Writers I recently upvoted 
I am a computer programmer turned author and translator who lives in Toronto since 1996.
As a translator, I specialize in IT-subjects, financial subjects and scientific subjects, mainly medical and pharmaceutical subjects. I translate from/into English and Dutch/Flemish.
As an author, I have written five books and co-authored two. I am currently working on another project.
I love technology, not because it is "cool" but because of what it can do for me.
My current passion is Japanese culture and language. I sing enka, practice Japanese classical dancing (nihonbuyou), kitsuke (kimono dressing) and wasai (Japanese tailoring).
I maintain a website with a mainly scientific and rational interest: thamno.com. I also do maintain a weblog for De Standaard, a major Dutch newspaper in Belgium (in Dutch). It can be found at this link.
I am the Toronto correspondent for Wereldnet, a program by the VPRO on Dutch state-owned radio. This is a link to most of the programs in which I have appeared between 2001 and 2008 (in Dutch). More recent programs are hosted elsewhere, but I still need to obtain a link.
Atheists do not believe there is no God, they simply do not believe there is a God.
Give people the theory of evolution, and they'll have a fighting chance to improve their lives. Give them a religion, and they'll suffer and die while praying for improvement.
Ultimately, what does it matter whether evolutionary theory is true or not, if life behaves exactly the way we would expect it to if it were true?
I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours. -Stephen Henry Roberts
Science is the poetry of religion -Richard Dawkins
Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich. -Napoleon Bonaparte
Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. -Blaise Pascal
There was a time when religion ruled the world. It is known as the Dark Ages. -Ruth Hurmence Green
Religious hatreds ought not be propagated at all, but certainly not on a tax-exempt basis. -James A. Michener
Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. -Steven Weinberg
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
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One of the many activities of the James Randi Educational Foundation is the study of the supernatural. Last summer, dowser Connie Sonne agreed to be tested in public. This video can now be seen on YouTube.
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Apple's recently launched iPad, a supposedly revolutionary device, but while some people were enthusiastic, many others were quite underwhelmed. People in Japan however, have been using Ipads for around six years, in the form of adult diapers.
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Homoeopathy, long thought to be a harmless indulgence for middle class people of the hippy era is increasingly under fire, because it is becoming more and more apparent that it is costing lives.
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Homoeopathy is in the news again. Most of us know of homoeopathy, often touted to be a safe and holistic way to treat illnesses. But what is homoeopathy, really?
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The man who shot Dr. George Tiller in the foyer of the church where Tiller was working as an usher has been convicted of murder. It took the jury a mere 37 minutes to decide.
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Professor Jim Al-Khalili takes the viewer on a voyage of discovery in his documentary "The Secret Life of Chaos" where he explains what chaos means for science, and how it can not only explain the shapes of nature, but also the origin of life itself.
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Belgium's Centre for equal opportunities and fight against racism has received several complaints because Catholic Archbishop Léonard compared gay people with anorexia patients.
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Conor Cunningham, philosopher and Christian apologist, talks about Darwinism in his documentary "Did Darwin Kill God?". Few religionists dare to tackle the subject, and I gave the documentary a thorough viewing.
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Pat Robertson, friend of dictators and war criminals, Christian preacher and influential personality, recently made a few astonishing claims on his programme "The 700 Club". I look at these claims and see if there is any truth to them.
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Chemotherapy, a standard form of cancer treatment, has a bad reputation. So bad, that quite a few people prefer to forgo it. But is it really that bad? The indomitable world-renowned James Randi talks about his experiences in a video clip on YouTube.
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Riz Khan, the host of One on One on Al Jazeera English, interviewed world-renowned biologist Richard Dawkins about his life and his work for his programme on 9 January 2010. The video of this programme can now be seen on YouTube.
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A diet with lots of fish fatty acids has no effect on memory and concentration in the elderly. It also does not improve their wellbeing. This is the conclusion of research by Ondine van de Rest at the Dept. of Human Nutrition of the Wageningen University.
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Free online services are great, but they do carry risks. What happens if one such service accidentally erases all your data? Online backup services are an answer. Backupify is one of those services, and it is completely free until January 31.
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Asheville City, North Carolina, is being threatened with a lawsuit for accepting Cecil Bothwell as a council member because he is an atheist.
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Religionists often claim that there is no evidence for Darwin's theory of evolution. World-famous biologist and author Richard Dawkins takes them on and shows how wrong this claim is.
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Yesterday early morning, a deer was signalled around Toronto's Union Station. From there, it travelled north and settled in a small garden of an apartment building, from where it was ultimately removed by police.
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The Netherlands Bazaar is a biennial charity event in Toronto, organized to collect funds to help needy people of Dutch extraction. It is also a good opportunity to learn more about an important and often invisible part of Canadian society.
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In the popular television programme "Wylde on Health", homoeopathic doctor Bryce Wylde claimed that 1% milk contains approximately 24%fat by weight. I investigate this surprising claim and come to different conclusions.
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People are becoming increasingly afraid of "germs" on their food. Conventional wisdom has it that food is a natural product, and as a result, contamination with harmful micro-organisms is unavoidable. But Japanese companies have found a solution.
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Homoeopathy is on the rise. People perceive it as a safe and natural alternative to the evils of modern medicine and pharmacology. What they usually ignore, is that homoeopathy is no better than a placebo, and Gloria Sam has paid the ultimate price.
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