Tuesday we woke up early to travel by train to The Hague. First we visited the International Criminal Court. We had two speakers as well as a tour of their building, which used to be a parking garage for a phone company. The ICC is relatively new and is unable to try crimes committed before 2002. They address genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. I found it interesting that the U.S. has not been a supporter of the ICC since the Bush Administration came to office. Some speculate that we are nervous that we could be tried for what the U.S. has done in Iraq.
Next we went to the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute, where we enjoyed a traditional Dutch lunch (bread, cheese, meat, and soup) and a presentation on Holland's demographic issues. I've only heard about people worrying about over population, but the Netherlands and much of Europe have been struggling with a decreasing population. This is due to an aging population as well as societal norms (e.g., waiting longer to have children). A decreasing population is a problem because of the need for labor. It sound to me like Holland should be more accepting of immigrants into their country and labor force.
When we came back to Amsterdam a few of us promptly went to do a last load of laundry of before we come home. Later we hoped to see the movie opening of The Omen, but it was sold out. So, Brendan and I saw X-Men 3, which many people in the group have already seen twice here. After a long day we went to the hotel and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
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