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Omar Mouallem Profile
Omar Mouallem

@OmarMouallem

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Filmmaker: The Lebanese Burger Mafia & Making Kayfabe | Author: How Muslims Shaped the Americas | Founder: @pandemicschool

Edmonton, AB
Joined March 2011
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
2 months
Spent several months reporting this story for @macleans about @DULFBC , Vancouver activists who sourced drugs from the dark web, tested and distributed them to high-risk users with broad political support—until their arrest. Are they martyrs or agitators?
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
Incredible. Never seen an interview on American TV like this before. 1/3
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
4 years
"Oh, you bought a standing desk? Yeah, nice try."
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
Aaaand the kicker. Amazing what happens when you allow voices like @m7mdkurd on your platform.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
6 years
This security tape of a botched robbery is masterpiece of silent cinema. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
Part 2 (via @m7mdkurd , the interviewee)
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
7 years
Right now @marcorubio is silently begging @jaketapper to save him from this teenager, @cameron_kasky , daring him to swear he'll never take another NRA dime, and Tapper's like, "Nah, this is great television." #CNNTownHall
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
4 years
HARSH WRITING ADVICE: Your writer friends are NOT your competition, but sadly some of them will think they are. Identify and excise the toxic ones from your life (gently, as they're volatile and petty). Champion the rest and keep your biggest cheerleaders close to your heart.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
When you’re just trying to watch TV at your parents house.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
Few days ago I saw @JanisIrwin sprinting to a man found unconscious in the snow from suspected overdose. She went to work, rubbing his hands for circulation, getting him into a safe position, helping others with narcan, and finding another kit when it ran out. She’s a real one.
@davecournoyer
Dave Cournoyer
3 years
The results of the fifth annual Best of Alberta Politics survey have been revealed: @JanisIrwin voted Best Alberta MLA for the second year in a row. Congratulations, Janis! 🎉 #ableg #abpoli #yeg
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
Quite the deal on sewing kits here.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
The next time a Calgarian asks me where I’m from and replies to “Edmonton” with that tired old joke, “Oh, sorry to hear that,” I’m going to wave a hand over the squirrels roasting on an oil barrel, quietly pick my teeth with my polar bear claw necklace, and say, “You did this.”
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
9 months
In all my years in Edmonton, I haven’t seen anything so cruel as the local government systematically dismantling homeless encampments and trashing their belongings on a cold winter day.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
4 years
The size of this anti-maskers’ demonstration through downtown Edmonton is surprising and concerning to say the least. #ableg #yeg
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
Some personal news: I made a documentary with @dylanrhyshoward about addiction, suicide, and men's mental health in the Alberta oil sands. "Digging in the Dirt" premiers on @CBC .ca and CBC Gem Sept. 13, and CBC TV in Alberta Sept. 14 at 7pm MST.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
I’m boarding a plane at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport, heading home but won’t land in Edmonton till long after #ABVote polls close. Should I set my watch back two hours or two decades? #ableg #abpoli
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
6 years
Wow. After a lengthy detailed description of #QuebecMosque shooter’s hatred of Muslims, deliberate attack against them, and damage to a community and nation… judge concludes this WAS NOT an act of terrorism. How is that even possible? #quebec
@nccm
NCCM
6 years
Judge says he does not consider the shooting as an act of terrorism.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
I can tell a writer's age based on whether they use single- or double-spaces between sentences.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
7 years
"We are Muslim, not ISIS." #Edmonton #yeg
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
4 years
I’ve been to Lebanese dinners with 20 cousins shouting around a table for 8 that were more coherent than this debate.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
Pretty funny to get “randomly” screened by airport security (almost always), have my bags meticulously searched, processed through, then searched again after X-ray, and then turn around to see my book about Islamophobia promoted at the airport bookshop.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
(Thread) About to go on an #ableg tangent, but first must say I have a loose conflict of interest with one of the parties’ at the federal level, hence why I’ve ceased reporting on Canadian politics for past 12 months and for next few years.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
1 year
It's a lifelong dream come true: 20 years after film school, 10 years after cracking open this mystery, and 2 years after production, I finally get to write these words: My first feature, THE LEBANESE BURGER MAFIA, will have its WORLD PREMIERE on May 3rd at @HotDocs Festival.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
This kid was unbelievable. It’s cool to finally actually see what he looked like behind that massive crowd.
@CBCCalgary
CBC Calgary
5 years
In the moments before @GretaThunberg took the stage at the #ableg today, Noah Simon's powerful voice rang out over the massive crowd. Find out more about the climate protest here:
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
4 years
I’m no politico, but if I was Manitoba’s premier I’d have crawled into a hole sobbing after this humiliation.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
1 year
The real Alberta Advantage
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
4 years
Love the #BlackLivesMatter and anti-racism messages at @RogersPlace during NHL games. FUN FACT: Daryl Katz, who owns the Oilers & operates the arena, also owns hyper-partisan right-wing news @LifeZette , which peddles conspiracy theories and runs stories like the one on the right.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
6 years
By the way, the editor of this masterpiece is CTV's Colin Schmidt. Show @tequilasnake some love for making your day.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
4 years
“This is what a man killing his wife looks like. It is a very frightening way to die.“ There are too many people, men and women, that I wish could be forced to read this. You know who you are.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
2 years
I've spent the two days trying to help a random Iraqi immigrant assaulted by his employer because @edmontonpolice is apparently too busy to dispatch help and/or appoint a translator to his case, as promised yesterday, shortly after my friend and I called 911. …
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
2 years
Amazing to think that the Pope Mobile and Grave Digger were parked at the same Edmonton venue just 3 days apart.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
I fucking knew it!
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
More proof that this is a watershed moment for western media. The world is walking up I to Israeli apartheid.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
I don't know when @edmontonjournal gave Tim Mikula of @theatresports a column but it is the greatest thing to happen to Post-media since the last time someone bought a subscription.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
On the plus side, this fiasco has probably crushed Jason Kenney’s boyhood dream of one day becoming Prime Minister.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
6 years
"Draymond Green refused to visit Donald Trump. But he visited the Israeli President and posed as a sniper for the cameras—that’s a problem."
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
7 years
People assume the narrative of a city "reeling" in the wake of an attack, but I'm at a cafe on the corner outside the crime scene and…
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
2 years
Found footage of my first time on mushrooms.
@HannaLiubakova
Hanna Liubakova
2 years
#Ukraine In Kharkiv, a chimpanzee escaped from a zoo. It was walking around the city while zoo employees tried to convince it to return. Suddenly it started to rain, and the ape ran to a zoo employee for a jacket and then agreed to return to the zoo.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
4 years
Here is a summary of the December 16th #COVID19AB update. It was written using predictive A.I. and sent back in time by angry ghosts. (1/6)
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
2 years
Believe me when I say I'm more than a little embarrassed to take my grievances public. But if calling a Twitter mob on to @edmontonpolice is what gets this desperate man help, I don't give a fuck how unprofessional it looks.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
Holy McJesus! Just what in the hell is going on at @edmontonjournal ? They printed this? In 2019? Add a yellow star and it would be straight out of Nazi Germany. After the Tim Mikula-debacle I was starting think the office was unmanned. Now I’m convinced.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
Well, it’s happening. Almost 15 years since my film school days, I’m making my solo directorial debut with a comedic, endearing, and deeply personal documentary. It premieres on CBC Gem September 17th. Download the streaming app on Apple TV, Android TV, Roku and the rest of them.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
Eid Mubarak! I am so excited/scared/relieved to finally share this news with the world…
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
6 years
Also, I'm genuinely sorry for a crucial fact wrong here. This wasn't a robbery at all. The suspects allegedly tried to use a stolen credit card to—I'm serious now—buy a can of pop. Full article here for anyone who wants to know more
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
7 years
First Edmonton cafe @nookyeg to have a suspended purchase program—that's where you buy an extra drink/pastry for a homeless person at a later time.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
4 years
Not that I was seriously considering this assignment, but I could not have been more amused by their response to my very average pay rate.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
There’s a special place in hell for joggers who don’t return the obligatory jogger head nod. We’re in this together, fucko.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
4 years
Career sports reporter David Staples, who spent the better part of the last decade arguing for a tax-funded arena, penning column after column with the purpose of gaining public and government support until both bought in, doesn’t like it when sports are politicized.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
6 years
Is Canadian media so broke they can't send a reporter to San Francisco to investigate the extremist past of Alberta's likely new premier? FFS, this broke three weeks ago and there hasn't been a meaningful followup since Kenney said he, uh, "regrets" it.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
Exactly this. I didn't spend hours on my takedown because I don't like conservative politics or think a @jkenney premiership is dangerous. Did it because Kenney stands for nothing, cares about nobody but himself, and ultimately is using Albertans to get to 24 Sussex.
@manaboutcowtown
Tony Charron
5 years
This is a good thread that lists all the shady things tied to Kenney’s leadership campaign. It’s not about policy at this point it is about integrity. #abvote
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
This investigation isn't first or even second or third shoe to drop. If UCP wins despite all signs of cheating their own base, and ultimately Albertans, it won’t be for lack of reporting. My peers are burning themselves out trying to put these democratic violations in plain view.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
City of Edmonton’s urban planning philosophy in a nutshell. Clear roads at the expense of pedestrians. This is the sidewalk in front of my house. Been like this for 3 days. Imagine being in a wheelchair or pushing a stroller, just trying to leave or get home the usual way.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
Nothing about this is normal, in case you’re not paying attention. RCMP doesn’t expend resources like this unless they’re on a hot trail. #ableg #abpoli
@charlesrusnell
Charles Rusnell
5 years
RCMP investigation into alleged UCP leadership voter fraud expands to Edmonton #ableg #cdnpoli
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
Surreal doesn’t even begin to describe what it feels like for this book, my book, about a journey that in many ways began on 9/11, to land in my lap 20 years to the day. Fateful is more like it. 1/2
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
We lost a real one yesterday. Orwell was hands down the most affectionate cat you’d ever meet. Loved all people, even kids and especially babies. Soft as cashmere with crossed eyes and Dracula fangs.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
In all sincerity, I love living in a country and city where someone like @AmarjeetSohiYEG can rise to mayor. I’m sure you already know his inspirational saga, but it’s worth a refresher. This profile’s a tad outdated but it’s mostly all there. #yegcc
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
Unpopular opinion: Rap is better than it used to be.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
*clears throat* some personal news…
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
6 years
I’m deactivating my Twitter next week to focus on my book—TBA, 2020, Simon & Schuster Canada—but mostly because I’m *this* close to just becoming a bot that replies GO FUCK YOURSELF to 90% of tweets.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
@UCPCaucus Does Alberta have minorities? Or is just a land white men and bighorn sheep? Asking for a friend.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
4 years
Some people take up baking, and I, too, made cinnamon buns. I also started an online school: Pandemic University Pop-up School of Writing runs Apr 20–May 29 with 14 short classes by acclaimed writers in support of professionals affected by the COVID-19 fallout. @PandemicSchool
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
2 years
Worst part about “the slap” is we’re not talking about one of the greatest speeches in Oscar history here, to say nothing of CODA surprise win.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
With that out of the way, @CBCNews ’s bombshell investigation into voter fraud tied to Kenney’s campaign needs close attention because nothing sums up his win-at-all-costs mindset than these credible allegations that he cheated his own party. #ableg
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
… and before you read further, show kudos to the hardworking reporters by following @DrewPAnderson @carolyndunncbc @dempsterCBC @CBCBryan @audreyneva .
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
I can’t stop reading the raw and angry replies to this. Wow. What a reality check.
@USArmy
U.S. Army
5 years
How has serving impacted you?
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
She came up to us with her doll and said, “Monster Baby, please.” How could we not? #HappyHalloween
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
Cats out of the bag: They’re letting me MC the National Magazine Awards, pretty unimaginable when I got my first mag job 10 years ago. I’m so honoured.
@MagAwards
National Magazine Awards
5 years
The National Media Awards Foundation is excited to announce that this year’s Master of Ceremonies for the #NMA19 Gala will be award-winning writer and journalist Omar Mouallem @omar_aok .
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
6 years
Why, why, WHY fictionalize the Rob Ford investigation when the truth is stranger than fiction?
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
Here's an image version for when the inevitable happens.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
6 years
So @jkenney told @charlesadler : "I'm opposed to #Islamophobia . I've said that countless times in the past." Okay… let's run a little Twitter experiment. #abpoli #canpoli
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
2 years
A tiny paper broke the George Santos scandal, but no one paid attention
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
4 years
Yes, my hometown is this small.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
4 years
@EdAmmar Ed, one Lebanese brother speaking to another here, you should try harder to understand the ills of your thought. The MP was talking specifically about anti-blackness, which you and I know is widespread here there and around the world including and especially in the Middle East.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
4 years
Since 2015, I’ve watched Trump’s rise to power and presidency more closely than I’m proud to admit. But I don’t have a full grasp on how the Republicans evolved into this rotten and undemocratic party. Is there a documentary or podcast series that’s laid it out neatly?
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
Something going on at @edmontonjournal worth keeping an eye on. Comedian and satirical columnist Tim Mikula of @theatresports , who is always edgy if not hilarious, wrote something unlike anything I've read before and—surprise!—it vanished within hours.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
While we were all straining our ears to hear which party could scream "pipeline" and "job" the loudest, @omarmosleh was trying to figure how and why genuine Neo-Nazis kept reappearing on Edmonton streets to promote white supremacy in broad daylight.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
Good news/bad news.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
6 years
Ho. Lee. Ship. Literally been waiting 3 months for this. Of course—OF COURSE—it had to be the @sprawlcalgary to break it, a small upstart news company with a sliver of the capital as Canada’s media giants. OF COURSE it had to be a freelance journalist.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
2 years
It’s a beautiful Monday… I just learned “Praying to the West” is a finalist for two Alberta Literary Awards — the Wilfrid Eggleston Award for Nonfiction and the inaugural Memoir Award — and my Vice story about Burger Baron is up for the James H. Gray Award for Short Nonfiction.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
2 years
Some news of the personal variety: I’ve joined @ubccrwr ’s faculty, teaching advanced creative writing to online grad students. This is a pretty big deal for me!
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
… Can we just pause to appreciate that Kenney has come closer to implementing something like Sharia Law than any one spooky Muslim in Canadian or US governance? #ableg
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
I've received hate mail from readers, requests for financial assistance, vivid descriptions of dreams, and yet this is the craziest letter I've ever received. I just can't imagine having the confidence to ask any writer for this.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
4 years
Beautiful words beautifully said. I pray they ring true in January.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
7 years
When "don't feed the trolls" becomes foreign policy.
@sarahkendzior
Sarah Kendzior
7 years
Had Twitter acted to curb online abuse years ago, we would likely have less of a national security crisis now
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
Well, the pro-life lobby didn’t waste any time, did it? Kenney hadn’t even made a victory speech yet and this landed in my inbox. #abvote #ableg
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
6 years
This was by far the best moment of the Flat Earth conference. Literal gasps from the crowd when it happened. #feic
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
4 years
In just six months, Trump is responsible for killing more Americans than Osama bin Laden, whose death was long wished and celebrated. So spare us your disapproving lectures. We don’t keep mass murderers in our thoughts.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
Jason Kenney’s message to his new government: “I’m going to work you like a freelance graphic designer.”
@EmmaLGraney
Emma Graney 🇦🇺🤷🏻‍♀️🇨🇦
5 years
This won’t be easy, Kenney says — you’ll miss birthdays, you’ll miss anniversaries, but it’s work that needs to be done. #ableg
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
I’m begging you to get your vaccines as soon possible so that I can have a book tour this fall. BEGGING.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
4 years
But just in case, we’re making a quick dash.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
4 years
No one would suspect we egged their house.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
For as long as IMDb has existed, the site’s highest rated movie has been The Shawkshank Redemption. Then came a Burger Baron documentary…
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
7 years
"I didn't know you write for magazines!" –my 13-year-old niece, upon seeing me at a career fair, realizing "uncle" is not my full-time job
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
2 years
I can confirm that all of @Nickelback , not just Chad Kroeger, rock hard for mushroom burgers and have obtained photos from Burger Baron in Hanna to prove it.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
I think that @AudreysBooks might have some books for sale. I may have signed a few.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
5 years
Made a very important discovery with my library card: @Kanopy , ie: Netflix for prestige films. Downloaded to my AppleTV and can use my @EPLdotCA account to stream Criterion Collection, Janus films, HBO docs, European new wave, new and old, Oscar/Cannes winners. And freeeeeeeeee.
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@OmarMouallem
Omar Mouallem
3 years
I stand in support of #AmberBracken , my friend and the finest photojournalist I know, arrested on the job today in #Wetsuweten . This is a disturbing pattern on the RCMP’s part, and this clear target on journalists should be intolerable.
@thenarwhalca
The Narwhal
3 years
We are extremely disturbed to learn photo journalist @photobracken was arrested by the RCMP while she was documenting arrests in Wet'suwet'en territory today. RCMP are refusing to release Amber, in violation of her charter rights.
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