Press Day 1 September 2026 It is already well into lunchtime when I realize that today is Press Day. Internationally, World Press Freedom Day is observed on 3 May. This day is about a free press as an important condition for good gov-ernance, and particularly for democracy. I have mixed feelings. In any case, it is not really something to cel-ebrate, but rather something to reflect on. A word of encouragement to all those who are doing their best in the media. The press is no

Rethinking Economics 4 September 2026 On 2 September, the newspaper reported that economists see opportunities in Schottegat. This refers to the possibilities that could arise from cleaning up the refinery site. On my Facebook page, I commented that we perhaps attach too much importance to the opinions of our economists, and that neoliberal economic thinking is partly responsible for the overdeveloped monoculture economy we now have, based on mass tourism. Jan pointed out to

Our Youth: Little League Champions of the World August 31, 2026 Yesterday, the kids from Curaçao convincingly defeated the American team in the final. It is only the second time in history, and this is anything but normal. An island with a population of just 150,000 has defeated countries such as Japan, Korea, Nicaragua, and the United States. Countries not only with populations in the millions, but also with extraordinary sports facilities and investments. Once again, it con

AI LLM 26 August 2026 I was going to write about LLMs today. Now I have to, because Patrick commented that he was curious. So, what is an LLM? A Large Language Model (LLM) is a form of artificial intelligence designed to understand and process human language and generate human-like text. It is trained on enormous datasets containing billions of words from books, articles, and websites. These deep-learning models extract the structural patterns of language from that material.

De obsessie met hoogbouw 25 augustus 2026 Ik worstel met twee onderwerpen. Hoogbouw voor volkshuisvesting en het oprukken van AI in de vorm van LLM. Maar ik focus me nu even op de hoogbouw. Als ik afga op wat er in de media speelt, wordt de hoogbouw van woningen in Tera Kora nu voortvarend doorgezet. Er wordt niet gereageerd op vragen vanuit de samenleving, waaronder ook die van deskundige burgers. Het is niet duidelijk op basis van welke studie hiertoe is besloten. Hoogbouw

Ostrich 22 August 2026 Our biggest problem at the moment may well be the complacency of the government, the ministers, the governing party, and the Members of Parliament. In their perception, things are going exceptionally well, thanks to their exceptionally good governance. Around them, an applause machine constantly reinforces that image. But the opposition, the media, the trade unions, the organized business community, social media, and protests also seem unable to break t

Opening of the New School Year on the Front Page 21 August 2026 It is a tradition. At the beginning of the new school year, the front page of the newspaper features a photo of children going back to school. Further inside, there is usually a collage. The crying child who has to let go of their mother for the first time is rarely missing. But on 21 August 2026, it was different. The front page carried the tragic news that a fight between two 19-year-old boys had ended with the

Prof. Jason Arday, Aqualectra and Marshe Nobo 20 August 2026 I think the tragic case of Prof. Jason Arday is being followed by only a small group of people in Curaçao. It is a deeply sad affair, one about which the final word has certainly not yet been spoken or written, and which, in my view, could have far-reaching consequences. Arday was the youngest Black professor at the prestigious University of Cambridge. He was accused of plagiarism by Nathan Cofnas, an academic who h

It’s About the Connections 20 August 2026 There are two separate news stories. In reality, there are many more, but I will limit myself to a few stories that are presented and read in isolation, even though they are all connected. The first is about a study showing how many homes in ordinary residential neighborhoods are now being rented out to tourists as B&Bs, further disrupting the housing market. The second story is that rental cars used by tourists have once again been s

Tula warda – People Involvement 17 August 2026 Today I opened Facebook and saw Dick and Martin discussing the demonstration against the unbalanced development of the island. Then I opened the Antilliaans Dagblad and saw that its lead story was asking essentially the same question: The island is for sale; protest against colossal construction projects in Curaçao. The small demonstration that I also briefly attended yesterday apparently had a greater impact than I could have im

This Is Not a Market 16 August 2026 You often hear people shout, “This is not a market,” when they want to disapprove of the behaviour of a group. Markets do not have a particularly positive image. For days now, a discussion about the renovation and reopening of the market has been hanging over the market. The market has never been held in particularly high regard, and unfortunately, neither have the people who earn their living there or the customers who shop there. They are

What Is Still Possible 15 August 2026 It is the last weekend of the summer holidays. You cannot really tell yet. One indication is the advertising for back-to-school supplies and the fact that people at the gym are already talking about the traffic jams that will start again on Thursday. It is abnormally hot on the island, but also in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe. Earthquakes are almost becoming something we are getting used to. Yesterday, there was a powerful 7.7-

It’s a Gamble 14 August 2026 For years, I have been watching and listening to the debate about e-gaming in Curaçao. Until recently, the island was said to account for an estimated 85% of the global market, yet the government and society as a whole earned hardly anything from it. That is why a new law was introduced, accompanied by promises of enormous economic benefits. The great river of gold from online gambling was finally supposed to start flowing into Curaçao. There was

Even the RvA Does Not Understand Poverty 13 August 2026 Even the Raad van Advies (RvA) by definition understands little about poverty. That may sound harsh, but it is precisely the problem Tim ’S Jongers describes in his book Armoede uitgelegd aan mensen met geld. The people who formulate, advise on, and assess policy generally do not belong to the group that lives in poverty every day. Even people who grew up in poverty themselves and later moved up socially do not automatic

AI Makes You Dumb August 14, 2026 If you don’t use it, you lose it. This applies to almost everything, especially your physical fitness and your muscles. We all know it: if you stop cycling for a month and then get back on your bike, you notice it immediately. But the same applies to our brains. We are becoming increasingly aware of this. Anthony sent me a reel listing ten skills that are on the verge of disappearing: Remembering phone numbers; they are all stored in our phon

Data 13 August 2026 We are very quick to claim that there is no data to substantiate our assertions. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are losing sight of reality in an abundance of data. While there used to be constant criticism of the amount of data produced by the CBS, my criticism now is that we are producing an overwhelming amount of it. In a short period of time, three reports have been published: the Enkuesta Social, the Labour Force Survey, and the Business

Shocks 11 August 2026 Yesterday, we were literally shaken by a powerful earthquake in Colombia. Only a few weeks ago, there was a major earthquake in Venezuela. It reminds us that we live in a region where the ground beneath our feet can literally move. But at the same time, here in Curaçao we are dealing with other shocks: man-made shocks. The wave of burglaries and other forms of crime has now reached a point where it needs to be documented. A few days ago, specialized equi

The YDK as an Entrepreneur 11 August 2026 There is an appealing narrative circulating on the internet. The YDK should become more entrepreneurial, and entrepreneurship should receive more attention in education. Entrepreneurship is an economic instrument, but also an instrument of emancipation. It is a nice narrative, but the CBS statistics tell a different story: only about half of those who are employed are wage earners. In recent years, many people have been forced by nece

Bon Nochi and Empathy August 10, 2026 Nowadays, people say Felis anochi (happy evening). The traditional expression is Bon nochi (good evening). I don’t know when or why it became Felis. So be it. But here is the thing. Almost all news anchors open with: Felis anochi. And then they proceed to report the most horrific news. Today, for example, an earthquake in Colombia measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale. What follows is a whole portion of misery, along with a few successful at

Gratitude: The Simple Things in Life 9 August 2026 Sunday evening, almost half past seven. The weekend, and Sunday in particular, has flown by once again. I got up relatively late. My wife called to say that she was on her way home with her 89-year-old aunt. She suggested that we cook together. I made a counterproposal: to drive to Westpunt for lunch. Shortly afterwards, just after noon, we set off for Westpunt. It was already over thirty degrees. Traffic was light. Despite t