Five Things: World, Gaza, Humanity, Black and White, Internet
It's the final Five Things of the year! You should read it!
The year is over and quite frankly, I’m happy. 2023 was an exhausting year for me and I’m so much looking forward to 2024!
I hope you enjoyed Five Things this year! I put a lot of reading and a lot of work into it. If you want to do me a favor, turn your free subscription into a paid subscription! Also, please share this newsletter with you friends! Thank you for your support and see you next year!
What Is Happening to Our World?
“Gorbachev, Deng, Anwar el-Sadat, Menachem Begin, George H.W. Bush and Volodymyr Zelensky, to name but a few, faced excruciating choices, but they chose forks in the road that led to a safer and more prosperous world, at least for a time. Others, alas, have done the opposite.” - if in doubt, read Tom Friedman.
I Spent a Day With IDF Troops in Gaza. It's More Tranquil on the Battlefield Than at Home
The deceptive calm in Gaza is striking. I hope this war is over soon and people can go on with their lives and live in peace. For the reservists is so much at stake and they have my full admiration. I always think about what it would be like for me to be called up for service, leaving behind everything, family, friends, job. Luckily, when I was done with my military service, there was a period of peace all around Germany.
World will look back at 2023 as year humanity exposed its inability to tackle climate crisis, scientists say
So, what do we do with this insight? Increase our efforts or just give up? I don't think we have an option, we must try harder!
In 1967, a Black Man and a White Woman Bought a Home. American Politics Would Never Be the Same.
Wow, what a story. So much courage amidst so much racism.
The Internet Is About to Get Weird Again
“Across today’s internet, the stores that deliver all the apps on our phones are cracking open, the walls between social media platforms are coming down as the old networks fail, the headlong rush towards AI is making our search engines and work apps weirder (and often worse!). But amidst it all, the human web, the one made by regular people, is resurgent. We are about to see the biggest reshuffling of power on the internet in 25 years, in a way that most of the internet’s current users have never seen before. And while some of the drivers of this change have been hyped up, or even over-hyped, a few of the most important changes haven’t gotten any discussion at all.” - I’m not as optimistic as Anil Dash, but I remain ever hopeful.
That’s it. Happy New Year! Or as we say in Germany: Guten Rutsch! (Good Slide!)
— Nico