Interview Jacob Lieuwen

Interview in het personeelsblad van de Marine Luchtvaartdienst, "De Kampweg" gepubliceerd in nr7 2003.

Our year 2010

Another digital collage by Smilebox

Mass murderer verdicted

Cambodia’s war crimes tribunal today handed down its first guilty verdict against a senior Khmer Rouge figure, Tuol Sleng prison director Duch, for crimes committed under the regime more than 30 years ago.

Judges at the United Nations-backed court sentenced Duch to 35 years in prison. However, they reduced his sentence by five years after ruling that he had been illegally detained by a military court following his arrest in 1999.

Duch's prison term was reduced by a further 11 years for time served, meaning that he faces a total of 19 years behind bars.

Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, was convicted of crimes against humanity and war crimes for his role at Tuol Sleng, or S-21, the regime’s most important interrogation centre where as many as 16,000 men, women and children were brutalised before being systematically exterminated.

Only 14 people are known to have survived Tuol Sleng, which under Duch’s meticulous and rigid hand evolved into an efficient killing machine that came to symbolise the worst excesses of increasingly paranoid Khmer Rouge leaders.

Entire families were imprisoned for the alleged crimes of a single member, and on a single day in 1977 alone, Duch ordered the executions of 160 children.

An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians dying of disease, exhaustion from overwork, torture or execution.

During a six-month trial last year – the tribunal’s first – prosecutors painted Duch, a 67 year-old former math teacher, as a driving force behind the regime’s execution campaign, and argued that he guided crimes committed at Tuol Sleng.

Duch’s defence, on the other hand, contended that he had merely carried out orders issued by his superiors with an eye towards ensuring his own survival.

Amalia & the Vuvuzela

Amalia & the Vuvuzela, originally uploaded by rob-gizzy.

On the day of the final of the Worldcup 2010 we went to the Museumplein in Amsterdam to see the Orange fans coming together to watch the final between Spain and Holland on the big screens.
Johan Cruijff once said that when you make one goal more than the other team you win ( dat is logisch). And that is what Spain did.

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam was decorated with a huge photo of Princess Amalia with a vuvuzela, and the statues on the roof were dressed in orange.

With a queen like Amalia, Holland will win the cup.
So, be patient, and one day the cup will be traveling through the channels of Amsterdam!!

Au revoir - we're on our way home!

DSC_4864, originally uploaded by rob-gizzy.

We're now in LAX waiting for our flight to Paris - then we catch our connecting flight to Amsterdam. Because we're travelling on our miles we couldn't get a direct flight to Amsterdam, but it doesn't matter too much! We're both a little sad to leave - it really has been great. The States is such a great vacation destination - relaxed, everyone is really friendly (even the 'hi - how are you' every 5 seconds is something you eventually get used to!). Well, what can I say except "we'll be back"!

With the Palm Springs cops

With the Palm Springs cops, originally uploaded by rob-gizzy.

Ok, I must admit I had quite a few margarita's when this picture was taken. The cops were very obliging, one said "do you want a photo with or without handcuffs"? OMG! We had a great dinner at Kaiser Steakhouse - 3 course meal for $24! There was some kind of town festival going on yesterday with booths and live music on every street corner (even an "Ask the Rabbi" corner)! After dinner we ended up at Las Casuelas Terraza where the same band was playing again. Today was our last day in Palm Springs, I went to the outlet stores (again) while Rob did the laundry and hung out by the pool. We spent the afternoon relaxing by the poolside and just packed all our stuff (we're also underweight, shoot we could have bought more! :D). Tonight we'll have dinner at "The Falls" and sit outside overlooking the square - and most probably end up at Las Casuelas. All in all, we're over the moon with the fantastic vacation we've had in the States. The only downside is this too comes to an end! But we've got the photos!

Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park, originally uploaded by rob-gizzy.

Yesterday we went to Joshua Tree National Park (the trees were given the name by the Mormons due to the fact that they were pointing West, which was where they were headed). We went on a strenous 2-mile hike (around 2.5 hours) in the blazing heat (again, I ask you, we call this vacation???), but it was quite an impressive, massive park in the desert. Considering the grueling day we had, we deserved some cocktails (frozen Margarita's) at La Casuelas Terraza and decided to have dinner there since a really great band was playing.
Today, we went to the Aerial Tramway and rode up the tramway and hike the Mount San Jacinto and had some amazing views. It was a lot cooler up there (40 degrees F cooler) but excellent hiking conditions. When we got back to the hotel we were greeted by wonderful sunshine and were lured to the hotel pool to enjoy the sun!