Many people, especially in America, are wondering how America could spend $2.3 trillion in Afghanistan, and the Taliban could still so quickly re-take the country.

The answer: It didn’t happen so suddenly.

A thread. 🧵 America did spend $2.3 trillion in Afghanistan.

But that doesn't mean it went to those who needed it. The military, contractors, suppliers, logistics, enablers, business tycoons, politicians, all took a share.

Very little of it actually trickled down to ordinary Afghans.

Since it launched, Google Maps has allowed us see the world in new ways.

But there’s one place that has an incredible story.

It has to do with this otherwise unremarkable plot of land in the UK.

Time for a thread. In Gloucestershire, England, a farmer named Winston Howes had been married to his wife, Janet, for 33-years.

It was a special kind of love, the kind that the world needs more of.

When Janet died suddenly in 1995, Winston was devastated.

One of the most beloved children's books of all time — read by millions around the world — almost never made it out of Nazi Europe.

Time for a thread. On May 10, 1940, Adolf Hitler sent three million troops into France. Parisians fled by the hundreds of thousands.

Among them were a Jewish couple named Margaret Waldstein and Hans Reyersbach.

They'd been living in Paris for just four years.

Right now, there’s a small town in Indiana with a grocery store that has no food.

No bread, no flour, no eggs. Not even candy bars.

The only thing inside is books. They're everywhere.

Here’s the cool story of how they got there.

A Thread for book-lovers. This is Carmel, Indiana. Population: 101,068.

The town has one main library. It’s the kind of place you’ll find across America, by the thousands – a library that you grow up with.

If you’re a nerd like me, you’ve probably spent countless hours in a place like this.

Earlier this year, Canada suffered its worst military tragedy in over a decade, when six servicemembers were killed in a helicopter crash.

Every news outlet covered it.

None of them covered the amazing thing that happened afterwards.

A thread.

(it’s about the meaning of love) On April 29th, six Canadians serving on a @NATO peacekeeping mission were on board a Cyclone helicopter when it crashed into the ocean off the coast of Italy.

All of them were killed.

Among them was Sub-Lt Matthew “Matty” Pyke.

BREAKING: New eyewitness video shows Toronto-area police officers repeatedly beating an elderly black couple in their 60's, to point of nearly becoming unconscious.

The couple had just left the hospital.

No charges have been laid.

1/9 You can hear the grandmother shrieking in the background as police beat her husband.  He, in turn, screams “murder, murder!"

A hospital official threatens the eyewitness and demands he stop recording. 

He doesn’t.

2/9

In a world filled with so much #Covid19 fear, it's the smallest acts of kindness can have the biggest impact.

I'm about to share a story that can change the world.

Keep reading – and I’ll explain.

It all starts with a single loaf of bread.

A Thread.

(all via @Goodable) This is Green Blade Bakery, in Klamath Falls, Oregon. 

It’s been a family owned business for thirteen years. They have pastries, cakes, bread, you name it.

It’s kind of place that hits you with a giant whiff of delicious, bakery goodness everytime you open up the front door.

A while ago, I posted a story about how random strangers came together to help a little Syrian boy, in a small Canadian town, who dreamt of playing hockey.

Guess what?

It just got better. Here's a Thread - with a heart-warming twist.

(via @Goodable) First, a recap:  This is Yamen.  He’s 8.

Yamen wanted to play hockey just like his friends, but he didn’t have any equipment.

When a local hockey dad named Michael (@CJPDoyle) found out, he went online and asked if anyone could help.

He had no idea what was about to happen.

Something amazing just happened, and it didn’t make a single headline.

It happened in a place you’ve probably never been, to a family you’ve never met

And it's the best story you'll read.

A Thread.

(Hint: It involves sports, refugees, and what it means to be Canadian.) This is Yaman.  He’s in Grade Three.  He’s just like any other kid except for one thing:

His family are all Syrian refugees.

No biggie, after all Canada admits a lot of refugees, right?

Wait, keep reading.

I’ve been trying to put into words how big a tragedy the Ukraine Airlines crash is for Canada.

To say it’s huge or massive just isn’t enough.

So forget the details.

Here’s what it FEELS like – in communities across the country.

[A Thread] In the morning, I learned a family friend had passed away. My parents had known him for decades.

When I WhatsApp’d my mom to tell her, this is what she replied.

(ilwil is an abbreviation for “to God do we belong and to him we return” – Muslims say it when someone passes away)

Every once in a while, you come across a story so touching that it needs more than just a tweet.

This is one of them.

A thread.

[Hint: It’s about a kid, a hospital, and Canadians doing Canadian things]

(@Goodable) @Goodable This is 9-year old Carter Dery.

He lives with a genetic condition that’s so rare, doctors don’t even have a name for it. By the time he was 9, he’d already had 15 surgeries.

That’s not a typo: Fifteen.

Imagine what that does to a kid.

With the #Raptors about to hit the global stage, I’m going to share a story about what makes Toronto, and Canada, so special. It’s about a guy you’re going to be seeing a whole lot of.

A Thread.

[Hint: It's about racism, sports, and why you'll end up cheering for 🍁] When you think of the Raps, you probably think of Drake on the sidelines, as the team’s biggest fan.

The thing is, he’s not.

In Toronto, we love @Drake. But there’s someone else who symbolizes everything great about Toronto and Canada.

The best storytellers, the best people, use their craft to teach others about life. Here are six times Anthony Bourdain dropped wisdom about life, while everyone thought he was just talking about food/travel.

Thread. "You learn a lot about someone when you share a meal together"