December 7, 2025

Sunday. Left at 10:20. Nikor. Gray, on the mild side, with light southern breezes. Pavement damp; wet when covered with leaves. Most leaves on the ground now, little color left on the trees and bushes. Berenkuil to de Bilt and Zeist. Mountainbikers around the Beauforthuis, some road riders out also, but not busy anywhere. Woudenberg to Griftdijk and Haarweg. Few cars; the hill also fairly fume-free. The field off to the left before Overberg very still. Quite damp at the top of the ridge. Toward Leersum, then left: Amerongerwetering and Gooyerdijk. The land and the farms idle, but many farmers will sell you fresh eggs. New asphalt on the Rhodensteijnselaan. Langbroekerdijk and Zuwe toward Werkhoven. The sun making a feeble and unsuccessful attempt to work its way through the cloud cover. Nothing doing in Werkhoven; Achterdijk not busy either. Marsdijk and Koningsweg back into town. The trees along the singels still showing some good colors, especially combined with the leaves already on the ground. Yesterday's paper at Mos. The White House's a-moral transactional approach to foreign relations, as laid out in the new National Security Strategy, as clear as ever. Today a report that according to the Kremlin the two sides see eye-to-eye. Of course they'd say that, but it also happens to be true. For one thing, they are both  hostile to the EU and everything it purports to stand for. As if to confirm, the American president's son publicly shows his contempt for Ukraine and its leader. "Europe," meanwhile, can't get its act together for all kinds of reasons, even though its leaders (some of them) continue to pledge unconditional solidarity with Kyiv. It hasn't kept a Dutch national security talking head from hawking a new book in which, apparently, he tries to show that Europe, if it plays its cards right, can play a leading role in a world in which it is no longer allied with the U.S. One can dream, but it would be better--especially for a self-avowed Realist--to point to the perils of division, populism, and self-delusion. Push may come to shove well before most Europeans are caught up on how their world has changed.