smokey Edit)

Sola Rosa Feat. Jordan Rakei - Til The Sun

Dr Packer - Islands In The Sky

Fragmentorchestra - Metropolis

Afrolicious - Do What You Got To Do (Lucio K Remix)

Dexter Story Feat. Kamasi Washington - Wejene Aola

Champion Jack Dupree - Barrelhouse Woman

The Best Of Both Worlds - Naked Truth

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings - I Learned The Hard Way

Hebrew Rogers - Can't Buy Soul

Breakdown Brass - Nautilus (Hijacked)

The Hi-Fly Orchestra - Afro Boo

Shuggie otis - Funky Thirtee

If you really want to enjoy music and help musicians and bands, buy their lp’s or cd’s and don’t download mp3 formats. There is nothing like good quality sound!!!

(Angel Lo Verde / Mo Soul)

[ravewing]

who is the hottest founding father and who is the ugliest and also are there any founding fathers that are girls (i’m looking to get into amrev 🥺🥺🥺)

george washington hottest no questions asked. jefferson and hamilton were pretty fine too tho ...

john adams was probably one of the uglier founding fathers (hes obnoxious and disliked [1776 reference]) DURING the revolutionary war but aaron burr hands down was the ugliest afterwards (he had a couple strokes and ended up looking very ...... interesting ..)

as for founding mothers i havent read much on women at the time yet BUT a few names that like. are sticking to me rn are abagail adams (john adams' wife, i think she was known for supporting women's education + was anti slavery) and mercy otis warren (i believe she wrote plays that worked as propaganda to unite america against the british + she published a lot of the first history of the amrev in the early 1800s)!!

getting into amrev is one of the best things you can do its so awesome sauce fr. id recommend reading books on it + reading letters from that time is also super silly😋😋

[nostalgicwrestlingrd]

WWE Monday Night RAW (November 13 2023)From Washington D. C.(Full Show) Live

Video de WWE Monday Night RAW (November 13 2023) Show Completo desde Washington D. C. (En Vivo)

1-Cody Rhodes Introduces His WarGames Team & Gets Confronted by The Judgment Day

2-Sami Zayn Seth Rollins vs Dominik Mysterio JD Mcdonagh

3-Rhea Ripley Brawls With Zoey Starks

4-Otis vs Shinsuke Nakamura

5-Tegan Nox vs Piper Niven

6-Ludwig Kaiser vs Tommaso Ciampa

7-Xia Li vs Indi Hartwell & Becky Lynch Brawls With Xia Li

8-Ivar vs The Miz

9-Cody Rhodes Jey Uso vs The Judgment Day (Tag Team Championship Match)

10-Drew Joins The Judgment Day

[newstfionline]

Friday, November 3, 2023

Voters are skeptical of Biden’s age. But Trump’s flubs draw attention, too (AP) To hear Donald Trump tell it, President Joe Biden is so senile that he doesn’t know where he’s speaking and feeble enough that others are making decisions for him. Yet Trump has made notable flubs of his own. The former president mixed up the city and state where he was campaigning last weekend and had to be corrected by a local official. He recently called Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán the leader of Turkey and has repeatedly mispronounced the militant group Hamas as “hummus.” Biden is now 80 and Trump is 77. Trump was the oldest person elected to a first term—until Biden was. Today, the age factor is shaping up as an important issue in a possible rematch in 2024 of their first race, in 2020.

Hurricane Otis produced 205 mph gust, among strongest ever measured (Washington Post) A weather station near Acapulco measured a 205 mph wind gust, one of the highest ever observed in the world, as Category 5 Otis made landfall last Wednesday as the strongest hurricane on record to strike the west coast of Mexico. The storm killed more than 40 people and produced catastrophic damage in and around Acapulco, with economic losses expected to top $10 billion.

A Record Oil Gusher Infuses Tiny Guyana With Wealth and Worries (WSJ) Guyana is suddenly the world’s next great energy powerhouse. Through a series of discoveries starting in 2015, Exxon Mobil and its partners have found more than 11 billion barrels of oil off the Guyanese coast, spurring massive investments and transforming one of South America’s poorest countries into the world’s fastest-growing economy, according to the International Monetary Fund. The jarring new reality has caused alarm for some locals, and some fear their country is becoming a subsidiary of Exxon.

Bolivia cuts ties with Israel (Washington Post) Bolivia’s government said it is severing diplomatic ties with Israel in response to its ongoing attacks on Gaza, condemning the “aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive.” Chile and Colombia announced that they would recall their ambassadors. Israel’s Foreign Ministry called Bolivia’s decision to cut ties “a surrender to terrorism.”

Brazil to militarize key airports, ports and borders in a crackdown on organized crime (AP) Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Wednesday he is sending the armed forces to boost security at some of the country’s most important airports, ports and international borders as part of a renewed effort to tackle organized crime in Latin America’s largest nation. The decision comes days after members of a criminal gang set fire to dozens of buses in Rio de Janeiro, apparently in retaliation for the police slaying their leader’s nephew. Brazil will mobilize 3,600 members of the army, navy and air force to increase patrols and monitor the international airports in Rio and Sao Paulo, as well as two maritime ports in Rio and Sao Paulo’s Santos port, the busiest in Latin America—and a major export hub for cocaine.

A world of fear for Europe’s Jews (NYT) Perhaps not since the Holocaust, which saw the annihilation of about two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish community, have the Jews of Europe lived in an atmosphere of fear so acute that it feels like a fundamental shift in the terms of their existence. Across a Europe of daubed Stars of David on apartment buildings, bomb threats to Jewish stores and demonstrations calling for Israel’s eradication, Jews speak of alarm as pro-Palestinian sentiment surges. “There is a feeling of helplessness that has never been experienced before,” said Joel Rubinfeld of the Belgian League Against Anti-Semitism.

Ukraine ‘fatigue’ prevalent in Europe, Meloni tells Russian prank callers (Politico) In a call with people she thought were officials from the African Union, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni leaked that many people in Europe were experiencing “fatigue” with the ongoing war in Ukraine. Unfortunately for Italy’s leader, she was actually talking to a pair of Russian pranksters named Vovan and Lexus, who released the call audio online. “I see that there is a lot of fatigue, I have to say the truth, from all the sides,” she said. “We [are] near the moment in which everybody understands that we need a way out.” The call comes as both Europe and the U.S. have noted a decline in popular support for the war in Ukraine. “Exhaustion with the war rolls along like a wave,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a recent interview. “You see it in the United States, in Europe. And we see that as soon as they start to get a little tired, it becomes like a show to them: ‘I can’t watch this rerun for the 10th time.’”

Putin is expected to seek reelection in Russia, but who would run if he doesn’t? (AP) Vladimir Putin isn’t quite the man he used to be—more than a decade has passed since the Russian president engaged in public stunts to boast of his vigor by hugging a polar bear or riding a horse barechested in the mountains. The war in Ukraine has further dented that strongman image. Putin is still expected to seek another term when Russia holds presidential elections next March. In fact, he has pushed through changes in the constitution to allow him to run for two more six-year terms. But 71 is an age when death or serious illness are hardly distant concerns for the man who has ruled Russia for 24 years. If Putin was not on the ballot for some reason, it’s not clear who might take his place.

Myanmar rebels seize vital border town as China calls for ceasefire (Al Jazeera) Myanmar’s military government says it has lost control of an important town on the border with China after days of fierce fighting with armed groups. The loss is a major blow to the generals who seized power from Myanmar’s elected government in February 2021 and have since struggled to contain opposition to their rule. The town, bordering China’s Yunnan province, is central to the flow of trade from Myanmar to China. More than a quarter of Myanmar’s $1.8bn border trade with China passed through Chinshwehaw from April to September, state media reported in September. China is a key ally and major weapons supplier to Myanmar’s military government, whose power grab nearly three years ago it has not called a coup.

The Hermit Kingdom Becomes More Hermit-y (NBC News) According to media reports from across the globe, North Korea is preparing to close up to a dozen of its embassies worldwide. North Korean state media said that state diplomats conducted “farewell” visits to Angola and Uganda last week, and the country also appears set to close its diplomatic missions to Spain and Hong Kong. “They appear to be withdrawing as their foreign currency earning business has stumbled due to the international community’s strengthening of sanctions, making it difficult to maintain the embassies any longer,” said South Korea’s inter-Korean affairs ministry. “This can be a sign of North Korea’s difficult economic situation, where it is difficult to maintain even minimal diplomatic relations with traditionally friendly countries.” Of course, South Korea might not be the best source for unbiased news on its neighbor to the north.

Amnesty International says Israel using white phosphorus in Lebanon (AP) Amnesty International says that the IDF has hit civilians in southern Lebanon with white phosphorus shells multiple times over the past month. White phosphorus is a controversial incendiary munition that’s useful for illuminating military targets at night and setting up smokescreens. It’s also a deadly weapon that can cause widespread destruction when aimed at civilian populations, setting buildings ablaze and burning human flesh to the bone. Russia has come under heavy criticism for using the weapon against civilian populations in Ukraine—a move that’s considered a war crime. Video evidence reviewed by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Washington Post also shows the IDF using white phosphorus in Gaza City.

Rafah Gate Opened (NBC News) Hundreds of foreign passport holders and groups of severely injured Palestinians were allowed to cross into Egypt yesterday, the first civilians to leave the Gaza Strip during the three-week conflict. Egypt had thus far declined to allow refugees across the border, citing the potential for an unmanageable number of refugees, concerns refugees won’t be allowed to return to their homes following the war, and mistrust of Hamas and other Islamic militant groups. US officials suggest as many as 600 American citizens remain in Gaza, some of whom were among those allowed to exit with the initial group. Separately, Israel has effectively begun a ground invasion of the 140-square-mile territory, with at least four reported incursions. Analysts say troop movements appear designed to isolate Gaza City from the south.

Israel makes a desolation and may call it peace (Washington Post) The Roman historian Tacitus famously conjured a line that still resonates from antiquity. “They make a desert, and call it peace,” concluded a bitter Caledonian enemy of the Romans, speaking of the injustices wrought by the powerful empire as its legions rampaged across the land. Israeli politicians, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, cast their ongoing campaign in the Gaza Strip as a war of justice and retribution against the savagery of Islamist group Hamas, which is responsible for the single deadliest assault on Israel since the Jewish state’s founding. In their zeal to punish Hamas, Israel has already triggered a deep humanitarian crisis for the besieged enclave of 2.3 million people and killed more than 8,500 people, including over 3,500 children, and destroyed thousands of buildings in the crammed territory amid relentless aerial bombardments. A statement from UNICEF, the U.N. children’s agency, called Gaza “a graveyard for thousands of children.” “It’s a living hell for everyone else,” the statement said.

War and the young (NPR) The other night, we accepted an invitation to visit the Israeli military spokesman’s office. My colleagues and I observed how young almost everyone seemed. Israelis commonly perform compulsory military service after high school. With the exception of a few senior officers, hardly anyone seemed to be out of their twenties. We’d come to see the latest version of an Israeli government video showing the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. On screen, many people were young. One scene, taken from security cameras in a home, shows two boys in their underwear, having been surprised in bed by the early-morning attack. Their father tries to herd them into a shelter but is apparently killed in front of them. Another scene shows Palestinian attackers, mostly very young men. As Israel responds to the Hamas-led attack, much of the suffering has fallen on the young. As of today, Gaza’s Health Ministry said more than 8,500 people had been killed. The U.N. says nearly 70% of them are women and children. Many civilians tell stories of searching for water for their children; Israel cut off the supply at the start of the war. War is nearly always conducted by the young, though older people tend to send them. It often is inflicted on the young, who are not consulted beforehand. There’s a special irony of this conflict in that it turns on arguments over land that stretch back generations—even centuries—long before any of today’s participants were born.

‘AI’ named Word of the Year by Collins Dictionary The abbreviation of artificial intelligence (AI) has been named the Collins Word of the Year for 2023. Lexicographers at Collins Dictionary said use of the term had “accelerated” and that it had become the dominant conversation of 2023. The Collins announcement comes as UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hosts a summit for 100 world leaders, tech bosses and AI researchers to discuss how best to maximise the benefits of this technology while minimising the risks. Elsewhere, the Beatles have used it to help retrieve John Lennon’s vocals to create their “last song”, which will be released tomorrow.