Friday, April 21: Eid Mubarak!!
Try to celebrate however you can, give your loved ones a call today
Today is Eid al-Fitr, the celebration marking the end of Ramadan celebrated by Muslims the world over. Growing up, Eid mornings were typically stressful as my family was always rushing out of the house to get to morning Eid prayer, typically led by my father, who would be waiting in the car as we all scrambled to put on our finest garments and be among the first people to arrive. Today I’ll celebrate with my wife, the rest of my family is scattered across the map, but part of me wants to put on a suit and go get the car started, just for old times’ sake.
Eid gifts are completely acceptable, even recommended, so if you’ve got Muslim friends in your life who are celebrating, don’t be afraid to send them a little gift or Venmo them a small treat (@Ahmad-Saad). Even if you’re not Muslim or celebrating, I recommend finding a way to remind the people you love that they’re important to you and demonstrating kindness to strangers you cross paths with. It’s Friday, enjoy yourself, show love, and spread joy where you can.
Side Items
Buzzfeed Shutdown: Buzzfeed News announced a 15% workforce reduction across a number of teams yesterday, including Buzzfeed News. CEO and co-founder Jonah Peretti released a long-winded and pointless rambling of an ‘apology’ for his role in setting unattainable expectations for the company’s financial future. He added that he had failed to "hold the company to higher standards for profitability" to give it a buffer during downturns. Interestingly, Peretti is NOT one of the hundreds of people that will lose their jobs as a result of his ineptitude. Time and again, across industries, we see executives openly admit their stupidity and greed, but never take any of the accountability by stepping down or lowering their salaries to avoid laying off workers. It’d be a real shame if someone were to slash Jonah’s tires…as a Eid gift of course
Canadian Gold Heist: Canadian cops are investigating an audacious heist of nearly $15m in gold and other “high value” items at Toronto’s Pearson airport yesterday. Police said the gold and other goods were stolen earlier this week after containers were offloaded from an aircraft. An early Eid gift to those bold individuals brave enough to attempt such a heist
Texas Public Schools: A new bill was passed in Texas yesterday requiring schools to prominently display the Ten Commandments in every classroom starting next school year. Senate Bill 1515 by state senator Phil King, a republican representing Weatherford, now heads to the state house for consideration. It’s the latest attempt from Texas republicans to inject some religion into public schools. King said during a committee hearing earlier this month that the Ten Commandments are ‘part of American heritage’ and it’s time to bring them back into the classroom. He said the US supreme court cleared the way for his bill after it sided with Joe Kennedy, a high school football coach in the state of Washington who was fired for praying at football games. The court ruled that Kennedy was praying as a private citizen, not as an employee of the district. But god forbid those Texas lawmakers do anything to prevent school shootings