If you’ve read any Thomas Friedman you’re probably aware of his cocky catch phrases that attempt to sum up the world’s issues, like the “The Lexus and the Olive Tree,” a title for one of his books that refers to a theory of his about the societal structure of “Lexus” producing countries and “Olive” producing countries. Regardless of my disdain for his over simplification, he offen does swiftly hammer down on the nail.
In a recent column in The New York times titled “Bushes Waterlogged Halo,” Friedman talks about the direction of our country and our administration economically and more importantly, environmentally.

Many of you are hoping to see photographs from Jordan considering I’m now here, but I’m still interested in my pre-Jordan experience and want to show you what I saw there. This is few more scenes of the “natural” Dutch landscape I saw while on bike rides outside Utrecht.

At the request of Deborah (I’m now taking requests like a wedding DJ), I’ve posted a few photographs of our new neighbors. We hope to some day tame them enough to start a Dhirar Bin Al-Azwar Street Circus.

As an American in Holland, or Europe for that matter, I was aware of something I’m not sure many folks back home think about. Europe, or Holland as an example, has boxed in, used up, or completely altered its natural world. Regarless, there’s an effort to strike a balance with the voracious appetite of human developement and a struggling environment. With this attempt there’s still this sense that everywhere you stand someone has already cleared the path, even if you’re in the middle of the woods.
Some places back home you can still feel like a pioneer. What worries me is America often neglects that which brought it such wealth and plenty, and we won’t realize what we had until what we had isn’t anymore.

One of the biggest visual surprises in Holland is the color. Men wear pink. Children wear yellow and white striped pants. Even cars seem to be painted brighter colors. It’s as if the color of their flowers literally rubbed off on everything.