'Thou shalt not play American Football'

'The Bible' means 'collection of books' and everything that's written in that book should be taken literally. Right? Of course except for those parts that should NOT be taken literally. Right? So who decides what should be taken literally and what not? Your minister? The Pope? You? Who decides who gets the yellow marker to mark out what Bible quotes we should live by?

No. 11 basically reads: 'Thou shalt not play American Football'

By the way: Satan stands for sex and drunkenness. So right wing propagandist Bill O'Reilly is a follower of the Devil and only a christian because he tells people he is, not through his actions. Just saying.

How much food will you waste this christmas?

We live in difficult times. Many people are being killed in the name of a deity or a system. These tabels show where we are today considering the numbers of (civilian) deaths worldwide, in comparison to other era's: https://vimeo.com/128373915

'Families from the Middle East who are desperately looking for shelter should be denied access to our cities and villages because we can't support them and they are a threat to our way of life!'

Great. You just turned away Josef and his very pregnant wife Mary.

Is that a christian or even human thing to do? I wrote about it before. Here.

People all over the world once a year celebrate the lives and deaths of a family from the Middle East, desperately looking for shelter. What if the inn keeper had said 'No!' to Josef and Mary?

Strange: we claim we don't have enough to support refugees, yet we waste amazing amounts of perfectly good food.

The earthquake in Nepal, last april killed at least 5000 people.

Terrorists kill 7000 people a year. Sharks kill 10 people a year. Every year 40 people worldwide get killed because a vending machine falls over and they are squashed. Peanuts kill 12,000 people a year and dogs kill 25,000 a year! We humans kill 475,000 people a year and every single year over 3 million people die because they drink too much alcohol. But mosquitos are even deadlier than us (but still gets beaten by alcohol!). They kill 725.000 people a year. But nothing compares to hunger. Close to 30,000,000 (that's right: thirty million!) people die every year because they don't have enough food. 

And there's no need for them to die because there is plenty of food. How much food do we throw in the bin because of the experation date or because we cooked it but were not hungry enough to eat it all?

Of all the produced food in the world a whopping third is thrown away before it reaches the shops where you can buy it. A terrible waste, don't you think?

And why? Because we don't like cucumbers that are crooked. Because we like lettuce to be round in stead of pointy and because we refuse to buy potatoes that take us more than eight seconds to peel. We won't buy apples that have even an tiny brown spot on them and if a banana has more than two brown spots we buy the banana that has only one.

Think of others before you throw away your leftovers tomorrow: merry christmas!

When you say you never lie, you are lying.

'If you don't finish your plate, the Boogeyman will get you!'

'Be nice to your sister or Santa won't give you presents.'

'Listen to your teacher, she is always right.'

'Eat your spinache, it will make you strong!'

'If you play with you weewee too much, it will drop off and you will become a girl.'

'Mister Cat has gone to a better place now.'

'Mommy and daddy never lie, so you shouldn't either.'

All false statements. 

For some reason we lie to our children contantly.

To protect them or because it makes us feel powerful to boss around someone who is weaker than we are?

Just think about it: as a good Christian you shall not lie. Yes, that's in the Bible. http://www.godvine.com/bible/category/lying

And look at these moms and the people in the comments section of the clip: most agree it is perfectly okay to lie if it just happens to suit your purposes. Not to help a child, support it or teach it something but - for example - just because the mom hates balloons she makes up a lie to 'teach' her child not to play with them. In my opinion she is a terrible human being! If she would say she is a true Christian you know she would be lying again. 

Should all drugs be abolished?

What if I told you there is a harddrug out there that kids easily can get their hands on? It causes long therm health issues, kills thousands of people every year directly and thousands more are inadvertedly killed by people using it. It costs society billions a year in damages and even people in power use it. As a matter of fact: most politicians use it. Of whom many on a daily basis! Would you oppose this drug? Of course you would!

Well, you just opposed alcohol.

Yes, recent studies show alcohol is more dangerous than heroin!

http://alcoholrehab.com/alcoholism/alcohol-more-dangerous-than-heroin/

Fox News not satire?

Some call Fox News a news channel. In The Netherlands we call a channel like that a provocative biased entertainment channel. Seriously: the first time I watched Fox I thought it was satire.

I simply refused to believe people can be so extremely biased. And stupid. And still call themselves 'journalists'. Take this for example:





Who needs facts when there's Fox?

Many US cops don't know the law

Probably more than a thousand citizen have been shot dead by a cop in America in 2013. Exact numbers can not be given because police refuses to cooperate on building data bases. Even with the FBI. 

In England exactly zero citizens have been killed by a police officer in that same year. 'Yeah, but that's because police and citizens don't carry guns!'

-'So you're saying that when people don't carry guns, nobody gets shot? So in order to have less shootings we should ban guns, right?'

'Well...er...that's not what I meant.'

It's amazing how few American cops know the law. They obviously don't learn about the law in their training. Luckily there are some citizens out there who are willing to take the time and effort to teach cops how the law works:

Why you are not a good christian

It is never right to make fun at people or even shout at them, just because they don't believe in a Higher Power. It's also not right to do when they do believe in an Almighty Entity that apparantly can build entire planets in six days but can't even make us like one another. Or make chocolate icecream that's not fattening.

Why do people always want to be right?

Millions of people have died and will die because somewhere someone just has to be right.

It's okay to have different opinions. It's okay to say: 'Hey, with the new inormation I just got I realize I was previously wrong.'

It's even okay to try and fail. None of us are perfect. 

People claim to be a good muslim 'because they go to the mosque' and people claim to be a good christian 'because they attend church.' Non valid arguments of course. Unless they agree that sitting behind a drum kit makes me a good drummer.

Just consider this: if a family from the Middle East came to your town, desperately looking for food and shelter, would you turn them away claiming 'We can't support them because we don't have enough ourselves and they threaten our way of life!'? If so: congratulations, you just turned away Josef and his pregnant wife Mary.

Republicans love to contradict themselves

'If someone wants a beer the government shouldn't stop them. If someone wants to eat a very fattening hamburger that may result in heart failure they are entitled to do so. It's their body after all!'
-'Yes, of course! The government should not tell me what I can't put in my own body!'
'So you agree marihuana should be legalized.'
-'Er...what...? Er no...of course not!'
'But you just said - and I quote - 'Government should not tell me what I can't put in my own body!'
-'Well...er...yes. But that's not what I meant.'
'Please tell me what you did mean when you said it.'
-'Well...er..stop harrassing me!'
'Okay, fine. Something else then. In the USA every year about a thousand civilians are shot dead by cops. In England the number is zero. How do you explain that?'
-'Well, the English are cheating because none of them carry guns!'
'So you are saying that if guns were banned, people wouldn't get shot dead anymore?'
-'Well...er...yes. That's exactly what I mean!'
'So you would support a total ban on guns in America.'
-'Well...er...no...er...no, that's not what I was saying!'
'Please tell me what you were saying when you agreed people would not be killed anymore if guns were forbidden.'
-'Well...er...stop harrassing me!'

Can someone please explain this to me?

Republicans don't want government to interfere with people's lives. Right?

The government should not dictate its citizens!

People should be able to think, buy and say what they want. Right?

People should be able to believe what they want and hug who they want. Right?

So why do Republicans want the government to tell people what they should not buy or put in their own bodies (What's wrong with smoking marihuana? One in three adult Americans have at least once smoked pot), who they can't marry (what's the big deal when someone would marry someone of the same sex?) and what they're not allowed to think ('Hey, the idea of sharing what you have left over with someone who has less may be pretty good! Let's have a bit of socialism!')?

Why do so many people refuse to see the contradiction in there? Are they brainwashed or simply extremely stupid?

http://www.alternet.org/10-facts-will-blow-right-wingers-minds

Paris attacks. What now?

A friend of mine send me this article.

http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2015/november/14/paris-you-don-t-want-to-read-this/

It states we should stop doing what hasn't been working for fourteen years and find other ways to stop terrorist attacks. Evidently: fighting violence with even more violence only leads to more violence. Doh! Strange thing also is that people are willing to give up all of their freedoms to prevent themselves being overrun by people who want to take away their freedoms.This double standard inspired me to create this 'lolcat':

'Daddy, why is there a fence around our town?' 

-'To protect us from people who want to lock us up, son.'

It's a very clear message. And a verifiable truth: more wars have stopped after peace talks than after more bombings so maybe those in powere should stop throwing bombs and start listening. All those warlords in Syria want power, money and acknowkledgment. Why not just give that to them? Make them all Pasha of their own little piece of land, the oil- and water rights that go with it. And a medal 'for bravoury'.

At least that's a whole lot cheaper and less destructive than bombing innocent civilians, hoping one of them was a member of IS or Al-Qaida.

It's been asked before: War, what it is it's good for?

Who doesn't love to murder innocent animals?

'Extreme huntress' Rebecca Francis claims she kills endangered animals in order to preserve them and feed the local population in the areas where she hunts. As if people who have been living in perfect harmony with all of nature are not capable of shooting a stationary 14ft peaceful creature in the head from close range with a high powered rifle and need a young white American christian woman to do their killing. She says she does it so the locals can use the animal for food, clothing and jewellery. Sure. If they are willing to travel a couple of thousand miles to Rebecca Francis' home, 'cause that's where she keeps her collection of dead animals.

What is it with people that they are willing to pay for the 'right' to kill endangered animals who have no means of protecting themselves against vicious hunters? Even if the species is not endangered: why kill an animal if you're not hungry?

And why is it a 'sport' to look through a gunsight and simply squeeze a trigger in order to brutally murder a beautiful animal?

If Rebecca Francis (http://rebeccafrancis.com/wp/) really wants to show off her skills she could just go to the fair and shoot all the sitting ducks. They're innocent too but at least they're not alive.

Read the full story here: http://distractify.com/alex-scola/tweet-tweet-bang-bang/?ts_pid=2

Socrates could not live in our time

The Greek philosopher Socrates started to work as a mason - just like his father - after he finished his student life. He later decided to dedicate his life to the art of philosophy. Governments in our day would call him lazy because he did not work for money. Your and my government would most likely have forced him to take on paid work. Had they done so in the olden days we would never have heard of the mason Socrates who challenged his co-workers by asking them silly questions and deny the existence of God(s) in public. Because he would never have spoken in public. Let alone have listened to the people in the streets, responding to his questions. His life purpose was to force people to think for themselves in stead of taking for granted what others (cleric, government, teachers, parents) told them. For that he finally was sentenced to death. Luckily not before some of his students reported some of his teachings.

http://www.biography.com/people/socrates-9488126#early-years

Why white people are called expats and coloured people immigrants

Why are only white western people called 'expats' and coloured people who work abroad revered to as 'immigrants'  or even as 'guests'? Are we really that racist? http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/mar/13/white-people-expats-immigrants-migration?cmp=share_btn_tw

Yes, we are. Well, not all of us. But I can't help but smile when I hear a 'true American' by the name of Schneider, Vanaken or Woshowsky state that he or she 'hates foreigners'.  Obviously they don't realise that they are saying they hate there own (grand)parents and even themselves. For most people in the world those idiots are foreigners themselves!

Now, isn't that funny? No, it's not. Racism never is.

Important message

Imagine you have six months to live.

What would you do?

Would you finally take those guitar lessons?

Perhaps you would invite your parents over for dinner and tell them you're happy with how they raised you or whisper into your partner's ear you want sex. Now.

But why wait until you're about to die? What's stopping you from doing the things you want to do today? Work? Sure. You put eight hours a day into your job. Maybe ten, including travel time. Eight hours for sleep and two for household chores and eating. Leaves four hours every single day to do whatever you want. But most people prefer to watch TV and surf the internet.

How come you do have the time to watch season 2 of Friends. Again. But don't have the time to take advice from your mom or anyone else?

Of course you could go on watching TV and surfing the Internet for four hours a day. But what keeps you from helping your elderly neighbour? Or following your dreams. Perhaps you want to keep on working until you have enough money. But when is it 'enough'? 

Is America a christian nation?

There is a holy book that clearly states every single non-believer should be killed. Do you think the religion in question should be banned? Than you are anti-christian!

2 Chronicles 15:13: 'All those who do not believe in God should be killed!' 

http://biblehub.com/2_chronicles/15-13.htm

America is and always has been a christian nation! Right? Wrong! The Founding Fathers never wanted a single religion to dominate. Just read The First Amendment. And think. https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110225191416AAACkzH

But where does the notion come from that the United States is formed with christianity as basis? From people who had evertyhing to win by that idea. Financially. Basically America has been a christian nation since recorded history. If people started recording history in 1956. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/opinion/sunday/a-christian-nation-since-when.html?_r=0

'80 percent of colonial Americans never set foot inside a church'.

Ted Talks

We used to be able to listen to our inner voice, telling us what to do. Or don't do. Once we relied upon intuition, experience, our teachers and parents. We were in control. Nowedays we listen to the radio, watch television and read messages on twitter. It's hard to believe everything that we are told is true. And of course it can't be. But how do we tell the truth from a lie? Is everyting a teacher tells us true? Is everything your grandma told you always true? Are all the facts correct, presented to us by Fox News? Of course not. I bet even your beloved grandmother told you a lie or two. Maybe about the Tooth Fairy or maybe even about who your real dad was...

Can we rely on Wikipedia? I don't think so because all the entries are put there by people like you and I. Raise your hand now if you never told a single lie to anyone. But were to get true information about anything?

One method is to just listen to Ted Talks. There are thousands and thousands of brilliant and inspirational talks, organised throughout the world. In my humble opinion this young man holds one of the best. Ever. Check it out!

War on drugs but not if celebrities take them

Why is a rich person who OD's 'a celebrity who couldn't handle the pressure' and a poor person 'a junkie who deserves to die'?

Remember when Amy Winehouse died of an overdose in the bathtub of a luxury hotelroom? She was a poor misunderstood wonderful and beautiful white female artist who had difficulties handling the pressure of being famous. Right? 

Remember the poor black guy who died of an overdose in an alley in Washington DC? Of course not. He was not a poor misunderstood wonderful and beautiful white female artist who had difficulties handling the pressure of being famous. He was just a junkie who deserved to die because he was stupid doing drugs, knowing they can get you killed.

The American government is very clear: drugs are evil and should be banned. Everone using them should be locked up! That's why - under the 'War on Drugs' 40,000 Americans are in jail today for smoking marihuana. None of them are celebrities and most of them are black. If the US government is really serious about taking on drug use, why don't they raid Hollywood and arrest celebrities?

All life is sacred! Right?

When then president of the United States George Bush, invaded Iraq, he told the president of France he did that 'because God told him to do it'. Click this link for the full story on that.

Of course all white world leaders are decent christians. Apparently it's wrong to kill other people, following the logic: 'Me religion requires me to do so.' At least, that's what those same world leaders claim when they bash islam and blame the religion (a religion is not a person, stupid! And therefore can't be blamed. It's the people who practice it who are often idiots) for just about everything that is wrong in the world, including the killing of innocent human beings.

But killing people from the base of christianity seems to be not a problem at all. 'God is on our side so if innocent civilians die because we toss bombs at people we think might become terrorists one day, that's not our fault but part of God's plan.'

Why is that? And who decides which life is sacred and which is not? Is the life of a Panda bear sacred? Your dog? The mice under your floorboard?

Slow down!

How many people do you know who are very happy with being in a hurry all the time? My guess is: not many. Or to be more precise: not a single person is happy with rushing.

So why do so many people do it?

Does it hurt to take the time to do things well?

Hurrying often costs more time than taking it easy, because you don't need to go back or do it again because by hurrying you made a mistake.

Take the time to take it easy.

Breathe.

Try to enjoy what you're doing, even if you don't really like doing it.

Try it.

Read this article and find out why rushing usually costs you more time (and energy!) than taking things slow.

Love has no label

There are people who hate people because they love people. Suppose being gay was the norm and you were prosecuted because you are a guy who just happens to be attracted by women. How would that make you feel? Think about that before you condemn others for loving someone. Please.

I bet you love someone and that someone loves you. It could be your partner or a secret lover. Your grandmother or your stepbrother. Love does not care about his or her skin colour, sexual preference, his or her religion, age or even the gender! Love is just love and has no labels. Why do we label love?

The death penalty: 4 % is innocent

When the FBI was confronted with the fact their 'specialists' on forensics had messed with samples of found hairs on crime scenes and probably a few dozen innocent people had been found guilty excecuted as 'proven' murderers, a spokesman shrugged: 'Sorry.' That was it. No one has been held accountable and no one has been punished for this grave error. Well, not yet, anyway.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/fbi-overstated-forensic-hair-matches-in-nearly-all-criminal-trials-for-decades/2015/04/18/39c8d8c6-e515-11e4-b510-962fcfabc310_story.html?tid=pm_pop

Rick Perry has no problems with the fact that 4 percent of all the people on deathrow turn out to be innocent. But then they are already excecuted. He did however take it to court when he found out that four people who voted in het state commited fraud when voting. That percentage is close to zero.

With the death penalty still in action, America is in the same list as Iraq, Iran, Saoudi Arabia and China. Who would want to be on that list? And how come crime rates in the USA are not significantrly lower than in - for example - Finland? That's an easy one: it's because having the death penalty does not help bring down the crime rates!

'Yeah, but death penalty brings down murder rates!'
Well, no, it does not.

Just look at the figures: there are even less murders in states that don't have the death penalty!

http://deathpenaltytopic.blogspot.nl/2012/04/does-death-penalty-reduce-crime-in-us.html

Society today

Are you happy with your life?
Are you happy with how your country is run?
Are you happy with how we treat our planet?

Illustrator Steve Cutts is not.

More of his few on our modern day world: http://www.boredpanda.com/modern-world-caricature-illustrations-steve-cutts/

It seems like we live in a world the nazi's would have loved!
Kids are told to f*ck off by 'law enforcers', selling their homemade lemonade without a licence because 'Ordnung muss sein und Befehl ist Befehl!'

Drones kill innocents

Most Americans think it's okay to use drones to kill people. Because they think their government uses drones to kill terrorists. However, a government official stated that the very first official drone attack killed three men. Two of them were innocent bystanders and one 'looked like Bin Laden because he had the same height. Approximately.' In other attacks hundreds of people were killed. Mostly innocent civilians 'but they could have been terrorists!' Asked why hardly ever the subject's identification was confirmed before launching a drone attack, one government official stated: 'Although we don't know who the targets are, we are usually confinced the strike is justified.'

We say 'integrate' but mean 'assimilate'

When we say we want to integrate other cultures and welcome them, we act like the Federation of United Planets from Star Trek: everyone from every culture is welcome to join us and enhance our and their culture with the exchange of knowledge, resources and labour. That sounds really nice, doesn't it?

Unfortunately in reality most governments are more like the evil Borg: every one from every culture is welcome to join the collective! And it won't cost them more than their freedom, their culture and their individuality.

Now, I ask you, is that nice?

What if the definition of life was: 'must be green'?

'Being able to think for itself' is the best argument of being alive. Right? Of course it is because you are human and only humans can think for themselves. Humans thought of this argument and thus it is the most valid argument. We can think of. But what if the definition of life was: 'Must be able to be very green'?, plants would be more 'alive' than us.

Should you feel like watching someting else than the game tonight, maybe you can consider expanding your mind and have a go at this lecture.

Tobacco industry still happy

Only 16 percent of all American adult nowedays smoke tobacco! That's great news, isn't it? But wait: how come the American tobacco industry is making more money than ever!? Here's the answer and the cold hard truth:

You can't trust your senses

It's hard to trust your senses. For example: when you see protesters on tv, how do you know if they're not getting paid to shout what they're shouting?

The answer is: you don't.

It seems as if every single regime in the world is manipulating its people. Just to make themselves feel good. Not just by getting into our heads with marketing, false newspaper reports and advertising. But even with bribing. As this clip shows. A girl films herself getting paid the equivalent of five US dollars to walk in a pro Putin rally in Moscow.

Serious about the war on drugs

Is your doctor taking pharmaceutical money? Then he (or she) basically is a drug dealer!

More money is made selling prescription drugs than illegal drugs. Most legal drugs are far more addictive than - for instance - marihuana. Have you never wondered why the American government is fiercely against drugs but refuses to raid Wall Street or Charlie Sheen's house?

Pharmaceutical companies are a bit like your daughter's first boyfriend: more concerned with getting inside than performing well once there. (Not my own joke.)

About half of all Americans take sleeping pills. Even though reading a book, watching a Sandra Bullock movie, listening to quiet music or having sex is far more effective to get that well needed drowsy feeling. And much cheaper next to being less dangerous to your health. Although I have my doubts about the Sandra Bullock movies.

If the American government is really serious about the war on drugs, they should take on the pharmaceutical industry.

Why do we want different skin colour?

'We' - people with light skin colour from the 'rich west' - seem to envy people with dark skin colour. Why else would we spend hours in the sun's rays on the beach, hoping to get a nice tan? And isn't it strange that a lot of white people see dark people as an inferior race? I think the schoolsystem is to blame because teachers should teach children there is only one race and that is the human race. Oh, and Daytona of course. ;-)

We all lie.

We see something on television and we immediately believe it. Just because it enters our brain directly through our eyes. Earlier I wrote that we are far more inclined to believe moving images than written text. That's why we think the history books are wrong and Mel Gibson is right...

We tend to believe everyting that is told to us through moving media. But not everyting we are told is true! This may come as a shocking fact to you but even het people's favourite from Fox News, Bill O'Reilly is known to tell the occional lie. Yes, that's right: famous people lie too! But go right ahead and punish your child for lying about stealing from the cookie jar. Don't you ever tell it that you lie too...

Here are a few 'facts' Bill O'Reilly denies having lied about. He simply resorts to idle name calling when asked to admit he lied.
O'Reilly's Lies.

Protect our children from bare nipples!

Of course we want to protect our children! Right? That's why we teach them to hate dress wearing men with beards. Except for the Dutch Sinterklaas of course. D'oh!

It's why we teach them to be scared of strangers. Except for Sinterklaas. Again. That's why we keep them away from anything that even remotely has to do with sexuality. With the exception of Sinterklaas, a famous Catholic Bishop.

But most muslims - just like most christians - are okay people. Here are 6 insane news stories about (muslim)terrorism that turned out to be total BS.
More people are killed by guns, automobiles or peanuts than by muslim terrorism. Most children who are molested are hurt by people they thought they knew well, not by strangers. And why is it so bad to let children know everyone has nipples?

Remember 'Nipplegate'? Earlier I wrote about Janet Jackson's nipslip at the Superbowl half time show. Half a million Americans officially complained that when they freeze framed the video at a certain time interval, they could just see a bare nipple. So half a million people went through hours of footage just so they could see a bare nipple. That's rather pervers don't you think?

Well, the people at Facebook seem to think it is very wrong to even hint at a bare nipple. This picture was taken of the social media platform. Can you tell me why?

Medication side effects

Medicine is designed to make us (feel) better. Right?

Unfortunately there are people who see medication as a way to make money. A lot of money. To make even more some meds are designed to get people addicted to them. Or so it appears. Other pills seem to do nothing more than make us want to take medication to combat the side effects.

My little tip: before you take a drug, consider the side effects!

http://www.everydayhealth.com/drugs/cymbalta

http://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-22168/ali-flex-oral/details#side-effects

We won't give without asking anything in return

Little kid overheard in public transport:

'Mommy, why are people angry with Alexandra?'
-'Alexandra is Greek, darling.'
'But why are people mad at her?'
-'Because the Greek government can't pay its bills.'
'Why can't they pay their bills?
-'Because they don't have enough money.'
'Why is that Alexandra's fault?'
-'Because people like to blame individuals for what groups of others do.'
'Why?'
-'Because a lot of people are stupid and biased.'
'But can't we give money to Greece?'
-'We did but they can't give it back and people don't want to give money without something in return.'
'But you give me allowance, don't you? Without asking anything in return?'
-'Yes?'
'Why don't they give Greece some allowance?'

Skywatch Friday

Click to enlarge.

More pictures? Check our Flickr page

Note: Every SWF-picture published here is shot with my trusty Sony Xperia S smartphone or our Canon EOS 450D and is unedited.

For more Skywatch Friday photo's from around the globe, please check http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Just a post to let you know I miss all of you from and at Skywatch Friday...

On our way home from a market with Rataplan Design, my girlfriend's business:

 On my way to see a friend, just 20 minutes walk away from my home.

A little experiment in HDR: Vrijthof, a square in the city of Maastricht where we were last saturday:

 Taken from the ferry across the IJ (A body of water, seperating the centre of Amsterdam and the North. Click here for pronounciation.)

 Taken from a canalboat in the company of friends from Birmingham, England

 Nijverdal trainstation, returning home after a gig at a festival:

 Street mirror at Amsterdam tramstop:

 View after work, returning home:

 View over Amsterdam from the place where I worked:

 Swans enjoying the water near the ferry stop:

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Money makes us mean

We are extremely lucky! We were born in countries where a high standard of welfare is normal. A lot of people in the western world seem to think they are rich because they work harder than people who are poor. Even though they know their luck was just because a roll of the dice. In this case study literally.

Paul Piff talks about: 'Does money make you mean?'
Luckily there is hope for rich people to gain more compassion. Watch this:

Heal or hurt yourself by thinking about it!

When people get better because they think they are getting better, it's called the placebo effect. When people get sick because they think they are getting sick, it's called the nocebo effect.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150210-can-you-think-yourself-to-deathocid=global_future_rss

We can be easily influenced by others. If half a dozen friends and co-workers tell us we look in the prime of our life, energetic and generally healthy and young, we start feeling really great.

When people ask us: 'Have you slept well? You look a bit pale!', 'That
cough sounded really terrible!' 'When was the last time you saw a doctor? Maybe you should make an appointment.' we start feeling really sick. Even though there's nothing wrong with us.

Reportedly people even died because others told them they were dying. Think voodoo.

It raises the question: is the mind more powerful than medicine and toxins?

Let's give your neighbour a gun!

Why go to a foreign country to get shot? You stand a better chance as a child getting wounded at the hands of a firearm in America!

Nearly three times more kids (15,576) were injured by firearms in 2010
than the number of U.S. soldiers (5,247) wounded in action that year in the war in Afghanistan (source: CDF, CDC, Department of Defense)

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/16/16547690-just-the-facts-gun-violence-in-america?lite

People who favour (yes, the word 'favour' comes with a 'u'. That's English.) guns often state the argument that most people who are killed are unarmed. Logic dictates that you stand a better chance of surviving if you arm yourself. Right? Wrong! It's a fake argument. It's like saying: 'Most traffic accidents don't involve alcohol so if people would drink more there would be less car accidents.' That's the same logic. It's a bit like saying that people on welfare have it easy because they don't have to pay for a parking permit and therefore have more to spend than people who need a car because they have a paid job.

But let's bring in more guns! Everyone knows a gun is the perfect weapon against violence. Right? Fact is: if violence really is the best way to end violence, there would be no more violence.

Think before you hurt

Thinking about ruining someone's life because of a tweet he or she posted? Think again because it might just backfire on you! And think about this: have you ever said or done anything you regreted later?

If you haven't, how come I've never heard of you? Because you are probably the only human in the history of mankind who has never ever said or done anything to upset others.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/how-one-stupid-tweet-ruined-justine-saccos-life.html?partner=socialflow&smid=tw-nytimes

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2013/12/23/justine-sacco-and-the-self-inflicted-perils-of-twitter/

Understanding Women

'You like to put on make-up, wear a tight dress and high heels because you want people to regard you as sexy, right?' -'Yes, that's right. I want to feel sexy and feel admired!'

'But when they whistle at you, you call them sexist pigs, right?' -'Yes, because they only see me as a sexy woman they think only wants to be admired but I want them to appreciate me for being me!' '

But when they don't turn their heads when you pass and don't whistle at you or make remarks about you looks?'

 -'I feel horrible because I want people to regard me as a sexy woman who only wants to be admired!'

Dutch sayings

Every language sounds strange in the ears of foreigners. Dutch is no exception.
Here are a few examples:

Now comes the monkey out of the sleeve (The hidden agenda becomes visible)

Going to the hole (Going all the way)
That doesn't make one ball out (It does not matter at all)
He's a real hero on socks! (His mouth is bigger than his actions)
You touched a sensitive string (You touched a nerve)
Make that the cat wise (Stop telling me your lies)
As the inn keeper is, so he thinks his guests are (You project your views on the people you deal with)

Sitting on hot coals (Being extremely eager to get started or to get away)

The fence is off the Dam (people start to act as if there are no more bounderies)

To fall through the basket (Getting caught cheating)

Sticking a feather in his arse (Making him a huge compliment)

It's always the same song with you guys (I hate it when you constantly react to my statements in the same manner. Made famous by Dutch football coach Louis van Gaal)

There is a stitch loose with him (He is not completely sound of mind)

That was a shot for open goal (I could not help making that joke, that person made it really easy)

I will throw up a little ball (I will gently bring the matter to attention)

There's a whole community dedicated to 'Stonecoal English' aka the English as used by football coack Louis van Gaal: http://www.makethatthecatwise.nl/

If you liked those, here are some more: http://www.eddyechternach.nl/english.html

You are poor

Being poor is about not being able to buy what you want, right?
It's about having to buy homebrands in stead of top brands, right?
It's about not being able to pay a ticket to the sports stadium and having to watch the game on tv, right?
It's about not being able to buy a new car every other year, right?
It's about not being able to go on a holiday more than once a year, right?

Islam is not an aggressive religion

Stating that Islam is an aggressive religion is a false statement. Just like christianity it has its peaceful and its hateful statements. For example: God ordered the Isrealites to commit mass murder and kill all Canaan infants. 

Now does that sound like a loving God to you? Some people like to say Islam is a terrible religion because it orders people to kill other people. Well, there is a Holy Book where it says that every living person, men or women, adult and child alike, who does not believe in the supreme being should be executed. Look it up: 2 Chronicles 15:13 in the thick collection of books called The Bible. http://buff.ly/1yIASlZ 

Further in the Bible Jews are called 'Children of Satan' by John. 

If you or your friends have trouble believing christians also committed aggressive acts in the name of God and the Bible, read The Holy Book. These passages for example: http://www.religioustolerance.org/intol_bibl.htm 

Did you know the populair King James Bible was written as late as around the year 1600 and ordered by the English Church at the time to reflect the ideas and morals of the time? It had nothing to do with the word of Jesus but was merely loosely based upon them! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_James_Version

Yes, there are stupid aggressive idiot muslims. Just as there are stupid, ignorant aggressive christians. 

Just my two cents.

About racist cops

In America you get punished when you do something illegal. Except when you do it to stop other people from doing something illegal. Apparently. A police officer thought he could get away with killing a man in cold blood. Walter Scott was shot in the back eight times after police officer Michael T. Slager ('Slager' is 'Butcher' in Dutch...) tasered him after stopping him for a broken tail light. According to the policeman mister Scott took his taser and ran away. Unlucky for the cop a bystander filmed the whole thing.

The video shows the cop planting his taser next to the dead man. Two other officers were quickly at the scene. Not to perform CPR on the man with his face down in the grass but to back up the story of the killer who claimed his life was in danger so he had no choice but to shoot Mr. Scott in the back. Eight times. Even though the victim was mortally wounded the cop still put the cuffs on him. It makes you wonder: does the US police force have more murderers, cowards and agressive idiots on the payroll? And what do the politicians do about it?

Tap more civilian phonecalls to prevent 'terrorism' via what the NSA calls The Program? But in the United States civilians are 55 times more likely to get shot dead by a cop than they are likely to be killed by a terrorist. Making unknown police officers deadlier than Osama Bin Laden ever was. The police is supposed to be your best friend but with friends like these, who needs enemies?

Luckily the mayor of Noth Charleston is taking it serious: in the near future every single police officer in the district will be equipped with a body camera so they won't be allowed to simply kill because they feel like it. It will also mean the end of racism, making the job less appealing to Republicans racists like this one.

Without greed there would be no more hunger.

It seems a lot of people blame Islam for the awful happenings in Paris, a couple of months ago. Workers at the office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo were killed 'in name of Allah'. Utter nonsense of course. A couple of young men felt insulted and decided to act. As young men, full of testosteron, do: without thinking. Their actions provoked millions of people worldwide to take a stand against terror. Terrorists want people to be afraid. If people would show they are not afraid anymore, terror will stop being a means of getting what you want.

You can't blame 'Islam' for the actions of a handful troubled young men. Just as you can't blame 'Christianity' for what a couple of hundred catholic priests did to thousands of young boys.

If there's a single 'religion' to blame for most trouble in the world, it's capitalism. Without greed there would be no more hunger.

Only secretly gay people think it's wrong to be gay

'I tried pot once and now I'm gay'. You probably read this statement by Michelle Bachmann somewhere. Let me tell you: if you believe it, you're at least as stupid as she is. Marihuana does not turn people from straight to gay. If it would one in three Americans (including Barack Obama, Jeb Bush, Charlie Sheen and...Sarah Palin!) would be a homosexual. That's right: one in three adult Americans has smoked pot at at least one point in his or her life.

http://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12047023/i-tried-pot-once-now-im-gay

And another thing: the flyer is a spoof! The movement 'Christians for Michelle Bachmann' is fake, a parody.

But seriously: more American than Dutch teens smoke pot. Here's why: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/us-teens-smoke-more-pot-than-dutch/Content?oid=2993518

And here's a great tip for all those homophobes out there: if you hate gay men, don't marry one!

Amsterdam and The Netherlands

No doubt you get all kinds of thoughts when you think about Amsterdam, the capital of The Netherlands. Mind you, 'Holland' is just a part of the country and consists of the two provinces North-Holland and South-Holland. Here are a few prejudices:

And yes, we are chauvenistic so we love expressions like: 'It ain't much if it ain't Dutch' and 'And as a finishing touch, God created the Dutch' ;-) (How many people in your country do you know who are of Dutch descent?)



A blogfriend of mine (http://www.mennoalberts.nl/) made this clip depicting the real Amsterdam city life. Of course there is a lot more to Amsterdam than any movie could ever show but it really does give a great impression of Amsterdam life in the inner city. I hope you enjoy it as much as I - as an inhabitant - did.

We love to swim but hate getting wet

We people are rather strange and often live by double standards. We tell our children to say thank you when they get candy and we tell them not to speak with their mouth full!

And for instance: we love to swim but hate getting wet. Basically we are just like penguins:

Tribute to Terry Pratchett

Someone named Nick Mogavero wrote this amazing tribute to the late Terry Pratchett:

"I would like my pudding now nurse. And then I think I'd like to... write... something... I don't remember what."

Standing in the corner, he waits. The sand slowly flows, but it nears it's end. The old man still glows, as thousands of threads spread away from him.

SQUEAK.

I AGREE. IT IS A SHAME TO SEE HIM THIS WAY.

SQUEAK.

NO. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN.... BUT I CANNOT WAIT TO ASK HIM HOW IT ALL ENDS.

The old man looks up, through them at first... and then he sees them. For once, the smile on the hooded figure's skull is genuine.

"I... I remember you. The anth... ant..."

ANTHROPOMORPHIC PERSONIFICATION.

"Yes, that. We knew each other?"

ONCE. AND WILL AGAIN, SIR.

He so rarely said it, and these feelings... remembering his young aprentice, and beloved daughter. The beautiful child they have.

"There... is a girl, yes?"

SHE IS SPEAKING TO THE AUDITORS, SIR. THEY ARE UNWILLING TO LISTEN.

"Well then. You know what they say, two things you cannot avoid. Taxes and..." He looks into the firey blue eyes, and becomes aware.

SQUEAK.

"Quite right. Is it time already? I have so much left to do."

YOU HAVE GIVEN ALL YOU CAN SIR.

"No, not cancer. Alzheimers."

I AM AWARE.

"So, where is the boy? I remember a boy."

CARRIAGE ACCIDENT.

"Ahh. Never much trusted cars. Or horses."

THEY GET YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO GO.

"Must I?"

SOON. BUT WE MAY SIT HERE AWHILE.

SQUEAK

DO YOU HAVE ANY BISCUITS?

"No. Shame really."

YES.

"Is it truely turtles?"

ALL THE WAY DOWN. I HAVE SEEN THEM.

"Ahh. I would love to see it. Perhaps a small trip before?"

IT WOULD BE MY PLEASURE.

"The light is slower there... and there's a monkey...."

ORANGUTAN. SAME PRINCIPLE.

"Yes... will they remember me?"

SQUEAK.

"What was that? I could not hear you."

HE SAYS WE WILL, SIR.

"I never much liked the trouble people had with you. You seem like a nice fellow."

I HAVE MY DAYS.

"Don't we all?"

SOME LESS THAN OTHERS.

"Is it quick?"

YES. AND I BROUGHT THE SWORD. CEREMONY DICTATES IT.

"Ahh. How about a cup of tea?"

I WOULD ENJOY IT. DO YOU PLAY CHESS?

"No. how about checkers?"

And so they sat, two old friends regaling each other, though the old man could not remember all of the details, the cloaked man and his rat filled him in, when it was needed.

About traditional marriage

Only the tradional marriage should be legal. Right? If you think that's the union between one man and one woman who make their pledge in church you are very wrong. Traditionally there are many forms of marriage. Take the Bible and see the examples of men being married to dozens and sometimes hundreds (Salomon!) of women! Most men in the Old Testament had (at least) two wives. So does that mean that that is normal and traditional? Or take the scientific fact that about 0,5 percent of all people is neither a man, nor a woman by birth.

Cycling

In The Netherlands we are used to using our bikes to travel from A to B and not just for leisure. Not so in most other countries. The US is a prime example of a country that doesn't take cyclists seriously. Although cycling is cheap, good for your health and doesn't require a lot of parking space.

Here a Dutch view on cycling:

Skywatch Friday

Click to enlarge.

More pictures? Check our Flickr page

Note: Every SWF-picture published here is shot with my trusty Sony Xperia s mobile phone or our Canon EOS 450D and is unedited.

For more Skywatch Friday photo's from around the globe, please check http://skyley.blogspot.com/

I know it has been a while but I have different priorities. Number one is of course my family and the new number two is trying to get an income. In the meantime I write pieces for my Dutch blog and since recently I started writing short pieces for this English blog, some of which I started posting on LinkedIn. Let me know what you think!

And please consider English is not my native tongue and I'm not a journalist. Just a guy with an opinion. And a Facebook page. And a Twitter account. And I'm even on Instagram! Working on a novel and still writing short stories. Some got translated and are for sale through Amazon (The e-book is cheaper, has a different cover and is available through Lulu). That's so cool! Don't you think?

I will not hold you in suspense but show you a few pictures from skies, because that's what you came here for and I don't want to disappoint you!

Open air cinema

Return of the Greenpeace ship 'Arctic Sunrise' after its Russian adventure

Sunrise around the corner at my girfriend's

Dito

Winter in Amsterdam: thin layer of snow covering houseboats

The sky seemed on fire. Taken from my girfriend's home.

Typical Amsterdam scene, including tourboat!

Healthcare

Health insurance is a big issue in the United States and for some reason a lot of people oppose 'Obamacare', the system that makes sure sick people get treated through cheap healthcare for everyone.
I have listened to several people opposing this plan but none came up with a valid argument. Still they oppose it.

America has perhaps the highest pricetag on healthcare per head of the population. Why? Check out this video:

Apple is great!

'If it's Apple it's God good.'

The best thing about Apple is - of course - its marketing.
People now buy bigger and bigger iPhones until the day Apple releases the iPhone 8 mini which conveniently fits in your pocket! Yeah! Wow! Amazing!

So, in a few years from now you will own the same iPhone as you have now. Just with more memory and more apps you will never use and a bigger pricetag.

How people are fooled by brand names is clear in this video:

We are very advanced and civilized! Right?

We like to think we are very advanced. We know dozens of ways to flatten entire cities full of people! And we're proud of it. But are we civilized? Are we really more advanced than people were thousands of years ago?

If so: how do we explain these mysteries?

Are you really the nice person you think you are?

You're a nice human being. Right? Always willing to share. Right?
But are you really? Even when you think you are not observed? Have a look at this video and ask yourself a question via the mirror: what would you do? Really.

Which group is more racist: whites or blacks?

Usually judges sentence black people to more time in prison than white people for the exact same crime. That's a fact. But what if the people in the street would give jailtime to criminals? Are they biased? Look at these two videos in which the question is asked to kaukasian people and to black people. What do you think: are white people more racist than black people?

Superbowl

The Superbowl is the world championship American Football and because Americans hate to lose no foreign teams are allowed to compete in it so it's always an American team that wins, adding to their feeling of superiority.

Homosexual men love the game for a simple reason: It's where a bunch of guys run around in tight pants and shiny shirts, patting each other's asses and grabbing at balls. 

The Superbowl is big. Bigger than big. It's huge. Even burglars stay at home to watch it. Even though it's not broadcasted live anymore. Not since a famous singer showed a bare nipple for less than a second. Because minors in America are not supposed to know women have nipples (apparently it's okay for men to have nipples) questions were asked in the US Senate if Janet Jackson should be fined. Every question asked in the US Senate costs the American civilian several thousands of dollars. But who cares?

Over half a million Americans officially complained about the incident, proving over half a million Americans have nothing better to do with their lives but to watch TV and complain about what they see.

The Superbowl is holy and even brings Democrats and Republicans together in het stadium, cheering on the same team!

Just in case you missed it:

Let's have a debate on climate change!

Let's have a debate on climate change!
It's just as useful as debating the question: 'Are there hats?'
It's not a question of 'Does climate change exist?' but of: 'What will we do about it?'

Apparently 1 in 4 Americans doubts the overwhelming facts: 97% of climate scientists is convinced humans are responsible for climate change for the worse. So basically you can say: '1 In 4 Americans is stupid.' Right?

What makes you tick?

What drives you? What moves you? What interests you? Why don't you talk about it? Because you watch TV. A lot. Over five hours a day are filled with filling our minds with commercials, soaps, movies, news and the occasional documentary.

The average American (not you of course!) spends about two hours a day with the smartphone and about an hour and a half talking to the significant other. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2333261/We-spend-MORE-time-phones-partner.html

Do we really value television and phone more then our kids or partners?

It appears so but what do you think?

Imagine America as a dictatorship

What is your idea of a Democracy? And does America hold up to that idea? No. Read this article to learn why:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/princeton-experts-say-us-no-longer-democracy

America will never be a Democracy. Not as long as people as Sarah Palin and Eric Dondero have a thing or two to say. The latter argued with me that 'all socialists are nazi f*cks!' or something the like. I told him only insecure people use swearwords in stead of arguments and asked him one simple question: 'What is socialism really? And please answer that question without checking FoxNews.com first.' Of course he couldn't. Furthermore he stated he hates people on welfare 'because they are too lazy to work!' But on the other hand he tells people to quit their jobs if they find out their boss voted Democrats. So he hates people on welfare and wants Democrats to go on welfare.

What do you think: can we blame the American education system for their (Palin's and Dondero's) stupidity or is there something more to it than that?

Read this if you want to know a bit more about Eric Dondero: http://www.loonwatch.com/2012/01/why-eric-dondero-former-aid-is-smearing-ron-paul-he-is-a-rabid-islamophobe-and-sharia-conspiracy-theory-nut/

And just imagine America as a dictatorship: