September 27, 2026

 Sunday. Left at 10:01. Blacksmith. A beautiful day, starting in early fall and progressing to late summer. Arm warmers and undershirt only excessive afterwards, on the bench, in the sun. Mostly sunny with light southerly winds. On the cool side, especially under the trees, but comfortable in the sun. De Bilt, past Zeist, toward Woudenberg. Griftdijk with successive sections of cut grass, sunflowers, and corn. Sunday quiet, but not without other recreationists. Car traffic on the Amerongseberg was light too. Down the hill into Amerongen fraught with tensions with motorists, as is frequently the case. Up at Leersum, past Ginkelduin, Ginkelseweg, and Haarweg. Hoogstraat, then a Ruiterberg busy with approaching cyclists, and Maarnsegrindweg. Up to the Pyramide, and on toward Zeist, de Bilt, and Møs. This particular loop gradually takes more and more effort, too much for even superficial observation. Saturday's AD with a story on how people in Narva, Estonia live right next door to Russia. There was some talk of NATO's role in case of a Russian intrusion or attack, but in such a way that the full implications (possibility of military escalation, or, perhaps more likely, the disintegration of NATO) in no way became clear for the casual Dutch weekend reader. But in other news there was the meeting between the German foreign minister and his Russian colleague. It appears the German minister said the right things, while the response from the Russian is instructive for all those in Europe arguing for "dialogue." There is no dialogue, there is war. Russia is determined to achieve its security goals, which, of course, are about much more than Ukraine. Ukraine did not invade Russia. The only way it threatened the interests of the regime in the Kremlin is through its association with the West. Back in 2022, that still included the United States. As the Russian president has stated over and over again, he sees Russia's (his regime's) security threatened by NATO and the EU. That is to say, he feels threatened by the things these organizations and its member states stand for, most of which are the opposite of what he deems important: the right to choose (and fire) your own government, respect for basic human rights. In the Kremlin's eyes, the West, what's left of it, is guilty by virtue of what it (imperfectly) manages to be. Existing right next-door as a community of open societies where governments are accountable to voters, it is an example to Russia's own people of how things could be different. In the early years of the twenty-first century, the West did a lot more, particularly taking in East and Central European countries eager to join the EU and NATO. Another way in which it challenged the Kremlin was through its support of, and work with, Russian civil society organizations, and through its criticism of the government whenever it limited basic civil rights. Some Westerners may have believed that rather than confronting the Kremlin, they were simply doing the right thing, standing up for fundamental human rights, but in this belief they misunderstood the Russian leader's own beliefs, including Russian imperialism, the latter widely supported by ordinary Russians. And so even though prior to 2022 there was quite a bit of East-West diplomacy, in the end the substance of the "dialogue" between Russia and the West was very meager. The Russian president was misunderstood in his anti-Western views and his determination, come what may, to push back Western influence from what he viewed as Russia's legitimate sphere of influence. The West, back then including the United States, could have accommodated him only at the price of abandoning its core principles. Given Washington's current line, Moscow is winning. After all, the current administration has essentially left the Western alliance. Just the other day, the two highly successful businessmen-peacmakers (Gaza, Iran, Ukraine) acting on behalf of the president told the Russian foreign minister that the war in Ukraine is the war of their boss's predecessor in the White House. It was only the latest example of Washington endorsing Moscow's view of the war. 

September 23, 2026

Wednesday. Left at 3:53. Blacksmith. Late summer weather, with sun, light winds out of the south, and mild. Gradually clouding over, but never cool. Singel to Koningsweg and Wayen. Commuters beginning to appear. Langeweg with all the corn gone. ARK calm; south of the Schalkwijk brug just gravel, so back to Tripdijk and Lange Uitweg. There, fresh-mowed, fragrant grass on both sides. Lekdijk past Tull en 't Waal, then Sluispad. A lot of barges queing up to enter the locks. Water level on the rivers remains too low, so perhaps more boats are still needed to move the same amount of cargo. Juthpaas back to the ARK. The whole world apparently riding home from work, one half electrified, the rest old-style cycling or scootering. Even busier around the Gele brug--an entirely different world from the one mid-morning. The news showing evidence of Russia's all-out push--conventionally, for now--to force Ukraine to its knees. Also more, and more aggressive, provocations of NATO countries. All this has increased calls in the West for "dialogue," for alternatives to this violence. Even the well-meaning innocents seem to be incapable of understanding the basic facts of this war. Somehow, they seem to think, talking to Russians, or their government, is going to promote peace. As well-meaning as these people may be, they're still the Kremlin's useful idiots, since their arguments, such as they are, can only serve to undermine Western (European) support for Ukraine's fight for survival. Worse is the invitation sent to the Kremlin by the U.S. administration, for the Russian president to attend the upcoming G-20 meeting in Florida. One week, the president signs Congress's latest sanctions bill against Russia and its enablers into law, the next, he sends the Russian president an invitation to join the conversation on global financial and economic issues. Every day we get more evidence of what happens when the government of the country at the heart of the post-World War II order gets taken over by a group hostile to just about everything that order used to stand for. There are plenty of opportunists in Europe too, as witness the lifting of sactions on two Russian oligarchs this week. The old order is being dismantled, replaced by selfish opportunism and might-makes-right. As the president of Ukraine said yesterday, we're already back in a world of war, it's getting worse, and the end is not yet in sight. 

September 21, 2026

Monday. Left at 9:54. Blacksmith. Mostly sunny, mild, moderate breezes from the northwest. Not summer anymore, not quite fall yet either. Straatweg to Maarssen, then ARK and Woerdenseweg. Across the ARK at Breukelen, toward Angstelkade. Same illogical puddle on the stretch back to the ARK as earlier; there must be some kind of overflow underneath the grass. Corn still up alongside the Polderweg; elsewhere, the smell of fresh-cut grass. Loenersloot toward Oukoop. Fine views of Vinkeveen from the Haanweg to Demmerik. On to Wilnis, then left along the Wilnise Zuwe. Just before the crossing with the Bovendijk, in a recreational area to the right, an old fat guy standing behind his fishing rod, urinating into the wide open. On toward Kanis, then left to Teckop. Hollandse Kade south, with no evidence of the city in the distance; just some grain elevators or buildings like it to the far right, at Woerden. Laag Nieuwkoop past the carnival at Haarzuilens. The park, the trail, and the Gele brug back into town and Møs. The AD full of sports, but also a timely article on the predicament of the American president with regard to Saudi Arabia. It finds itself at war with Jemen's Houthis, and in spite of the billions and billions spent on military kit from the U.S., it has still gone begging for help from Washington. In the end, the president decided to turn down his friend in Riyadh, which shows the limits of the friendship the two men and their respective families seemed to have built in recent years. Washington has its own deal with the Houthis, and the president really can't use another conflict on top of the disaster he has created for himself and the world with Iran. This emperor has no clothes, and neither does his buddy in Riyadh. Their hubris and incompetence, meanwhile, contiues to create real hardship for people the world over. Nobody ever voted the crown-prince into office, but it's getting high time for people who do still get to participate in real elections to stop plumbing for the kinds of populists now wreaking havoc in Washington--or in Germany, for that matter (or, potentially, lots of other European countries). They have nothing to offer but trouble.

September 19, 2026

Saturday. Left at 9:52. Blacksmith. Mostly overcast, stiff southwesterly breeze, fairly mild--long sleeves not really required. De Bilt and around Zeist toward Woudenberg, but closure at Quatre Bras, so Treek to Amersfoort and Hugo de Grootlaan. Soesterweg not fully open yet, but improved. A.P. Hilhorstweg quiet. Corn mostly down, wildflowers remaining. Soest tower in the distance apparently scaffolded. Baarn and across the tracks at the Torenweg. Eventually Noorderweg to Soestdijk. Past the palace, then left toward Lage Vuursche. Fewer cars than feared. Another detour in Maartensdijk. Tweesporenpad into the wind with the Dom up ahead. Blauwkapel and Singel to Møs and the AD. It's not the go-to place for international news. They are searching for a new editor-in-chief, who should try to do a little more. As the non-tendentious mainstream daily, there's an opportunity to help people who aren't naturally inclined to think much or hard about the wider world about its relevance for daily life over here. In the news the new agreement between the U.S., Greenland, and Denmark, touted by Washington as a great accomplishment. In reality, it may not amount to anything more than what existed during the Cold War, and thus would be the latest example of how the administration time and again manages to waste a lot of time, energy, and goodwill to accomplish next to nothing. The president's signing of the new bill sanctioning those still doing business with Russia is a little better in that regard (but also not an administration initiative). Still, the real test is if Russia's greatest supporter in its war on Ukraine, China, will be targeted by the administration. The AD did have a background story on the upcoming meeting between the president and the Chinese leader, although this issue didn't come up. But it's unlikely that Washington will try to punish China for doing deals with Russia where its own diplomacy toward Moscow has the exact same goal, not counting all the other ways in which the American president shows himself to be unserious about confronting his Russian colleague. 

September 17, 2026

Thursday. Left a little after ten. Blacksmith. Early fall. Partly cloudy, cool, breezy out of the southwest. Private race car driver, or potential killer, on the Adelaarstraat. Westside Vecht to Rode Brug, then Zandpad to Groeneweg. Tuinbouwweg to Herenweg and polder Bethune. Other people busy beating the rain. Breukeleveen parked up for no apparent reason. It doesn't require a lot of cars for there to be too many. Boomhoek and Muyeveld both better, as was Loosdrecht, new and old. Bloklaan, with evidence of a recent shower, to Straatweg. Nieuwersluis, then the wind alongside the ARK. At Maarssen back to the Straatweg and into town. 

September 14, 2026

Monday. Left at 9:54. Blacksmith. Fairly mild, light winds out of the south, mostly sunny, later clouding up with some vague gray cloud formations, then clearing again. De Bilt to the bricks of Bilthoven, then Den Dolder and the new trail alongside the railroad tracks. All pretty peaceful, but people. Amersfoortse berg "beste kant" torn up, but Hugo de Grootlaan wide open. Down Laan 1914 to Zeisterspoor, Soesterhoogt, and the airfield. Under the trees, the pavement still damp from yesterday's rain. Bosch and Duin torn up too, so Ruysdaellaan to the highway. De Bilt, Berenkuil back into town and Møs. The AD was there. It was full of sports, and virtually without mention (let alone discussion) of the Russian strike this weekend on a passenger train near the Ukrainian-Polish border. That's an escalation, though not unexpected, which is why the European response so far has been disappointing. Just to send Moscow a message--about this provocation, but also the armed drone earlier this summer at the Leipzig airport--Germany could change its view that "Ukraine no longer needs" its Taurus missiles. It could say that, while Ukraine remains capable of striking targets deep inside Russia, Berlin will still supply it with Taurus missiles, just to underline that Moscow should be more careful in its approach to Ukraine's European supporters (for starters). Given the recent domestic political developments in Germany--election victory by Putin's allies--we should not hold our breath.

September 12, 2026

 Saturday. Left just before ten. Blacksmith. Fairly mild, moderate winds out of the south. Mostly overcast, with gray cover, but also some woolly white, all of it with sporadic room for the sun. Late morning light beginning to get more interesting this time of year. Koningsweg to Vechten and Achterdijk. Corn being cut. Wildflower borders and fields, with sunflowers prominent. Werkhoven to Dwarsdijk. Pears beginning to come off the trees. Wijkersloot to Irenesluizen, then Lekdijk to Beatrixsluizen. The bend in its entirety, starting at the Beusichem ferry, spectacular: the view of the curve of the dike, and to its left the lower marshland, then the river. The marshland still very dry. Further on, the river also looked low. People out, but on the whole fairly quiet. Schipperspad to Merwedekanaal, where the whole world appeared to be out exercising. Into town and Møs. The AD full of domestic and local news, with some Saturday life-style articles added for good measure. If this, indeed, is how the population gets its view of the world, one wonders whether the government's willingness to assist Ukraine as a first line of defense against Russia will find enough supporters for very long. Fortunately, there was one report on the visit of the foreign minister to the Baltics, to receive the advice not to be intimidated by Russian provocations. Instead, immediate countermeasures are the way to show Moscow that Europe can actually stand up for itself--effective deterrence, in other words. Part of that is to maintain credible armed forces, sufficiently staffed. From other articles it appears that the military isn't confident it can find enough suitable volunteers to make that happen and is now developing ideas for some kind of return to forced recruitment; a draft, in other words. That would not be such a bad thing, because the chance that one, or one's child, can be made to serve in the military will at least place the growing emergency right in the middle of lives of people who, until now, blissfully live their lives pretending nothing that goes on beyond our borders (other than wildfires near your vacation address) holds any relevance.