WILL 2012 BE A BETTER YEAR?
It depends on us!
What do you and I have in common? That we probably, just like all other people on earth, are descended from a people that lived in Africa in a far past. Thus considered we are all brothers and sisters. One big family, one big community, but not as closely and not as strongly connected as many of us would like it to be.
In the course of history differences have increased. Differences, for example, in appearance, in color, in language, in religion, in culture, in education, in prosperity etc. And with these differences, contradictions arose: between …
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FINAL POSTING OF 2011
What a year!
This will be my final posting for 2011. What a year. It feels as if the whole world has changed more rapidly than ever before and not only as a result of the Arabic Spring and the economic turmoil.
The year 2012 is about to begin and it won’t be an easy year. Many will suffer from the crisis and many will keep suffering from oppression, diseases and natural disasters. There still will be tensions between countries and populations. There still will be war. However, new faces and new voices in the political arena may change things …
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KERSTTOESPRAAK 2011
Respect
Van de woorden die hier op Curacao veel worden gebruikt behoren ‘integriteit’ en ‘respect’ ongetwijfeld tot de toppers. Over integriteit wil ik vandaag niets zeggen. Maar wel over het begrip ‘respect’.
Er zijn veel gevallen waarin van ons respect wordt verlangd: respect voor het leven, respect voor een taal, cultuur of mening, respect voor de medemens, respect voor de rechter, juf of meester, respect voor dieren, respect voor eigendommen van een ander, enzovoort.
Het begrip ‘respect’ heeft diverse betekenissen:
Aanzien Gevoel van bewondering Ontzag Eerbied Waardering
Tegen de achtergrond van deze betekenissen dringt zich …
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ERIC GARCIA: CURACAO NOT READY FOR INDEPENDENCE
VBC Lunch Lecture Held Wednesday, December 14, 2011
According to Eric Garcia (CEO Girobank) “we need to be honest and acknowledge the fact that we are simply not ready for independence. Neither financially nor politically. Instead of continuously focusing on independence, our government should deal with the many macro-economic challenges our country is facing at this moment. Curacao’s growth has been lagging behind other countries in the Caribbean. Our poor economic performance is accompanied by a high unemployment rate, particularly among the youth. However, it seems as if our politicians do not perceive the low economic growth and high unemployment …
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1001 PROVERBIO
Papiamentu proverbs with English translation This book is a tribute to the colourful Papiamentu language. A language spoken by only 260.000 people on three islands of the former Dutch Antilles; Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba. Although this language is only spoken in a small region, this collection of proverbs shows how by use of creativity, humour and love the Papiamentu language managed to develop and maintain itself. In December 2010 an old, no longer available book by Father Paul Brenneker (1912-1996) came to the attention of Jacqueline Bremmers and Bart Landheer. They decided to try and preserve this heritage. After gaining …
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CURACAO TAX REFORM 2011
New Opportunities for the International Sector
The Curacao tax reform 2011 was recently adopted by the Curacaoan parliament. The Curacao tax reform 2011 has some interesting features for the international financial sector. The expectations are that more features will follow during the next few years, however, no formal announcements have yet been made in this respect. A switchover from direct to indirect taxation is already evident in the Curacao tax reform 2011, although still on a modest scale. Expectations are that this trend will continue. Personal and corporate income tax rates will decrease, while turnover tax will increase from 5% …
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A UNIQUE BOOK ON NOBEL LITERATURE PRIZE WINNERS
Nobel Winds and Breezes
Let’s talk about winds. Nobel winds. Nobel winds and breezes. Sometimes law even has something to say about the wind, for instance, when you consider building or buying a wind farm at a certain site. A windstorm may have legal consequences too. There are legal aspects involved when you want to connect the output of your wind turbine to a utility grid. Implementing the Kyoto Protocol, which deals with wind energy and air pollution, has legal implications too, in addition to the fact that it in itself is an international legal agreement.
Alexander Mohr is a …
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THE BACHELOR CURACAO
The first rose
The first episode of the Dutch version of the TV-program The Bachelor on Curacao aired on 11 May 2011 (click here).
And after watching the first episode of this show I can admit: Curacao still is the Pearl of the Caribbean.
Karel Frielink
(12 May 2011)
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CARIBBEAN KIDS NEWS TA SIGUI!
Willemstad – Caribbean Kids News, e notisiero pa hóben ku últimamente tabata pasa tur dia na televishonnan lokal ku dos edishon fresku pa siman ta sigui. Den e aña ku ta tras di lomba e fundashon a traha duru pa buska finansiamentu, tantu lokal komo internashonal, pa kubri e presupuesto di e aña aki. Awor nos por anunsiá ku nos a logra. Lokual ta nifiká ku awor tin sufisiente sèn pa kontinuá ku e programa. For di mei próksimo e programa lo sigui ku notisia prinsipalmente for di Kòrsou. Anteriormente nos tabata trese notisia for …
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SPACE EXPEDITION CURACAO
Final count down
‘As of January 1, 2014 the long held dream of mankind to enter space and thereby observe our beautiful earth from high above will become reality for the larger public at the beautiful Caribbean Island of Curacao.’
(…)
‘Space Expedition Curacao (SXC) envisions realizing a Commercial Space Line and Space Port on Curacao International Airport. SXC will serve both the commercial needs of everyone who wants to travel into space, as well as the needs for scientific research and space training.’
More information can be found on the official website of SXC (click here). According …
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WHAT YOU MAY EXPECT OF YOUR LAWYER
Quality, Clarity, Trust, Value for Money, Passion and Compassion
Whether you live in the UK, the USA or the Dutch Caribbean, almost every lawyer (attorney) or law firm claims to be the best, the leading, etc. Why are they all trying so hard? And does this do the trick for you? Even more importantly, does your lawyer meet your expectations? What may you expect from your lawyer after all? I will only address a number of the relevant issues here.
In many cases and for many clients, the size of a law firm is not of much importance. What is …
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TODAY A NEW COUNTRY IS BORN: CURACAO
Pueblo di Korsou: Masha Masha Pabien!
People of Curacao: Heartfelt congratulations!
A new journey has started on a route never taken before. Let us all take pride in our heritage and let us embrace our new country and mix the two with love and respect. We should value diversity and show respect for each other’s traditions. Together, we can build a nation, our nation. To do so we will need to build bridges, not divisions.
The task of building a nation with freedom, opportunity and justice for all is a great endeavor that has to include us all. All our …
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