Lund’s and The Tale of Two Visits
Over 40 years ago, as a young immigrant, embarking on a journey from Egypt, an ancient land, to America, a new and unfamiliar place. It was a trip to the unknown, a place I had only imagined through scenes in American movies or the taste of a Coke bottle on the streets of Cairo. The trepidation, excitement, and curiosity fascinated me about America—a land where everything seemed big and everyone was perpetually busy. I found myself intrigued by the everyday optimism of Americans, conveyed through casual phrases like “Have a nice day” or the informal “What’s up.” But nothing was as culturally transformative as my first visit to Lunds’ supermarket at Hennepin & Lake Street in south Minneapolis.
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Month: December 2024
IS EGYPT NEXT!!!
Is Egypt Next?
The Arab Spring swept through the Middle East like a powerful storm, toppling long-standing dictators one after another: Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Ben Ali of Tunisia, Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, and now, most recently, the Assad regime in Syria. Charismatic rebel commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani and his forces advanced swiftly through Damascus, forcing Assad to flee to Moscow. Historians will undoubtedly analyze the unique factors behind each regime’s fall, but one common thread stands out: dictatorship and the denial of people’s dignity and freedom inevitably breed extremism.
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DENY, DEFEND, DEPOSE!!
“Deny,” “defend” and “depose, the words” found written on shell casings that were shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson by a gunman in New York City on Wednesday. The gunman became a national folk hero and a social media sensation. The reactions on social media, X (Twitter) and TikTok videos, were not kind, and according to some official and media pundits mean-spirited that reflect mockery and resentment toward the CEO and private Healthcare Insurance industry; “your thoughts and pray were denied,” tweeted one to the CEO family. Standup comic Samantha Ruddy wrote in her own X post. “I personally do not feel like I am on the shooter’s radar because I am not the CEO of a highly divisive multi-billion dollar insurance company.” Right-wing podcaster Tim Pool, suggests that Americans across the political spectrum can find rare consensus when it comes to disdain for their free-market health care system.” This reaction shows that we are more United than we may think: The ruling class manufacturing differences among us, racism, transgender bathrooms, refugees eating our dogs and cats, Islamophobia, class welfare, and sexism. The killing of the Healthcare CEO brought America together.
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