R.I.P Christopher Hitchens

[Skykid]

RIP Hitch, your articulate and rational reasoning will be sorely missed in this mixed up world.

One of my all time favourite Hitchslaps:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doKkOSMaTk4

[NTSC-J]

A huge loss.

RIP

[Klatrymadon]

Sad news indeed. I never liked him on foreign policy, Islam, etc, but he's certainly left us with a lot of brilliant writing, much of it still relevant and important. Unacknowledged Legislation is essential.

R.I.P.

[Vyxx]

RIP

Hitchslap Jesus for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNv2cwLwqEY

Legend.

[dan76]

Another good one had to go?

RIP

[Skykid]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNv2cwLwqEY

"Resurrection was something of a banality"

Lol, that's brilliant, I don't think I've seen that one.

Post your favourite Hitchslaps here folks, in memory.

[louisg]

This was a good read. Sad.
http://dennisperrin.blogspot.com/2011/1 ... riend.html

"You endorsed and pushed for all manner of imperial violence. Your glee over Fallujah blew my mind. After all you had written, roasting imperial toads with scathing wit, you were in the end no different than them."

[Skykid]

Best of the Hitchslap:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQorzOS-F6w

[Vamos]

Love the hitch , genuinely saddened by his death.

[antron]

note to all, the combination of whiskey and tobacco is known to drastically increase the risk of esophageal cancer. take a look at that picture louisg linked.

edit: but 62 ain't too bad.

[xbl0x180]

Giving God a kick to the pants long after passing away. Hopefully, he died satisfied knowing that his thoughts were perpetuated in society's conscience

[blackoak]

I liked a lot of what I heard him say in debates and on Bill Maher. There was a perverse intellectual thrill in seeing him take down less articulate (and likely less intelligent) opponents. But I think his shift to the right was disappointing, as alluded to in the article above. Another good article on that, which touches on his earlier career: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/oct20 ... -o07.shtml

His recanting on waterboarding as torture was nice to see (perhaps his personal kumo no ito...), though I believe he retained a certain academic ambivalence about the use of torture in general, as with Harris. Too bad he never came around on so many other things.

[Skykid]

But I think his shift to the right was disappointing, as alluded to in the article above.

They interviewed a friend of his on tonight's news and he said that people's assumption that he shifted to the right was one of the great misunderstandings of his character. He said he wasn't pro war, but had always been pro-removal of dictators by way of intervention since the Falklands, even when he was far left, and this stance didn't really change.

[blackoak]

They interviewed a friend of his on tonight's news and he said that people's assumption that he shifted to the right was one of the great misunderstandings of his character. He said he wasn't pro war, but had always been pro-removal of dictators by way of intervention since the Falklands, even when he was far left, and this stance didn't really change.

Thats interesting, though its almost as if the misunderstanding were the more charitable view. I never found his arguments on intervention credible in the slightest, notwithstanding all rhetorical flourish and bombast.

Many of my young atheist friends love Hitchens, though I have seen them give him a free uncritical pass on his other views. I loved his attitude toward cancer and the "value of life" though. IMO he was at his best when challenging the moral values derived (sometimes subtly) from Christianity.

[Vyxx]

"The four most overrated things in life are champagne, lobster, anal sex and picnics." - Hitchens

[Skykid]

"The four most overrated things in life are champagne, lobster, anal sex and picnics." - Hitchens

lmao!

[Moniker]

Wasn't aware of this chap before reading this thread. I'll have to hunt down the full clip of him talking to the Jewish guy, or at least someone a tad more formidable than Sean Hannity or other talking heads. Calling circumcision savage mutilation of the genitalia seemed a bit disingenuous. Overall though he seems refreshingly sincere with well-considered arguments, rare qualities in at least American political discourse.

[Drum]

Calling circumcision savage mutilation of the genitalia seemed a bit disingenuous.

Nonsense.

[Skykid]

Wasn't aware of this chap before reading this thread. I'll have to hunt down the full clip of him talking to the Jewish guy, or at least someone a tad more formidable than Sean Hannity or other talking heads. Calling circumcision savage mutilation of the genitalia seemed a bit disingenuous. Overall though he seems refreshingly sincere with well-considered arguments, rare qualities in at least American political discourse.

Only folk who believe it's necessary for religious purposes would find it disingenuous - not a stance he much cared for tbh.

I think one of the best Hitchens debates was the one where he was paired with Stephen Fry in opposition to the practices of the Catholic church, in which he swayed audience in his favour hugely in final tally. He was playing for score on that one. Easy to find on You Tube if you're interested.

[Randorama]

Farewell to the last true reactionary left around.

There's an hitchslap series on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3kOPU7t ... re=related

One gem on Mother Teresa, and several other links on Slate:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_ ... arest.html

Ah, the one with Stephen Fry:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmFYpuYh ... re=related

...Hopefully, Sir Fry is in good shape.

[louisg]

Overall though he seems refreshingly sincere with well-considered arguments, rare qualities in at least American political discourse.

That's a mind blowingly low bar. It's true, though, and it makes me sad.

[xbl0x180]

Overall though he seems refreshingly sincere with well-considered arguments, rare qualities in at least American political discourse.

That's a mind blowingly low bar. It's true, though, and it makes me sad.

The British accents really help, but it helps even more to be educated and well-rounded in international matters.

Here's an example on the level of Christopher Hitchens:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=249JaIaubVw

[Moniker]

Only folk who believe it's necessary for religious purposes would find it disingenuous - not a stance he much cared for tbh.

While I don't desire a debate on foreskin, I should at least clarify. Circumcision has had the additional historical role of helping to reduce infection, connected and unconnected to religious rites. Of course, today such benefits are considered negligible. Nevertheless, I can only presume Hitchens would be aware of its use as a medical practice as well as a religious one, which is why it struck me as disingenuous. But certainly the latter would influence perceptions of the former, so that could be why he would gloss it over. In any case, I'll have to hunt down that particular debate.

Overall though he seems refreshingly sincere with well-considered arguments, rare qualities in at least American political discourse.

That's a mind blowingly low bar. It's true, though, and it makes me sad.

It's extremely sad; I can't even compel myself to follow the election this year for all the bullshit flying around. I stopped watching TV news long ago, and now I can't even stand print. I'll glance at the nytimes, wsj and Economist from time to time, but even then.

[Skykid]

Circumcision has had the additional historical role of helping to reduce infection

You know that's been proven to be myth?
I don't want to get into a cock debate either, but circumcision is unnecessary and harmful, reducing sensitivity during sexual activity.

All here for you.

[Moniker]

Circumcision has had the additional historical role of helping to reduce infection

You know that's been proven to be myth?

Which is why I added the qualifier "historical." Or are you suggesting that circumcision was never seen to have medical benefits?

[xbl0x180]

Circumcision has had the additional historical role of helping to reduce infection

You know that's been proven to be myth?
I don't want to get into a cock debate either, but circumcision is unnecessary and harmful, reducing sensitivity during sexual activity.

Does it mean a guy lasts longer...?

[GaijinPunch]

You know that's been proven to be myth?

So dick cheese is a big lie, like the holocaust and Nan King?

[Skykid]

Circumcision has had the additional historical role of helping to reduce infection

You know that's been proven to be myth?

Which is why I added the qualifier "historical." Or are you suggesting that circumcision was never seen to have medical benefits?

It has no medical benefits. Even the Jews never claimed it had (it's all in that link I gave you.) It's a mutilation, in medical terms. I'm not as hung up on it as Hitchens, but then I assume he saw it as another religious fallacy imposed upon society, which would be true.

Does it mean a guy lasts longer...?

Technically yes.

You know that's been proven to be myth?

So dick cheese is a big lie, like the holocaust and Nan King?

Wut?

You mean sebum and smegma? It's only a lie that it's in some way harmful or unhygienic, it exists as one of the body's natural bacterias and acts as a protective lubricant for the glans. It's no more harmful for you than snot from your nose or shit from your ass as long as you wash regularly and don't live like a hobo.

Look, don't ask me, I read the stuff before but I'm not a practicing doctor. I already posted the info here:

http://www.coloradonocirc.org/myths.php

Can't believe we're talking cocks, someone change the subject.

[Moniker]

Can't believe we're talking cocks, someone change the subject.

Well I'm too tired to expound on this intelligently, so I'll just say this. From what I've seen and read of him so far, Hitchens seems to be missing a major point that Stephen Fry implicitly appears to grasp. Bad religion is a symptom, not a cause. To say religion is generally a negative is to say that ideology (of which religion is a subset) is generally negative, and therefore human nature. Again, from what I've seen, I don't think Hitchens would argue that human nature is a generally bad thing, so his arguments carry an implicit contradiction.

[GaijinPunch]

It's unpleasant though. We can argue all day about what is harmful and not harmful for you body (gluten, anyone?) but to come out and say that circumcision is a big scam or this and that is pretty tiresome. There's nothing really conclusive either way. I do know that you cannot get Phimosis with a circumcised rod. Doesn't that give it some type of medical value? And before you cry foul, note that my son is not circumcised.