Keeping up with news and ideas

The UK and Netherlands are both fortunate to have strong public broadcast news services in the BBC and the NOS (Nederlandse Omroep Stichting).  Both are chartered to produce regular and frequent pregular and frequent public service programming, including, full and impartial news service and coverage of parliamentary debates and other national events.  Both are criticized for somewhat right-of-center coverage, and for giving legitimacy to fringe points of view in their efforts to remain unbiased.  But in general, they are my go-to sources for news and commentary when in the country.

Newspapers in both countries are private and varied: I am a Volkskrant / Guardian sort of reader, and keep up with both, each day.  While the coverage is free online and through their app, I do agree that quality independent journalism requires financial support, and so make a monthly subscriber’s contribution to each.  There’s little in the way of premium content that comes back, but I appreciate the International and cultural content that a robust newspaper provides.

Most papers are retreating behind paywalls now, a pay-to-read scheme that has gotten more difficult in the past year.  My subscription to the British news weekly The Economist is the best,providing full access to current and historical content.  My New York Times subscription gives full and historical access online or via my tablet, but requires an additional fee if I want to read on my smartphone, a pointless distinction.  The Financial Times went further, a £1/day subscription gives only limited access to the day’s contents: tiers of higher, premium subscription are needed for access to popular articles, business commentary, and more.  At the same time, they have dropped weekend columnists who I really enjoyed, and their app is  burdensome and slow.  I dropped my subscription over the summer.

The Wall Street Journal has long been pay-to-view, but made their blog pages, including the wonderful WSJExpat, free to read.  In a double hit, they have now ended publication of the blog, moving it to Facebook, and have moved the archive of posts and advice behind their paywall.  Its a senseless loss.

Beyond these  go-to publications, I try to read across a spectrum of news and opinion.  I look in on Rush and Andrew just to see how the other side is thinking (and Brietbart has been ahead on several stories that were late in getting to the Guardian or the Times).  I like the World Edition of the Atlantic and the New Yorker, and occasionally Slate, for their essays and commentary.  For thoughtful pieces, I really like Aeon and Brain Pickings: they challenge me with insights, ideas, and pointers to authors that I might otherwise miss.

Finally, when I’m in the car and n the air as much as I am, it’s hard to keep up with the written word.   Podcast fill the gap: I tend towards more conversational formats covering politics and lifestyle.  Current favorites include:

• Sinica:  Recently moved to join the SupChina news site, Kaiser and Jeremy bring wonderful interviews about China that also speak to the expat experience more generally.  A recent episode with an expat’s months in a Chinese jail was wonderful.
• On Taking Pictures:  Part of the 5by5 network, Bill and Jeffrey talk about the creative process with nods to photography.  Good natured and wide ranging, it’s like having a beer with college friends, discussing ideas like which phases of life produce best creative work, or whether better tools make for better art.
• Petapixel:  Sharky brings twice-weekly updates on photography gear and techniques.  ‘sounds dull, but his running commentary is a lot of fun and he’s ahead of many stories about photojournalism and copyright issues.
• On the Media:  A seriously lefty  and political spin on the US media landscape.  Bob and Brooke trade a lot of solid truths during their interview segments with academics and journalists.  They’ve been relentlessly hard on coverage of Trump, a nice tonic in a toxic election.
• Here’s the Thing: Alec Baldwin spends a 1-1 hour with a leading actor, politician, or journalist.  People complain that there is too much Alec in the conversations, but it think that it gives his guests something to play off of, yielding a fun and relaxing talk.
• Big Ideas:  An Australian podcast, this show spends an hour exploring single issues drawn from politics and science.  Although half the shows are of primarily local interest, occasional gems like Is Love an Illusion? keep this at the top of my playlist.

Doing my civic duties

My daughter sent me a video clip from the Amazing Race, a US television show in which pairs of contestants race around the world, competing for 1 million dollars.  Along the way, there are various detours and challenges, and, in this one, a woman trying to slingshot a watermelon got hit in the face.  She’s okay, but it’s pretty brutal  (…and it kind of fit my experiences this week)

In any case,  my daughter wants us to sign up for the next race, since she’s turning 21 next month and becomes eligible.  She’s suffered through years of me pointing at the TV chirping “I’ve been there”, and thinks she can cash in on the experience.

She ‘s also worried that my citizenship might be an issue.  My son is advancing his security clearance and has the same concern as authorities dig into family background (Really, I can explain that…).

No worries.  In fact, I got my US Voter’s packet and my IND letter *today*.

The IND letter renews my permit for a fourth year as a Dutch resident / entrepreneur.  Next time, it’s permanent.  But, as I’ve explained to the kid-lets, neither the verblijfsdocument nor the British Tier 1 mean that I gave up US citizenship.  It only says that I have (renewable) leave to stay past 3 months, to live here, and to work (and to pay taxes and health insurance premiums).

Honestly, I don’t expect to ever trade citizenship.  I still keep a US point of residence, my driver’s license, pay taxes, and vote in local elections.

In that spirit, I settled into filling out my ballot this morning.  Washington, like many US states, allows citizen and legislative initiatives to be put to a vote, and it always makes for an interesting barometer of the times.  This year, economics outweigh social issues.

Should the process for raising taxes be changed to require 2/3 vote of the legislature or a majority of citizens approving?

Should the worker-paid share of health insurance premiums be eliminated?

Should sales taxes be taken off candy and bottled water? 

Should there be an income tax on people making over $200,000  per year?

Should the state monopoly of liquor sales be abolished? And should state-owned liquor stores be closed?

Should we deny bail to criminals facing life in prison?

Should we put energy-efficient improvements in public buildings and schools?

It’s a good crop of questions; I’m looking forward to seeing what people say about them.

Then I can get down to the serious business of applying for the Amazing Race:

Describe your perfect day.

If someone you are competing with unknowingly drops their plane ticket in front off you, what would you do?

Are there any countries you would not travel to?

What is your opinion of foreigners?

What famous person reminds you of yourself?

Can you swim?

Reflections on the NWA bomb attempt

The news here is filled with emerging details of the attempted bombing of Northwest flight 253.  It’s unsettling to watch: I’ve taken that flight lots of times, working my way from Amsterdam towards Minneapolis or Seattle.   It sounds like it all happened extremely quickly; I always wonder how fast or how correctly I would react in that sort of situation.  Hopefully it never comes to a test.

It’s hard for me to imagine how the bomber got through security at Schiphol. The airport has security screenings at each gate, so even transfer passengers would have gone through an interview, a metal detector, and a baggage screening before boarding.  Pat-downs aren't unusual, and the news reports from Amsterdam say that all security procedures were followed. 

I’m sure that this incident is going to make a mess of flying for months to come. Security will ratchet up, screenings will slow down, there will be new carry-on restrictions.  I’ve already received notice from Air Canada to arrive an hour earlier and to limit myself to only one carry-on bag (excess checked baggage fees arte being waived).  Whole-body scanner / sniffers are a likely part of the future.

I also remember the mix of people typically on that flight, a plane often filled with tall, fit Dutch students and businessmen. I have little doubt that at least a dozen people would have been more than a match for the  bomber.  The Sunday morning interview programs are featuring interviews with Jasper Schuringa, the young film director who apparently leaped all the way across the cabin (20J to 19A) as the incident began.  His description of putting a hammerlock on the bomber sounds like a case example of Dutch directness.

U.S. political winds

'back in Seattle for the week: it's cold and rainy here, almost more like January than June.  The snow level is down to 3000 ft, which is causing unseasonable blizzards at the Cascade Mountain passes and frigid, gusting winds here in the lowlands.  My daughter graduates High School this evening: I visited a friend last night to share a celebratory single-malt and laugh about stories of our daughters' growing up.  As my mother always said, we forget the bad times and remember the good. Thankfully.

The past few days, as I've visited with family and friends, watched and listened to the media, I'm getting back in sync with the mood here in the US.  It's been six months since my last visit, and it's always a jump to catch up to where conversations and opinions have evolved.

The main topic is still the US presidential campaign: the primaries are finally over, and nobody seems very happy with the outcome.  John McCain, the Republican nominee, is widely seen by liberals as a second incarnation of George Bush, and by conservatives as a candidate who doesn't truly support their causes.  People admire his patriotism, integrity, and conviction, but say that his policies are badly out of step with their war-weariness and economic difficulties. The radio pundits hammer him mercilessly, others say that he may appeal to the Hillary's lunchbucket voters, but I don't find any of them willing to vote for him.

The women who backed Hillary are deeply disappointed and disillusioned.  They seem frustrated most by the unfairness of it all: she offered so much, was so close, and didn't deserve the outcome.  My mother gets tears in her eyes talking about the concession speech last week: many women I talk with similarly felt related to Hillary's candidacy even though they disagreed with her on issues.  It's been hard for them to watch her struggle and they are proud that she left with dry-eyed dignity.

Obama worries people that I talk with.  Friends have moved past the first telegenic impressions of a fresh face offering real change, and now they are asking what an Obama presidency will really mean.  Is he experienced enough, connected enough, to get things done? Is he a smart person who will be paralyzed when confronted by the world's gritty reality?  People refer back to the example of Jimmy Carter, also elected for many of the same qualities of optimism and book-smarts, but who ended his term with a never-ending hostage crisis, withdrawal from the Olympics, and a darkened Christmas tree.

There are no Bush defenders left anywhere across the political spectrum, not one.  Everyone feels embarrassed by the ignorance and betrayed by the actions; they just hope that they can ignore him for a last few months.  The core political question in this election year will be whether the US takes a short or a long step away from Bush's policies. Either way, the era will end, discredited.

Finally, and with justification. 

Everywhere, there is good, level-headed discussion of issues and alternatives, not shrill accusations around superficial distractions.  Attack ads have been swiftly countered: nobody will be "Swift-Boated" this year.  However, in response to the questions I hear being raised, Obama needs to reassure people worried about his inexperience, working-class empathy, and ethnic loyalties; McCain needs to answer questions of age and of specifically how he would change Bush's policies.

The Dutch forever ask who I think will win: I believe that Obama is likely to take the popular vote by a wide margin.  The electoral vote will, unfortunately, be much closer, especially if more manipulation of uncertainty in the results takes place, as happened in Florida and Ohio in 2000 and 2004.  People are already losing faith in the integrity of the electoral system,and it would be seriously bad if lawyers and political operatives step in to decide the result for a third time.

(not) Accessing bank accounts and television shows

I'm approaching my May 1 deadline to establish a US bank account for my paychecks that I can access for living expenses in the Netherlands. I finally gave up trying to convince (Yoo Hoo !) WaMu that global banking should include currency exchanges and wire transfers. I went on to approach Schwab, HSBC, Bank of America, but in every case, the bank required a personal visit to open an account, and wire transfers required fax or written instructions. I can't believe that I'm starting to wish more banks were as good as Fortis.

In desperation, I called Citibank. I think of them as a high-flying business bank, fallen on hard times, and so I had low expectations for personal banking. The first hour on the phone with them reinforced the concerns:

1) I started in an overseas call center, who rattled through a script and directed me to a Personal Banker.

2) My Personal Banker was irritated that I wanted to ask questions before opening an account. After ten fruitless minutes, she hooked on the word "Dutch" and sent me to the International Personal Banking group.

3) My International Personal Banker danced around the options, telling me I didn't qualify for account types that were unavailabel anyway. I consulted their web site, asking about simple Regular Checking or Interest Checking. That got me routed to the Global Executive Banking program.

4) My Global Executive Banker told me that I needed to talk to his supervisor and hung up on me.

5) I called back into the Global Executive connection, and was told that I could only establish an account through my Company Relocation Office. I explained that my company expected me to do this myself, and they explained that I could, therefore, put $25,000 on account with them and they'd be happy to talk further.

6) I am sheepishly routed back to my Personal Banker.

Remarkably, at this point, I connected with someone who understood that I wanted to simply make direct payroll deposits and wire cash overseas using the Internet.

And Citi has that account.

A Citibank Access Account can be opened on-line, is instantly established, and carries no fee if you do monthly direct deposit ($3 otherwise). No minimum balance (I opened it with $0.00), and, while the account has an ATM card, there are no other checks or products attached. Instead, you get simple, free wire transfers domestically, and rapid, $30 international transfers with generous limits accessible over the Internet, denominated in the currency of your choice.

i was shocked: it's *exactly* what I've looked for during the past few years. It took an hour to set it up and do a test transfer from WaMu, get the Fortis link entered and stored, and figure out the SWIFT codes. I'll see how the first month goes, but I am very impressed with the simple minimalism (services and fees) of this account. (Warning: This account immediately went sour, and I am no longer a Citibank customer.)

I decided to celebrate by exploring Hulu, a new service that streams American television and movies over the Internet for free. I registered, and found an interesting selection of films and classic shows. But, any attempt to watch anything brought the message:

This continues a pattern: all of the networks in the US flash similar "We apologize, but this video isn't available at your location" messages. I've fiddled with anonymizers and such to try to spoof it, but without success. I'm not sure what motivates this restriction: many of the same shows appear on Dutch cable television (sans commercials).

So, back to reading and practicing Dutch language...probably better for me anyway. At least I'm batting to the sunny side of .500 today.

Bank note photo credit Commercebank

The Amazing Race

'Back from Pullman, the snow and fog closed the small airport there so we drove to Lewiston to find an open airport.

These days always remind me of the reality show "The Amazing Race", one of my favorites....

1. I've been there: It's always fun to see the racers tear through someplace that I've been, whether a town, an airport, or a bit of the countryside. I remember one dash to the finish where the street, then the canal, finally the castle looked increasingly familiar. Muiden outside of Amsterdam, is a town where I have lunch in summer and have personal connections to, and suddenly there it was on TV.
2. I've done that: The stitching together of point-to-point flights, the countryside rushing past the windows of lurching trains, the perils of assuming that medieval cities have street grids, all make up daily delights of living and working in Europe. I always smile watching them trip over the same cultural blind spots that I have.
   And who hasn't put unleaded in a diesel once while hurrying...
3. I keep clam: Breaking down with anger and frustration when confronted with a intractable aspect of foreign culture never solves anything. My blocks don't involve animals or eating challenges (usually), but patience, good-humor, and perspective will, in fact, have seen me through most apparent dead ends (stories I need to tell ). You can't deal with the many hoops of getting a residency permit without those qualities.
   Oh, and "Keep clam" is a Seattle saying, not a misprint...
   
4. I want to be there...: Every week, I think I see a new place that I jot into my notebook for someplace I want to go next. Morocco, Berlin, and Shanghai are high on my list at the moment.
5. I win by trying: Best of all, people typically win by thinking, trying, overcoming their fears and prejudices, and working hard, not be being loud and stupid. What more could you ask...

Links to show commentary can be found at Edward Hasbrouk's "Practical Nomad" blog
and "Television without Pity" (hosted by the excellent Miss Alli)