Welcome to the personal blog of Joop Beris. If you want to get in touch, you can find a contact form on my about me page. I blog about a wide variety of topics, ranging from atheism to information security and lots in between. I welcome feedback on my articles but there are some guidelines. Feel free to share articles you like by using the sharing buttons but please give me credit if you want to share something. Also, check out my privacy policy and other legalese.
Please note that the things I write here do not represent the views of anyone else but me. I do not represent an organization or a business and I have nothing to sell. My views do not necessarily coincide with those of my employer nor do my views represent the views of my employer.
Latest posts
Below you’ll find the most recent things I’ve written. Feel free to check them out, leave a comment and share them with others who might be interested.
- Politically Homeless
Once upon a time, before the beard grew grey and the world went so thoroughly stupid, I considered myself securely of the left. Healthcare, education, solidarity; these weren’t luxuries but the bare minimum of a civilized society. The strongest shoulders should bear the heaviest burdens, and the weakest should not be left to rot. I… Read more: Politically Homeless - Reality doesn’t require Apologists
It remains a source of great amusement to me that some people style themselves “religious apologists.” Religion certainly has much to apologize for – inquisitions, crusades, genital mutilations, the ongoing sabotage of science and education – but that is not what they mean. They mean that their job is to defend religion. This is already… Read more: Reality doesn’t require Apologists - Opposing Voices Matter
On Wednesday, September 10th, political activist and Trump devotee Charlie Kirk was shot dead during one of his campus appearances. A man of the right, Kirk styled himself as an evangelist for conservatism, Christianity, the Second Amendment, and whatever the word “anti-woke” happens to mean on any given day. The assassin has not yet explained… Read more: Opposing Voices Matter - How Europe is Betraying Its Own Values
A curious spectre is haunting Europe, though it is not socialism this time; it is the creeping, bureaucratic death of liberty. Across the continent, our political class is flirting with a proposal so flagrantly absurd and authoritarian that one almost wonders if they have read a history book: the mandatory scanning of every private message,… Read more: How Europe is Betraying Its Own Values - An end to online privacy
There’s something strange going on in Europe. While we have some of the strongest privacy laws in the world, while we fine companies for violating user rights all while considering the most draconian surveillance laws imaginable. Again, the EU is considering a mass surveillance law that, if implemented, will basically put an end to online… Read more: An end to online privacy - Abolish privacy
Sometimes you have one of those “What the hell did I just read?” moments. One of those moments for me was earlier this week when someone shared the manifesto “Abolish privacy” with me. People who read my blog, know that I have pretty strong opinions on privacy and I have addressed the topic here many… Read more: Abolish privacy