We've been unpacking some more boxes this week and the second bedroom is getting ready. Today we brought several boxes with books and papers to my and Sasha's work.
On the way back home we did grocery shopping and bought our Christmas tree. It's a beautiful one, quite large. It's larger than we've had before so I'll get some extra lights tomorrow and will decorate it in the evening.
We went for a walk in the beautiful Huntley Meadows Park yesterday. It was around 3.30 pm and the sun was already low on the horizon. The park is an area with wetlands and there are many different types of birds in the wetlands and the lake. There's a boardwalk through the wet areas and several trails through the woods.
We are scouting for places where it's nice to go for a walk. Last weekend we walked part of the Washington & Old Dominion trail, which was nice but a quite busy with bicycles.
Minister Donner expects to present his proposal for modifying the Dutch nationality law to parliament before Christmas.
In October we wrote about Minister Donner's plan to eliminate dual nationality for Dutch citizen. The proposal, which has not yet been officially presented to the Tweede Kamer (the Dutch House of Representatives), will be sent to parliament before the Christmas break. Minister Donner answered this in response to questions by House member Gerard Schouw of the D66 party.
Importance of Dutch expats
The minister estimates that there are about 850,000 Dutch passport holders living abroad, but it is not known how many of them hold dual nationality. The minister "acknowledges the importance of Dutch expats for the Dutch economy and Dutch diplomatic relations".
Position of the Tweede Kamer
The new law, which if it was accepted would have a significant negative effect on Dutch citizens living abroad, is controversial. A majority of parties in the Tweede Kamer has spoken in support of Dutch citizens abroad who could no longer maintain their Dutch nationality when applying for foreign citizenship.
On November 22nd a motion was brought forward to ask the minister to reconsider the aspects of the proposal that would impact Dutch citizens abroad. The motion did not get a majority in the Tweede Kamer though since the VVD did not support it, on technical grounds. Eelco Keij, who initiated the online petition against the proposal, remains optimistic: "This was just a procedural move by the VVD. When it comes to the content, they already publicly stated they are on our side."
The petition by Dutch citizens abroad has received almost 19,000 signatures and significant coverage in the Dutch media. More information in Dutch about the petition can be found on NederlanderBlijven.com.
It's been raining all day today. We had an early appointment in D.C so I took the metro from Foggy Bottom to my work. The moment I put down my umbrella on the floor, I saw an umbrella under another bench. A good reminder not to forget my own!
In the evening it was still pouring, and when I came home there was no power in the apartment building. However, one elevator was still working and there was partial lightning in the building hallways. Our apartment was pitch black, a strange experience. I went for a great run in the rain and took a shower by candle light. The power came back 30 minutes later.
This is one of the best books I've read in years, and certainly one of the most hopeful books.
Steven Pinkert convincingly makes the case that violence today, in all its forms, is at an historical low and has been on the decline throughout human history. Ranging from big stuff such as murder and torture, to smaller forms of violence as depicted in advertising in the 1950s, violence is clearly on the decline. This has huge implications for society and politics.
"The decline of violence may be the most significant and least appreciated development in the history of our species. The implications touch the core of our beliefs and values -- for what could be more fundamental than an understand of whether the human condition, over the course of its history, has gotten steadily better, steadily worse, or has not changed?"
The book's message resonates greatly with me: life nowadays is better than ever, and modernity is a force for the good, fueled by the ascent of reason. This is a very hopeful book.
The first part of the book, describing historical trends, is stronger than the second part where the author goes into detail on how the human minds works. A minor point of criticism is that some of his statements about more recent history, indicating that the US is becoming more liberal, seem a little premature, even though the long-term trend is probably correct.
I bought this book at the airport in San Francisco, traveling back from work.
Our living room and kitchen are in good shape, and slowly but surely we're getting the rest of the apartment ready as well. Today we worked mainly on the guest bedroom.
After a visit to Home Depot I mounted the bookshelves against the wall and we opened the last boxes. We threw out a lot of old papers, which is a nice feeling.
We decorated our Christmas tree tonight.
We've been unpacking some more boxes this week and the second bedroom is getting ready. Today we brought several boxes with books and papers to my and Sasha's work.
We went for a walk in the beautiful Huntley Meadows Park yesterday. It was around 3.30 pm and the sun was already low on the horizon. The park is an area with wetlands and there are many different types of birds in the wetlands and the lake. There's a boardwalk through the wet areas and several trails through the woods.
It's been raining all day today. We had an early appointment in D.C so I took the metro from Foggy Bottom to my work. The moment I put down my umbrella on the floor, I saw an umbrella under another bench. A good reminder not to forget my own!
We had a nice day in our new town, Arlington, today. 
Our living room and kitchen are in good shape, and slowly but surely we're getting the rest of the apartment ready as well. Today we worked mainly on the guest bedroom.