Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Breaking News - Wells Fargo creates a mess, so does Barroso, French Muslims reject secular laws - 20/9/16

In this frequent "Breaking News" section - with a wink and nod to the ever "important" breaking news  - I highlight articles, interviews and other publications from international and Dutch sources, that offer a context to the many breaking news items we all are bombarded with:

In deze regelmatige "Breaking News" post - met een knipoog naar de waan van de dag van "breaking" nieuwsberichten  - verwijs ik naar artikelen, interviews en andere berichten uit Nederlandse en internationale bronnen, die "breaking news" van context en kleur kunnen voorzien.

Europe:
"Juncker questions Barroso's decision to join Goldman Sachs" - The Guardian -
It's getting worse for Barroso, now being attacked by his own colleagues. See also Former EU President Barroso joins Goldman Sachs, Another Nail in the EU Coffin.

Economy:
"Misbehaving bankers - Accounts receivable" - The Economist -
The once poster-child for reliable banking, Wells Fargo, is now also implicated in fraudulent behavior. Another bank bites the dust.

"Wells Fargo’s wagonload of insincere regrets" - The Irish Times -
"One apology by Wells Fargo was for something huge. For years, its staff had been quietly setting up as many as 2m fake customer accounts and credit cards. Now they’ve been rumbled: the bank has been fined $185m and 5,300 people have been sacked."   I don't think this saga will end with this apology.

Islam:
"Just under 30 percent of French Muslims reject secular laws: poll" - Reuters -
"Just under 30 percent of France's 3 to 4 million Muslims reject the country's secular laws, according to an Ifop poll published by the French weekly Journal du Dimanche. When asked if they considered the Islamic legal and moral code of sharia to be more important than the French Republic's laws, 29 percent of respondents answered "yes." Not sure why Reuters starts this article with "just": for those who didn't know that France has a big problem, now they know.

Bookreview:
"Hand on Heart" - The Economist -
a book review of Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild. "This book is an astute study of America’s “culture war” drawn from the perspective of the white conservatives who feel they are losing it."  Fascinating reading in order to understand why Trump is gaining so much traction.






Bombing in My Chelsea Neighborhood

Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan
Last Saturday I was not in Chelsea, the New York neighborhood where my office is located. Luckily no colleagues were wandering around either on 23rd Street, while a self-made bomb exploded on that same street at 8:30pm, a bomb that injured 29 people.

Almost before anything was officially officially, Presidential hopeful Donald Trump already called it a "bombing". He was initially admonished by Hillary Clinton for mentioning the "b" word, but later on she too used it. Later that evening New York Mayor Bill de Blasio referred to it as "an intentional act" and Governor Andrew Cuomo said it was "obviously an act of terrorism." Another time, I'd like to go into the distinctions between "lone wolf" vs. "home-grown vs "real" terrorists. Bottom line was that a senseless bomb exploded in a nice quiet area in Manhattan, known for its restaurants and cafes, its small businesses, its galleries and its gay community. The damage was obviously bad for the injured and, fortunately, not terrible for the neigborhood. Still, the shock was great.


Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Nederlandse stichters van New York nu online

Gezicht op Nieuw Amsterdam (1664)
door Johannes Vingboons/Wikimedia
Afgelopen zaterdag meldde "Het Parool" over een initiatief van het  Amsterdamse Stadsarchief en de New York City Municipal Archives: beide instanties zochten de papieren sporen van de Nederlandse stichters van New York bij elkaar en plaatsten ze met Engelstalige samenvattingen online.  

"Uit Amsterdam komt bijvoorbeeld het testament van de beroemde gouverneur Peter Stuyvesant. Een verslag van een smaadrechtszaak die hij later in de Nederlandse kolonie voerde komt uit het New Yorkse archief................Ook de levens van koopman Goovert Loockermans, gelukszoekers Anna en Wolfert Webber en een van de eerste Joods-Nederlandse immigranten Asser Levy zijn gereconstrueerd."

Een prima initiatief voor studenten, onderzoekers en Amerikanen die naar informatie over hun voorouders zoeken.