On This Day - August 28

by Nomad

The date of August 28 has special significance to all Americans, but particularly to African Americans.

1833 - First Steps to Freedom

With the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act, slavery was abolished in the United Kingdom and most of its colonies on this date in 1833. Historians point out, however, that the new law was not quite what it seemed.

What Happens When Young People Lose Their Faith in Democracy

by Nomad

The Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), José Ángel Gurría, has thought a lot about a disturbing global trend: the crisis of public faith in democracy. 
What are the causes? What are the effects and what are the long-term implications? And, perhaps most importantly, after the recent rise of right-wing populism, how can trust in liberal democracies be restored?

Can the US Ever Recover from the Trump Era?

by Nomad

There's no question that Trump has left his mark on America. Nobody could argue with that.
As we steel ourselves for horror show election of 2020, it is not too early to reflect on what Trump has already done to America.

The Symptom and the Cause

In terms of US foreign policy alone, this administration has been an utter disaster. Take foreign policy, as Professor of Strategic Studies at Johns Hopkins University, Eliot A. Cohen, observes:

[The] surface-level calm of the last two years should not distract from a building crisis of U.S. foreign policy, of which Trump is both a symptom and a cause. The president has outlined a deeply misguided foreign policy vision that is distrustful of U.S. allies, scornful of international institutions, and indifferent, if not downright hostile, to the liberal international order that the United States has sustained for nearly eight decades.

It goes deeper than upending the world order.

Diversion: The Observations of Daniel Koren

by Nomad

Time for a distraction from politics.

Daniel Koren is an Israeli musician, comedian and director, now living in Brooklyn. 

With his quirky point of view, 35-year-old Koren has not abandoned the wonder we once felt as children. His Youtube videos have received hundreds of thousands of views. 

I have chosen five videos from his online collection. There's the euphoric "Enjoying Stuff" - a guide to finding your snatch of happiness, and "Benches" - where Koren finds the greatest show on Earth. His video called "The Thing about Dogs" is heart-breaking and "Cactus"- a treatise about what emotional pain can do starts out ok but then completely falls apart because of a detail.
Hope you enjoy Daniel's ideas as much as I did. 

Sanity Sunday - Laid-Back Lounge Music

by Nomad

In the wake of yesterday's demoralizing and tragic news, I thought we needed a bit of a diversion. In this case, I selected lounge music, songs from another era. A time when people didn't have to worry about being shot while Saturday shopping or a night out at a local bar.