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John Aerni-Flessner

@lesothojohn.bsky.social

2.9K followers 740 following 510 posts

Assoc Prof, African History, MSU, RCAH. Dreams for Lesotho: http://undpress.nd.edu/9780 Historical Dictionary: tinyurl.com/3tyha6jt Publications here: https://tinyurl.com/ynvwp6c5 Lesotho, Southern Africa, development, borders, running, Michigan

undpress.nd.edu

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John Aerni-Flessner @lesothojohn.bsky.social · Feb 2

Hello to all my new followers!

As handle suggests, mostly Lesotho/South Africa stuff here.

Academic writing can be found in above links.

Non-Academic Writing:

AIAC: africasacountry.com/author/john-...

M&G: mg.co.za/author/john-...

Daily Maverick: www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/johna...

John Aerni-Flessner

Articles by John Aerni-Flessner.

africasacountry.com

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John Aerni-Flessner @lesothojohn.bsky.social · 5h

I was also thinking about the tyranny of the "citation metrics" and how the gutting of graduate programs/early career hiring is also ensuring that our work is not cited as much as previous generations.

Not the biggest deal (I hate that -ish!) but still something to keep in mind...

Reposted by John Aerni-Flessner

Maxine Joselow @maxinejoselow.bsky.social · 8h

Before catastrophic floods swept through the Alaska Native village of Kipnuk on Sunday, the EPA canceled a $20 million grant intended to protect the community from extreme flooding. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/c...

Before Alaska Flooding, E.P.A. Canceled $20 Million Flood Protection Grant

www.nytimes.com

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John Aerni-Flessner @lesothojohn.bsky.social · 12h

#Lesotho at 7% for those reporting a need to pay a #bribe to get #healthcare. Only a few countries lower on the list (African average = 20%)

Ryan Musser @ryanmusser.bsky.social · 12h

Liberia and Sierra Leone leading the pack in respondents who had to pay a bribe to obtain healthcare, according to @afrobarometer.bsky.social

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John Aerni-Flessner @lesothojohn.bsky.social · 13h

And, yes, #Nigeria might make the 2nd-place playoffs (I haven't done all those scenarios), but the main point stands: A tie with #Lesotho is making their lives a LOT more difficult!

#Football
#CAF
#MensWorldCupQualifying

John Aerni-Flessner @lesothojohn.bsky.social · 13h

If today's results hold, #Nigeria will have to reckon with the fact that they lost a #WorldCup bid because #Likuena held them to a 1-1 draw back on 16 November 2023!

#Lesotho
#Football

#BafanaBafana
#YoureWelcome!

Reposted by John Aerni-Flessner

Charles Onyango-Obbo @cobbo3.bsky.social · 13h

The "King of Afrobeat", "Black President", activist and legendary musician Fela Kuti has returned to his hometown and Nigeria's cultural and commercial capital Lagos through a landmark exhibition that celebrates his life and legacy which opened on Monday.
📸AFP

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Reposted by John Aerni-Flessner

Ryan Musser @ryanmusser.bsky.social · 15h

Fascinating stats from @afrobarometer.bsky.social on which African countries have the most citizens considering emigrating. At the top: The Gambia, Liberia, Ghana, Cabo Verde, Angola, Sierra Leone.

Overall East Africa doing much better than West and Southern Africa.

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Reposted by John Aerni-Flessner

"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 1d

Again, it is worth keeping in mind when comparing the rate of discoveries that public funding for medicine and the sciences is orders of magnitude larger than for the humanities. We work slow in part because we work on a shoestring.

A pie-chart of federal research funding, using 2023 figures. The funding slices for the NIH (83%) and NSF (17%) are so large that the slices for the NEH and NEA round to 0%.

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Reposted by John Aerni-Flessner

Charlie Thomas @cthomasjamh.bsky.social · 1d

Right? Look if I didn’t need to teach and had a substantial budget to smooth travel and maybe even have a team of grad students and junior colleagues then I would be producing faster! Otoh, while my book took years to write, it actually produced a lot of new knowledge for about $15k in funding.

"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 1d

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Reposted by John Aerni-Flessner

Gillian Brockell @gbrockell.bsky.social · 1d

This is at least the fifth time ICE Air has landed in Ghana since third-country removals began there Sept. 5.

We know one of those held additional third-country nationals.

There could be more, because, as I reported last month, ICE flights on military jets are getting harder to detect.

An ADSBx map showing and Omni Air International 767 (N207AX) operating for ICE landing in Ghana this morning.

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Reposted by John Aerni-Flessner

Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️ @napaaqtuk.bsky.social · 1d

Most of rural Alaska is Alaska Native. Bonus donating to support Alaska Native people on Indigenous Peoples Day.

Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️ @napaaqtuk.bsky.social · 1d

Western Alaska was hit hard by the recent storms. Houses floated away in Kipnuk, houses flipped over, people lost everything from the flooding that came with the storms. Please donate if you can. This group has a long history of supporting AK communities.

alaskacf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/c...

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John Aerni-Flessner @lesothojohn.bsky.social · 1d

For those who did not hear, a strong #typhoon remnant hit western #Alaska over the weekend, wrecking many #Yupik communities in the #Kuskokwim Delta.

Search and rescue still ongoing in Kipnuk and Kwigillingok: www.alaskasnewssource.com/2025/10/07/f...

LIVE BLOG: Dozens of people rescued, some still unaccounted for, DPS says

Former Typhoon Halong made landfall overnight into Sunday. Its strongest impacts were felt in the Kuskokwim delta area.

www.alaskasnewssource.com

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Reposted by John Aerni-Flessner

ᒪᑰᓯ Mark Springer @markspringer.bsky.social · 2d

Best up to date reporting tonight.

Vivian Faith Prescott @alaskapoet.bsky.social · 2d

“Troopers have received secondhand reports of people who are unaccounted for in Kipnuk and are continuing to work with local officials to verify and confirm how many people are missing,” DPS wrote.”

LIVE BLOG: Dozens of people rescued, some still unaccounted for, DPS says

Former Typhoon Halong made landfall overnight into Sunday. Its strongest impacts were felt in the Kuskokwim delta area.

www.alaskasnewssource.com

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John Aerni-Flessner @lesothojohn.bsky.social · 2d

*As long as your failure is just not winning games (ie see our ex-coach for how *not* to fail, while costing yourself ~$90 million)!

Reposted by John Aerni-Flessner

CeeJay Johnson-Yellow Hawk @adriftalchemist.bsky.social · 2d

updates for kipnuk

several houses are gone and more continue to float away from the village

hope help arrives soon

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Toni Reitter @tonichelle.bsky.social · 2d

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ᒪᑰᓯ Mark Springer @markspringer.bsky.social · 2d

My City Manager reports YKHC is mobilizing teams to get to Kipnuk and Kwigillingok with water and medical resources. Charter flights are being prepped to head to the coast.

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John Aerni-Flessner @lesothojohn.bsky.social · 5d

Helping us celebrate the 65th anniversary of the founding of our African Studies Center here at MSU.

Even without federal funding anymore, we carry on.

John Aerni-Flessner @lesothojohn.bsky.social · 5d

A little more night music for you right back. Thomas Mapfumo played on campus tonight and it was amazing. He is 80+ at this point, but directs the band with aplomb and still sings well. It was amazing!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyUM...

Thomas Mapfumo and The Blacks Unlimited - Vanhu Vatema (1993)

YouTube video by WorldSrv

www.youtube.com

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John Aerni-Flessner @lesothojohn.bsky.social · 5d

AI doesn't need to write that. Consultancy speak in the Dean's office predates the 2022 release of ChatGPT, unfortunately, as we all know only too well!

Reposted by John Aerni-Flessner

Laprofmme @laprofmme.bsky.social · 5d

Have you ever seen such a perfect example of vacuous consultant-speak?

Roberts and Dean wrote. "The new school will grow and amplify the impact of research and scholarship, foster interdisciplinary collaboration and expand opportunities to respond to the challenges of our time."

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Reposted by John Aerni-Flessner

Robert Mahon @bedform.org · 6d

4 out of the 9 Nobel laureates in Chemistry, Physics, and Medicine are University of California faculty (2 UCSB, 2 Cal) and one other received all their degrees from the UC system (UCLA and UCSD).

So those highly funded woke liberal universities are clearly failing, eh?

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John Aerni-Flessner @lesothojohn.bsky.social · 6d

"AI cannot mishear. And mishearing is often how we learn."

Great, great stuff here.

Please click the link and read

Cate Denial @cjdenial.bsky.social · 7d

This is a wonderful meditation on what AI cannot do.

Alex Shevrin Venet @asv.bsky.social · 7d

wowwww this is incredibly beautiful. tagging some friends who will love this: @ladyofsardines.bsky.social @heymrsbond.com @marcusluther.bsky.social

therumpus.net/2025/10/02/h...

John Aerni-Flessner @lesothojohn.bsky.social · 7d

Seeing it reported over on Facebook that the #Lesotho Exemption Permits (#LEP) are being extended for another 18 months--to May 2027. No link yet that I have found.

Good news for #Basotho who have regularised their status in #SouthAfrica.

#Borders
#SADC
#Neighbours

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Reposted by John Aerni-Flessner

Michelle Chihara @thisblue.bsky.social · 8d

Fight on, friends
www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2025/10/06/r...

‘Reject the Compact’ petition urges USC not to sign Trump’s contract

Faculty show support for USC to reject the federal government’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.

www.uscannenbergmedia.com

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