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Support for Syrian refugees in Canada is overwhelming, nonpartisan, and inspiring.

'You're safe at home now,' the Canadian prime minister tells Syrian refugees.

Louisa Taylor, director of Refugee613 in Ottawa, Ontario, has an interesting problem.

Her organization is so inundated with donations and support for Syrian refugees that they're stretched to their absolute limits.

"Our phones are ringing off the hook, our inboxes are overflowing with offers of help," she told me. "[I have] more requests than I can meet."

Her organization is getting ready for the arrival of 25,000 Syrian refugees who will soon call Canada their home.

Part of that process, Taylor explained, is simply having to manage the incredible generosity of Canadians. "We are inundated with offers to volunteer, to donate clothing and furniture, to create new programs, and it all takes work to manage that."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau greeting refugees in Toronto. Photo by Nathan Denette/Associated Press.

The refugee program, which is Canada's most ambitious since the Vietnam War , officially became a reality late Thursday night, Dec. 10, 2015, when a plane carrying 163 Syrians landed in Toronto.

The refugees were greeted personally by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. And he wasn't alone in embracing them.

All 163 refugees were given winter coats, and they were warmly welcomed by volunteers and a slew of politicians from across the political spectrum.

"It truly is a nonpartisan, national project," said John McCallum, Canada's Immigration Minister.

So nonpartisan, in fact, that among the people helping to welcome and process the refugees were members of the opposition party and notable Trudeau critics.

Trudeau was elected in a landslide victory earlier this year. Photo by Nicholas Kamm/Getty Images.

A second government plane arrived in Montreal just two days later, on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015, bringing an additional 161 refugees.

The program, or "programme" if you speak Canadian, also has overwhelming public support .

All of the refugees who arrived on the first flight were sponsored to come to Canada by small groups or individuals, who've raised over 28,000 Canadian dollars (just over $20,000) for each family.

One organization, "Yukon Cares," was able to raise $46,000 to sponsor a family, helping them with food, rent, clothing, and furniture. They did so in three months.

Syrian refugees arriving by boat in Turkey. Photo by Bulent Kilic/Getty Images.

It's hard not to be inspired by Canada's support and frustrated by the lack of it here at home.

Canada's program isn't perfect and, in fact, the overall timeline has been scaled back from bringing in 25,000 refugees before January, to 25,000 before March, but it's still leagues better than any resettlement plans here in the U.S.

America is due to take in 10,000 refugees over the next year, a significant increase from the 2,000 originally promised. Yet governors in 31 states have flatly refused to let in any refugees at all, citing what they believe to be a risk of Islamic terrorists entering the United States.

Anti-Muslim rhetoric in the United States isn't helping either. With everyone from politically charged uncles at Thanksgiving to prominent presidential candidates taking the time to bash Muslims for being Muslim, public support for Syrian refugees is dismally low .

Honestly, his sign isn't as offensive as that '90s puffy jacket. Photo by Jewel Samad/Getty Images.

Canada is showing the world that Syrian refugees aren't going to bite.

"There's a whole new generation of Canadians seeing the power that comes from unleashing compassion," said Louisa Taylor. "It's a beautiful sight."

The refugees are being welcomed personally by the Prime Minister and with open arms by the Canadian public. They're being taken to hotels and will soon be set up in homes sponsored by Canadian families and charitable organizations.

They've escaped an unimaginably terrifying circumstance and have entered a country that has the courage, fortitude, and generosity to hand them a coat and tell them they're safe now.

Or, as one refugee put it :

"We feel as if we got out of hell and we came to paradise."

And if Canada is anything like I hope it is, those refugees will soon be enjoying moose rides through the park and swimming in pristine lakes of maple syrup.

Not bad, Canada. Not bad.

Community

Facebook group brings people together IRL to make meaningful friendships

True

Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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friendship
Education

3,700-year-old Babylonian stone tablet gets translated, changes history

They were doing trigonometry 1500 years before the Greeks.

via UNSW

Dr. Daniel Mansfield and his team at the University of New South Wales in Australia have just made an incredible discovery. While studying a 3,700-year-old tablet from the ancient civilization of Babylon, they found evidence that the Babylonians were doing something astounding: trigonometry!

Most historians have credited the Greeks with creating the study of triangles' sides and angles, but this tablet presents indisputable evidence that the Babylonians were using the technique 1,500 years before the Greeks ever were.

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education
Education

In 125 years, millions of people have looked at this painting. No one really saw it until recently.

Van Gogh saw something it took scientists another 100 years to see.

Image from Wikimedia Commons .

Van Gogh’s Starry Night.



Van Gough never got to enjoy his own historic success as an artist ( even though we've been able to imagine what that moment might have looked like). But it turns out that those of us who have appreciated his work have been missing out on some critical details for more than 100 years.

I'm not easily impressed, OK?

I know Van Gogh was a genius. If the point of this were "Van Gogh was a mad genius," I would not be sharing this with you.
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Joy

Woman who lives on a cruise ship shares the hardest part about her perfect life

She's a little afraid to leave her cabin.

via Christine Kesteloo/TikTok and Cagri Gurbuz/Pexels

Christine Kesteloo has one big problem living on a cruise ship.

A lot of folks would love to trade lives with Christine Kesteloo . Her husband is the Chief Engineer on a cruise ship, so she gets to live on the boat pretty much for free as the “wife on board.” For Christine, life is a lot like living on a permanent vacation.

“I live on a cruise ship for half the year with my husband, and it's often as glamorous as it sounds,” she told Insider. “After all, I don't cook, clean, make my bed, do laundry or pay for food.“

Living an all-inclusive lifestyle seems like paradise, but it has some drawbacks. Having access to all-you-can-eat food all day long can really have an effect on one’s waistline. Kesteloo admits that living on a cruise ship takes a lot of self-discipline because the temptation is always right under her nose.

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cruise ships
Health

Women do better when they have a group of strong female friends, study finds

We're stronger together.

Photo by Omar Lopez on Unsplash

Women do better when they have female friends.

Madeleine Albright once said , "There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women." It turns out that might actually be a hell on Earth, because women just do better when they have other women to rely on, and there's research that backs it up.

A study published in the Harvard Business Review found that women who have a strong circle of friends are more likely to get executive positions with higher pay. "Women who were in the top quartile of centrality and had a female-dominated inner circle of 1-3 women landed leadership positions that were 2.5 times higher in authority and pay than those of their female peers lacking this combination," Brian Uzzi writes in the Harvard Business Review .

Part of the reason why women with strong women backing them up are more successful is because they can turn to their tribe for advice. Women have to face different challenges than men, such as unconscious bias, and being able to turn to other women who have had similar experiences can help you navigate a difficult situation. It's like having a road map for your goals.

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women
Pop Culture

Millennials nearing 40 are sharing their biggest mistakes so everyone can learn from them

Here are 21 of the most powerful responses.

via Pexels

Millennials are now old enough to seriously reflect on life.

It seems like only yesterday a millennial was a college kid that baby boomers chided for being entitled and Gen Xers thought were way too sincere and needed to learn how to take a joke. Today, the oldest millennials, those born around 1980, have hit their 40s and have lived long enough to have some serious regrets.

They also have enough experience to take some pride in decisions that, in hindsight, were the right moves.

The good news is that at 40 there is still plenty of time to learn from our successes and failures to set ourselves up for a great second half of life. These lessons are also valuable to the Gen Zers coming up who can avoid the pitfalls of the older generation.

A Reddit user who has since deleted their profile asked millennials nearing 40 “what were your biggest mistakes at this point in life?” and they received more than 2,200 responses. The biggest regrets these millennials have are being flippant about their health and not saving enough money when they were younger.

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millennials
Joy

Stop blaming the 'Karens.' The people who complain the most have a different name.

The stereotype has been wrong all along.

via Rickey123/Pixabay

A woman giving a stern warning.

Over the past few years, women named Karen have taken a lot of heat in the media. The term "Karen" has been used to describe a specific type of entitled, privileged and often middle-aged white woman. Typically, "Karen” is depicted as demanding, self-important and constantly seeking to escalate minor inconveniences to authority figures, like demanding to "speak to the manager."

Identifying the folks who create unnecessary drama in our world is important. But calling them a “Karen” isn’t the best way to solve the problem. There are many reasons to have an issue with the “Karen” stereotype. First, it’s terrible for people named Karen, and it’s also a connotation that many feel is racist , sexist and ageist.

Further, according to a new study by Trustpilot , the stereotype isn’t accurate. A recent survey by the online media site found that the people who leave the most one-star reviews aren’t female, and the women who do it the most aren’t named Karen.

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