Leyla Shams, Chai and Conversation لیلا‌شمس (@justleyla) header
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Teaching Persian with Chai and Conversation and Riding Bikes in Austin TX

austin
Joined January 2009
Photo by Leyla Shams, Chai and Conversation لیلا‌شمس (@justleyla)Photo by Leyla Shams, Chai and Conversation لیلا‌شمس (@justleyla)Photo by Leyla Shams, Chai and Conversation لیلا‌شمس (@justleyla)Photo by Leyla Shams, Chai and Conversation لیلا‌شمس (@justleyla)Photo by Leyla Shams, Chai and Conversation لیلا‌شمس (@justleyla)Photo by Leyla Shams, Chai and Conversation لیلا‌شمس (@justleyla)Photo by Leyla Shams, Chai and Conversation لیلا‌شمس (@justleyla)Photo by Leyla Shams, Chai and Conversation لیلا‌شمس (@justleyla)Photo by Leyla Shams, Chai and Conversation لیلا‌شمس (@justleyla)Photo by Leyla Shams, Chai and Conversation لیلا‌شمس (@justleyla)
I generally don’t share my videos on Twitter, but this is my favorite I’ve made so far- about the word “ham” in Persian. Ham means same or equal, but the Persian language has such a unique way of combining it with other simple words to come up with the most poetic concepts:
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I said I’d repost this. @neeratanden tell us how it worked out for us. I’ll wait.
Replying to @dronepiv
Ok. Let me disabuse you of your worry. Have AES campaign with him every day. Let’s see how that turns out in November. Good test!
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Don't threaten us with a good time!!!! Thank you Texas!!! <3 <3 <3
Texas, today is the day. James Talarico seems like a nice young man and a moderate. That's the act. This is a man who said "God is nonbinary." Who said there are six biological sexes. Who called capitalism an oppressive system he wants to dismantle. And who says we should look to Western Europe for inspiration. Take a look at Paris. His record is just as radical. He voted NO on border security, NO on cutting your property taxes, and NO on stopping cities from defunding the police. Lie to the voters, then get in power. Don't let it work. Get out and vote for @KenPaxtonTX.
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First, a big big big big big BIG BIGLY thank you to @BetoORourke - seriously, we all bow to you <3
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Replying to @tedcruz
@tedcruz is a spineless, immoral toad.
I spent my day watching the place I love more than anything in the world be irreversibly destroyed for no reason. There is not a single logical explanation for what DHS and its contractors are doing to Big Bend. It has become perfectly clear: they are using the destruction of this crown jewel national park as a vehicle to transfer billions of taxpayer dollars into the pockets of these politically connected contractors. They are sacrificing our public lands so obscenely rich men who have never once set foot here can get even richer. And if they can do it here in Texas' wildest and most beloved national park, they will do it everywhere. Governor Abbott, Senators Cruz and Cornyn: WHERE ARE YOU?!
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I’m going to pin this for posterity. I hope that come November all these people get lost and feel the full wait of shame and shame embarrasment.
Replying to @dronepiv
Ok. Let me disabuse you of your worry. Have AES campaign with him every day. Let’s see how that turns out in November. Good test!
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Texas currently has 28.5 billion dollars in its 'rainy day fund.' AISD has a budget shortfall of 185 million dollars, and they're currently cutting every cost they can, selling all their building, laying off hundreds of staff. This is disgusting and egregious @GregAbbott_TX
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You’re forgetting the “in Iran, we don’t have gay people” guy
⁠Ahmadinejad, SERIOUSLY? The Holocaust denier? The wipe Israel off the map guy? The Green Revolution death and torture guy who stole the 2009 elections? The nuclear program accelerator guy? The Islamic fundamentalist end-days guy?
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Replying to @Uber
@Uber I closed the door of a Waymo with my $300 tripod inside and wasn’t able to open the door again to get it out. Tried calling, texting, chatting, anything I could and haven’t been able to get a hold of anyone!!! @Waymo basically stole my property with no recourse!!! SCAM.
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Love.
Replying to @EylonALevy
Who gives a fuck what you think about anything related to America or its local elections. Stay in your fucking lane and out of our country scumbag.
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After 12 years as a super host, I’ve forever ended my relationship with airbnb. I really believed in this company but will not be complicit in genocide. Sold all my stocks too. NEVER AGAIN. @Airbnb @AirbnbHelp
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ATTENTION YIMBYS.
Smotrich today, urging Netanyahu to support annexation plan I describe below: "We have no desire to apply sovereignty over enemies. The principle of sovereignty is maximum land and minimum population.”
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“MAXIMUM TERRITORY. MINIMUM POPULATION.” THIS is as nimby as it gets. Urbanists- we should be shouting from the rooftops!!!
Israeli 🇮🇱 Finance Minister Smotrich announces their sinister intention to annex the West Bank 🇵🇸: “Here is the slogan: ‘Maximum territory. Minimum population.” It’s never been ‘defence’ It’s always been ethnic cleansing It’s always been a land grab.
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Replying to @ShaiDavidai
@ShaiDavidai is a national nuisance. And he puts the lives of others at danger. What a man baby and a disgrace (can we call him 'bretbug' so he deletes his account, will that do it?)
I told this unhinged creep that if he tweeted about Layla or the other young women who accused him of harassment and filed No-Contact Orders against him again, I’d release our DMs. I reminded him that every time he does, he terrifies them and triggers rape and death threats. He said, among many other insane things, "Don't threaten me unless you are willing to back up your threats with action. Don't start wars you cannot finish." Psychotic. Anyway, it took him exactly one day to share a fucking powerpoint deck naming them, showing their photos, and calling them "terror supporters"--including a 19-year old female student. I DM’d him yesterday to delete the tweet and remove their names, and he ignored it. So anway, here he is accidentally contradicting his new narrative by admitting that he "lost his job" at Columbia because of the investigation that Layla and his other accusers launched against him.
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Replying to @RepJeffries
@RepJeffries showing he’s just as harmful and useless in the Texas redistricting battle as he is on Gaza. These feckless “democrats” need to go.
US House Democratic Leader @RepJeffries was asked repeatedly what national Democrats might do and what resources they might bring to the redistricting battle in Texas. He absolutely did not answer that #txlege
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Replying to @Airbnb
@Airbnb Having been a host since 2012, we are closing our account and moving on because of your complicity in the genocide in Gaza. Thank you to the special UN report that alerted us to this matter. Goodbye airbnb. @AirbnbHelp
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😂😂😂
Cuomo’s really about to lose the mayoral race to a cutie patootie
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Ok, yes, there's a lot of news happening today, but you know what else is happening? It's the first day to sign up for our FREE 6-Week Learn Persian Summer Bootcamp! 👇
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With the bootcamp, over the course of 6 weeks, you'll be able to join thousands of other Perisan learners across the world in learning conversational Persian. And if you want to take it a step further, we'll teach you reading and writing AND a classical poem as well!
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