Author: Joop Beris
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Vegetarian
The last couple of months, I have been considering a lifestyle change. Part of that includes more exercise but also healthier living in general. Part of that is a change in diet and even adopting a vegetarian lifestyle. There are several reasons why being a vegetarian is appealing to me but also several reasons why…
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Advice for life
In 1999 Baz Lurhman released a spoken word song with the title “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” The song is in the form of a fake commencement speech and is based on an essay by columnist Mary Schmich with the title “Advice, like youth, probably wasted on the young“. I’ve always liked this song for…
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Virus
In the iconic 1999 film “The Matrix” there is a scene where Agent Smith, while interrogating Morpheus, compares humanity to a virus. Consuming all resources in an area and then moving on to another area and then another again. There is definitely some truth to this analogy. I had a stark reminder of that last…
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Zwarte Piet
Each year the discussion rages again in the Netherlands: Zwarte Piet, innocuous expression of Dutch tradition or horribly racist? In this post, I give you my opinion on the matter. Insofar as it can be heard among the din of arguments pro and contra “Zwarte Piet”.
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Agatan foundation
When I began exploring positions against religious belief, it wasn’t long before I discovered the Youtube channel of the Agatan foundation. Here is where I first found videos featuring compilations of debates and arguments from atheists and non-believers. It is the channel that introduced me to Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, Matt Dillahunty and others. I…
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Christopher Hitchens in his own voice
I’d never read an audio book. Wait, is that right? After all, you don’t read audio books, do you? No, you listen to them. Okay, I’d never listened to an audio book but quite recently I managed to grab a copy of “God is not Great – How religion poisons everything“. It’s one of the…