Untimely meditations
One man's thoughts, observations and rants
Welcome to the personal blog of Joop Beris. 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 or represent those of my employer. Just throwing that in there for legal reasons.
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.
Latest posts
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ACTA clarified for regular civilians
Many people are confused about what ACTA will actually mean for them, should it become a reality. Several people or groups have made lists of things wrong with ACTA, have made lists of the various threats the agreement poses, etc. Now, someone has done an awful lot of work to try and translate the legalese…
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Piracy and the power of protest
As I mentioned before, in many countries across Europe, massive demonstrations and protests have been and are being held to tell our governments that a substantial portion of European citizens are opposed to ACTA. Here in The Netherlands, a protest is being organized in Amsterdam, this Saturday. Now, the Dutch are not known for their…
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ACTA Fact Sheet
For those of you who still have doubt about why or even if ACTA is bad, European Digital Rights has published an ACTA fact sheet, that demonstrates very clearly why ACTA is not in the best interest of European citizens or even the whole of Europe, including its industries. It makes for a chilling read!
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ACTA is not necessary
For years, we have been hearing the cries of the content industry, from the RIAA, the MPAA and here in the Netherlands from Stichting Brein: “Piracy is killing us”, “If piracy continues, no more great new music/films will be made”, “Won’t you think of the artists?” and “Piracy is theft”. That’s my favourite, that last…
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The silence of traditional media
As the discussion and protests against ACTA heat up across Europe, there are several media, such as newspapers and TV, that remain silent. The protests don’t make it to the evening news, there are no articles dedicated to ACTA in newspapers. That is a shame, since these media traditionally reach a large number of people.…
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The only thing you need to know about ACTA…
I’ve been writing quite a bit about the dangers of ACTA recently. Just look at my tag cloud to see how big ACTA has become! I do that because I fear for our future should ACTA become a reality. Fortunately, it’s not just me who is spreading the word. I came across an excellent explanation…
Recent comments
All men no matter from where need something bigger than themselves to look up to. A place to take their…
My reasons why. 1. God is all knowing, why did it take him two tries to get it right? The…
People who believe in a god, any god, are not atheists. They are theists. I explain things in more detail…
Sorry to hear about your misfortune, Daniel. That’s a rough way to learn the truth about religious beliefs. I hope…
“What can be asserted without evidence may be dismissed without evidence.”
Christopher Hitchens
Author and journalist
Hi Jeffrey, What you wrote is “dead” on accurate. The frightening thing to me is that the believers never take…