‘I miss happiness’: A Syrian’s journey from mayor in Aleppo to obscurity in Saint John - The Globe and Mail

‘I miss happiness’: A Syrian’s journey from mayor in Aleppo to obscurity in Saint John - The Globe and Mail:

Many things now make him cry – talk of his absent family, the son trapped in Damascus, his former life, his future. He’s saved a few photos. One shows him in a jaunty pose of officialdom, tie askew. It was taken six years ago. Mr. Sharbaji looks decades younger. He would like to sing for us, but first he has to find his teeth.

“I don’t miss the money,” he says. “I miss happiness. Happiness is food for the soul.”

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Ruge | Assignment Guatemala, 1968: An Early Encounter with Terrorism

Ruge | Assignment Guatemala, 1968: An Early Encounter with Terrorism: "Neil walked over to me and told me, his voice trembling, that our ambassador, John Gordon Mein, had just been assassinated one block from the consulate. Neil had seen him lying on the median of the Blvd. La Reforma, covered with blood. Two ambassadors’ wives coming from a luncheon had passed the scene and thought they recognized Ambassador Mein by his white hair and the abandoned official car with its flag blowing in the breeze.. They had stopped at the consulate, extremely agitated, and informed Neil of the murder, whereupon Neil ordered his car and was the first at the scene to identify the Ambassador.

"



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Thank you for calling. How may I assist you? | Thoughts from the Journey

Thank you for calling. How may I assist you? | Thoughts from the Journey: "I was a Care Advocate for a major insurance company.   I was the lady  on the phone who authorized services for insurance members.   At first, it seemed fine.  I worked from home.  I had a list of tasks to complete for the day.    One year into the job, the work quickly changed when I became a glorified telephone operator.  In May, my manager  let me know that if I did not reach a 25% negotiation rate, I would receive a corrective action in my personnel file.  Translation: turn services down at a 25% rate.  It became crystal clear that this work was no longer for me.  I had to find something else that did not cross all ethical boundaries that I held dear"



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You Laugh, You Lose: Dormtainment vs. Dormtainment - YouTube

You Laugh, You Lose: Dormtainment vs. Dormtainment - YouTube: "You Laugh, You Lose: Dormtainment vs. Dormtainment
"



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Why so many transgender Americans find refuge in military service - The Washington Post

Why so many transgender Americans find refuge in military service - The Washington Post: "I write this today from a dorm room, having just completed my first year of college. Without the military, I know my life would look very different. I cannot stand quietly by while a man who dodged the draft attempts to take options away from people who want to serve their country and improve their lives. The transgender troops I know are some of the best people I have had the pleasure of meeting. They live authentically and support their teammates, putting the mission and team integrity before themselves. They excel, they work hard, and they serve with honor. We deserve the same opportunities as our cisgender peers and the same respect. Denying transgender people the same opportunities as our cisgender peers is not only dehumanizing and disrespectful, it is fundamentally un-American.

"



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An old McCain profile

Carl Bernstein: "Today, McCain often speaks of the duty to follow his conscience in politics, rather than polls or party discipline. This, he says, comes from having escaped death and becoming "more aware of the transience of everything we do." Friends, family, and fellow senators sense that McCain lives every day as if it were extra time granted by grace.

"



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No Dunkirk Spirit Can Save Britain From Brexit Defeat - The New York Times

No Dunkirk Spirit Can Save Britain From Brexit Defeat - The New York Times: "There aren’t enough British workers, with the right attitudes and the right skills, to fill the country’s jobs. The consequence is that we import huge numbers of migrants to do what Britons can’t or won’t. The manufacturing, nursing, care and catering industries all depend on foreigners. Nearly one-fifth of Britain’s university staff members are from other European Union countries. Almost 100,000 seasonal agricultural workers are needed every year to pick vegetables and kill chickens — jobs that farmers’ groups say it’s impossible to get Britons to do.

"



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After Free Willy, people rushed to see Orcas at SeaWorld. What other movie messages completely backfired? : AskReddit

After Free Willy, people rushed to see Orcas at SeaWorld. What other movie messages completely backfired? : AskReddit:

My Dad has a farm in central Canada, about 40 km away from the nearest mid-sized city.

Without fail... every.single.time... Disney would release a film, and BAM, shit tons of new animals would appear in our area within a few months.

101 Dalmations? 3 of the 10 farms on our country road had dogs dropped off that year... and that is just in a 5km radius and on 1 road.

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80s Remix: Ed Sheeran - Shape of You - YouTube

80s Remix: Ed Sheeran - Shape of You - YouTube: "80s Remix: Ed Sheeran - Shape of You
"



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John McCain, Prisoner of War: A First-Person Account | National News | US News

John McCain, Prisoner of War: A First-Person Account | National News | US News:

Now that all acknowledged prisoners are back and a self-imposed seal of silence is off, Commander McCain is free to answer the questions many Americans have asked:

What was it really like? How prolonged were the tortures and brutality? How did the captured U.S. airmen bear up under the mistreatment—and years spent in solitary? How did they preserve their sanity? Did visiting "peace groups" really add to their troubles? How can this country's military men be conditioned to face such treatment in the future without crumbling?

Here, in his own words, based on almost total recall, is Commander McCain's narrative of 5½ years in the hands of the North Vietnamese.

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Pardonme23 comments on A teacher says his middle school students believe the Earth is flat because basketball star Kyrie Irving said so. He says he can't convince them otherwise.

Pardonme23 comments on A teacher says his middle school students believe the Earth is flat because basketball star Kyrie Irving said so. He says he can't convince them otherwise.: "bro the worst thing you can say is "vaccines don't cause autism". I'll tell you why. People are pretty dumb. They respond best to emotionally charged words, which are often words that they can imagine in their head. As long as two images are in their head, no matter if they're not related or caused by each other, people will naturally relate the two as connected. In the sentence I put in quotes, the only two words that can be imagined are vaccines and autism. Therefore you're letting people form a connection between the two because you just implanted those two images in their head. Instead, I say we should say stuff like "SHOTS ARE SAFE. SHOTS ARE SAFE. SHOTS ARE SAFE."
"



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Skinny Repeal Does Not Repeal and Is Not Responsible | The Resurgent

Skinny Repeal Does Not Repeal and Is Not Responsible | The Resurgent:

The Senate Republicans are now pushing a so called “skinny repeal” of Obamacare that gets rid of the individual mandate and also gets rid of the employer mandate.

This is not repeal and it is not responsible.

Skinny repeal will allow people to abandon health care insurance if they do not want it, but with the pre-existing coverage requirement in place, people can then hold off on getting insurance until they need it, which undermines the whole system of insurance.

That will cause premiums to rise, which will have a cyclical effect pushing more people to hold off on insurance until they need it.

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Steve Earle says modern country stars make 'hip hop for people who are afraid of black people' | The Independent

Steve Earle says modern country stars make 'hip hop for people who are afraid of black people' | The Independent: ""The best stuff coming out of Nashville is all by women except for Chris Stapleton," he said. "The guys just wanna sing about getting f***ed up. They're just doing hip hop for people who are afraid of black people.

"



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Norm Macdonald Sounds Off on SNL: ‘I Think They’re Playing Into Trump’s Hands’

Norm Macdonald Sounds Off on SNL: ‘I Think They’re Playing Into Trump’s Hands’:

So if you were still doing “Weekend Update” on that show now, what would your approach be?

I don’t know. I always wrote non-political jokes, because I just hate politics so much. Jim Downey wrote the political jokes. And I was kind of shocked, because someone sent me a thing of all the Hillary [Clinton] jokes I did. It was like 20 minutes of them. And they were all, everyone of them, the premise was that she was a huge liar. And that was like 20 years ago. I didn’t know that. I guess she was. My theory is this: People hated Hillary Clinton so much that they voted for someone they hated more than Hillary Clinton in order to rub it in. And if you think about it, this is also the only presidential election we’ve had where only one guy ran.

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Speed bag Memory Lane-Netsky Punch Drum - YouTube

Speed bag Memory Lane-Netsky Punch Drum - YouTube: "Punch Drumming to Memory Lane by Netsky"





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Ask Andrew W.K.: My Dad Is a Right-Wing Asshole | Village Voice

Ask Andrew W.K.: My Dad Is a Right-Wing Asshole | Village Voice:

Human beings crave order and simplicity. We cling to the hope that some day, if we really refine our world view and beliefs, we can actually find the fully correct way to think — the absolute truth and final side to stand on. People and systems craving power take advantage of this desire and pit us against each other using a “this or that” mentality. The point is to create unrest, disagreement, resentment, and anger — a population constantly at war with itself, each side deeply believing that the other is not just wrong, but also a sincere threat to their very way of life and survival. This creates constant anxiety and distraction — the perfect conditions for oppression.



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My grandfather who raised me passed away. Being black and poor and born in the 20s, he couldn't become an engineer like he dreamed of. I just got accepted into engineering school. : TwoXChromosomes

My grandfather who raised me passed away. Being black and poor and born in the 20s, he couldn't become an engineer like he dreamed of. I just got accepted into engineering school. : TwoXChromosomes: "He may have lived through a lot of terrible things (and trust me he had the stories to prove it) but he had one core teaching he imparted on us and it goes as follows: "I've got my mind to myself. I'm free in that, and no one can make me a prisoner because I, and I alone, have my mind."
"



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He's My F*cking Pastor! — One Direction Community

He's My F*cking Pastor! — One Direction Community: "The short summary of it was that he used to go to church a long time ago and was kind of close to God.  Then he was drafted to Vietnam to fight in the war.  He said he did some things there he was not proud of, things God could not forgive him for.  He said in attacks on villages he shot and killed enemy soldiers who were just kids, also women, and elderly.  He saw children killed and witnessed and participated in other atrocities of war.    He stopped praying after the war and has never gone back to church since he came back to the states.  When I asked to pray with him there he said no, he had to leave, but for me to pray as you feel God will listen."



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Thor: Ragnarok's 'Friend From Work Line' Has A Touching Origin Story

Thor: Ragnarok's 'Friend From Work Line' Has A Touching Origin Story:

Director Taika Waititi has already revealed that much of Thor: Ragnarok was improvised, but the moment in which Thor first sees the Hulk in a gladiatorial arena and describes his as a “friend from work” came from an unexpected source.

“We had a young kid, a Make-A-Wish kid on set that day,” Thor star Chris Hemsworth tells Entertainment Weekly. “He goes, ‘You know, you should say, ‘He’s a friend from work!’”

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Caroline O. on Twitter: "A wise friend reminded me of this RAND article on the "firehose of falsehood" propaganda model. Look familiar? https://t.co/1P0jIENXbH https://t.co/nW2sqSHUIr"

Caroline O. on Twitter: "A wise friend reminded me of this RAND article on the "firehose of falsehood" propaganda model. Look familiar? https://t.co/1P0jIENXbH https://t.co/nW2sqSHUIr":



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Árstíðir - Heyr himna smiður (Icelandic hymn) in train station - YouTube

Árstíðir - Heyr himna smiður (Icelandic hymn) in train station - YouTube:





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97 year-old Canadian Veteran and his thoughts after watching the movie "Dunkirk" : videos

97 year-old Canadian Veteran and his thoughts after watching the movie "Dunkirk" : videos: "“Tonight I cried because it’s never the end. It won’t happen. We the human species are so intelligent and we do such astonishing things. We can fly to the moon but we still do stupid things,” Sturdy said. “So when I see the film tonight, I see it with a certain kind of sadness. Because what happened back then in 1940, it’s not the end.”
"



'via Blog this'

Iduna - "Strike The Set" [Official Lyric Video] - YouTube

Iduna - "Strike The Set" [Official Lyric Video] - YouTube: ""





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A hacker stole $31M of Ether—how it happened and what it means for Ethereum

A hacker stole $31M of Ether—how it happened and what it means for Ethereum:

The problem is, blockchain programming is fundamentally different from web development.

Let me explain.

Before the age of the client-server web model, most programming was done for packaged consumer software or on embedded systems. This was before the day of automatic software updates. In these programs, a shipped product was final—you released one form of your software every 6 months, and if there was a bug, that bug would have to stand until the next release. Because of this longer development cycle, all software releases were rigorously tested under all conceivable circumstances.

Web development is far more forgiving. When you push bad code to a web server, it's not a big deal if there's a critical mistake—you can just roll back the code, or roll forward with a fix, and all is well because you control the server. Or if the worst happens and there's an active breach or a data leak, you can always stop the bleeding by shutting off your servers and disconnecting yourself from the network.

These two development models are fundamentally different. It's only out of something like web development that you can get the motto "move fast and break things."

Most programmers today are trained on the web development model. Unfortunately, the blockchain security model is more akin to the older model.

'via Blog this'

Senate candidate Deedra Abboud is under attack for being Muslim

Senate candidate Deedra Abboud is under attack for being Muslim: "She won’t win.

The last Democrat to win a U.S. Senate seat from Arizona was Dennis DeConcini in 1988.

Still, I’d encourage you to take a look at Abboud’s Facebook page. 

You won't learn much about her. The stuff she’s posted is your typical campaign feed.

But the responses – many of them from people who live outside Arizona – say quite a bit about us."



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The call to service, citizenship and the future of tech -- reflections from my tour at the United States Digital Service | Cathryn Posey | Pulse | LinkedIn

The call to service, citizenship and the future of tech -- reflections from my tour at the United States Digital Service | Cathryn Posey | Pulse | LinkedIn: "And during my two years of service I have learned something profound -- this opportunity to serve for the tech community is not merely helping to transform government, it has the potential to transform the tech industry."



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Africans in America/Part 4/Frederick Douglass speech

Africans in America/Part 4/Frederick Douglass speech: "Would you have me argue that man is entitled to liberty? that he is the rightful owner of his own body? You have already declared it. Must I argue the wrongfulness of slavery? Is that a question for Republicans? Is it to be settled by the rules of logic and argumentation, as a matter beset with great difficulty, involving a doubtful application of the principle of justice, hard to be understood? How should I look to-day, in the presence of Amercans, dividing, and subdividing a discourse, to show that men have a natural right to freedom? speaking of it relatively and positively, negatively and affirmatively. To do so, would be to make myself ridiculous, and to offer an insult to your understanding. There is not a man beneath the canopy of heaven that does not know that slavery is wrong for him.
"



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I was a trauma nurse in Afghanistan. This is what I think about on Memorial Day. : MilitaryStories

I was a trauma nurse in Afghanistan. This is what I think about on Memorial Day. : MilitaryStories: "As we covered his body, I thought about his family at home and wondered what they were doing at this time. The family was not aware of the events taking place and would soon be greeted by soldiers in the Army’s Dress Blue Uniform informing them the status of their child and fiancé. I was lightheaded, my arms shook from the adrenaline flowing through my veins. When we finished, I left the operating room to get a breath of the cold mountain air. I walked out of the building through a mass of soldiers wondering why we were leaving the operating room so soon. I stepped out behind the building and behind some connexes where days before I'd incinerated a leg, fell to my knees, and wept.
"



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The Comeback Kid - News Hub

The Comeback Kid - News Hub: "As part of her rehab exercises during her recovery, Riley had been trying on her bridesmaid dress and practicing for York’s big day.

“She was preparing to regain her independence,” York says, “but with the specific goal of being at my wedding.”

On June 15, 2012 — just 35 days after the accident — Angela Riley walked down the aisle as her friend’s bridesmaid.
"



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'Race never entered our minds': The heartbroken couple told they can't adopt a white baby

'Race never entered our minds': The heartbroken couple told they can't adopt a white baby:

The Manders, both of whose parents came to this country from Punjab as children, have launched legal action against the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and its adoption service Adopt Berkshire after being refused permission to adopt a white child because of their “cultural heritage”. 



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Selling Our Building: Our Story – Ginter Park Baptist Church

Selling Our Building: Our Story – Ginter Park Baptist Church: "Our building has served Ginter Park Baptist Church for most of its century-long history. We have two well-equipped worship spaces, large and small classrooms, a commercial-level kitchen, flexible event space, and so on. We have shared this space with individuals and with other church and community groups, and this sharing has enriched our relationship with our neighbors and contributed operating funds for the property. However, the growing maintenance costs of the building finally have outstripped our ability to keep up by means of a combination of congregational gifts and rental income.

"



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Darlingside - Go Back (Glastonbury Session) - YouTube

Darlingside - Go Back (Glastonbury Session) - YouTube:




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Why CG Sucks (Except It Doesn't) - YouTube

Why CG Sucks (Except It Doesn't) - YouTube: "We believe that the reason we think all CG looks bad, is because we only see "bad” CG. Fantastic, beautiful, and wonderfully executed CG is everywhere - you just don't know it. Truly great visual effects serve story and character – and in doing so are, by their very definition, invisible.
"



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China rocket launch fails after liftoff - CNN.com

China rocket launch fails after liftoff - CNN.com:

Carrying an experimental communications satellite, China's largest rocket lifted off at 7:23 p.m. local time (7:23 a.m. ET) toward clear skies from the seaside Wenchang space launch center on the southern Chinese island of Hainan.

But 40 minutes later, the state-run Xinhua news agency flashed a headline declaring the launch a failure -- without providing any details.

Dubbed "Chubby 5" for its huge size -- 5 meters in diameter and 57 meters tall -- the LM-5 rocket is designed to carry up to 25 tons of payload into low orbit, more than doubling the country's previous lift capability.

Xinhua initially tweeted: "#BREAKING: China's launch of Long March-5 Y2 carrier rocket fails."

It then tweeted: "Anomaly was detected during its flight and further investigation will be carried out."

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‘Love Thy Neighbor?’ - The Washington Post

‘Love Thy Neighbor?’ - The Washington Post:

“Um, I guess where I’d want to go is simply — ” he began, then started over again. “Part of what I want to share with you is this.” He paused for a moment. “I hear a lot of pain from you this evening.”

Ayaz was looking at him. He was listening.

“Um, I’m sorry,” the man said.

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NPR Continues To Find Hundreds Of Cases Of Advanced Black Lung : The Two-Way : NPR

NPR Continues To Find Hundreds Of Cases Of Advanced Black Lung : The Two-Way : NPR:


NPR's ongoing investigation of the advanced stage of the fatal lung disease that afflicts coal miners has identified an additional 1,000 cases in Appalachia.

That brings the NPR count of progressive massive fibrosis, the most serious stage of the disease known as black lung, to nearly 2,000 cases in the region, all of which were diagnosed since 2010.

In the same period, researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reported just 99 cases nationwide. NPR's count is now 20 times what had been considered the official tally of the advanced stage of disease.

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What Happens Just Before Show Time At the Met Opera | The New York Times - YouTube

What Happens Just Before Show Time At the Met Opera | The New York Times - YouTube: "We walked through the Met with a steadicam on the busiest week of the year. Featuring: Misty Copeland, Toscanini’s head, wigs, harps and a snow yak.
"



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US quietly publishes once-expunged papers on 1953 Iran coup - ABC News

US quietly publishes once-expunged papers on 1953 Iran coup - ABC News:

Once expunged from official State Department history, the U.S.-backed 1953 coup in Iran and what led up to it can be glimpsed in documents that the department has quietly published. The operation ultimately pushed the country toward its Islamic Revolution and hostility with the West.

The CIA's role in the coup, which toppled Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddegh and cemented the control of the shah, was well known when the State Department offered its first compendium on the era in 1989. But any trace of American involvement in the putsch had been wiped from the report, causing historians to call it a fraud.

The papers released this month show U.S. fears over the spread of communism, as well as the British desire to regain access to Iran's oil industry, which had been nationalized by Mosaddegh. It offers a cautionary tale about the limits of American power as a new U.S. president long suspicious of Iran weighs the landmark nuclear deal with Tehran reached under his predecessor.

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Commencement Speech, Bolelli-Style -

Commencement Speech, Bolelli-Style -:

Without luck, doors will remain closed no matter how much you “think positively” about them opening. The notion that good outcomes await if only you put in enough effort and desire–the notion that the good guys will always triumph in the end after overcoming seemingly impossible odds–belong on the same shelf with delusional maxims such as “everything happens for a reason.”

You are in the wrong universe for that. It’s simply not the way things work here.

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Time's Game of Thrones Cover Art Interpretation (We need your art history powers!) What secrets are hidden there? : ArtHistory

Time's Game of Thrones Cover Art Interpretation (We need your art history powers!) What secrets are hidden there? : ArtHistory:



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Covering Your Tracks in the Age of Technology

Covering Your Tracks in the Age of Technology:

Parties interested in halting the political conversation on Twitter therefore faced a challenge that will become familiar as we explore obfuscation’s uses: Time was tight, and traditional mechanisms for action weren’t available. A direct technical approach—either blocking Twitter within a country or launching a worldwide denial-of-service attack—wasn’t possible, and political and legal angles of attack couldn’t be used. Rather than stop a Twitter conversation, then, attackers can overload it with noise.



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