Five Things: Europe, Birkenstocks, Business Models, Two Americas, Skateboarding
Hi and welcome back to Five Things! If you don’t remember why you subscribed or just somehow got here: my name is Nico Lumma, I read a lot online and I like to share the five most interesting articles with you, my esteemed readers. If you haven’t subscribed yet or if you finally decided to go paid, you should do it now!
This Sunday the people in the European Union get to vote on the EU Parliament. Along with that, in my hometown of Hamburg we elect the parliaments in the 7 counties of Hamburg. I’m hopeful that the German people will reject the rightwing idiots from the AfD, but it depends on how many people go to the ballot box. This Sunday will the first time my son gets to vote, which I think is pretty awesome. Even though the European Union is such an amazing project and has led our continent to stability and peace - and is a beacon of hope for many people in the world, people are not particularly interested in this election. The structure of the EU and the decision-making process is too complicated and mostly people like me, who studied political science, like to dig into how the EU works. Still, the EU does much more good than bad for us here in the EU, so I’m happy to go vote this Sunday. Obviously, I will vote for the SPD and its leading candidate Katharina Barley. Why? First of all, I joined the SPD on my 16th birthday almost 36 years ago. Second, I know Katharina personally from a couple of meetings and think the is the right person for the EU Parliament. And third, a strong SPD will be a bulwark against the far-right parties in the EU. So, please go vote and make sure your vote counts against the far-right. It’s really important, this time more than ever.
Before you go to the ballot box, please read these Five Things!
What Europe Fears
It’s very clear that Europe values the transatlantic relations with the USA and Canada. A second term for Trump would endanger this and it looks like this time around Europe wants to be better prepared in the hopefully unlikely event that the Donald gets elected again.
The Ballad of Birkenstock
I remember when Birkenstocks were just worn by some cringe-looking people back in the 70s and 80s. At some point that changed and now Birkenstocks are everywhere. I have two pairs and wear them all the time. The turnaround of this company is really amazing as it is now a fashion-icon, not just because I wear Birkenstocks all the time.
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Banks in Disguise
Marc Rubinstein takes a deeper look at some business models we all know and dissects them by looking at their revenue streams. Turns out, Starbucks is actually just a bank selling coffee. That explains both why the stuff is so expensive and why it doesn’t taste all that grande.
Red, White, and Misused: How “Born in the U.S.A.” Became an Anthem for Everything That It Wasn’t
As the Boss put it: ““We’re slowly getting split up into two Americas. Things are getting taken away from the people that need them and given to people that don’t need them.” - and in the 40 years since the song was published, this division of American society only got worse.
How Being A Skate Nerd Ruined My Life
I quit skating 34 years ago. Yet I still look for cracks in the sidewalk that would be annoying to skate over, or I think about how cool it would be to grind a particular curb or how amazing it would be to jump down some stairs. Back in the days I’d obsess about different kinds of bearings and which griptape would be the best. Skateboarding is awesome!
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— Nico
Autor/Jurist/Redakteur bei VRM Wetzlar/22 Jahre ganz viel mit Medien/Mehr konstruktiver Journalismus!/KI-freier Content – hier schreibt der Chef noch selbst/#80sMusicBoy/GernePerDu
3 个月"I remember when Birkenstocks were just worn by some cringe-looking people back in the 70s and 80s." My first pair Birkenstocks, bought in the late 80s, are still "alive" ??