Christopher Hitchens, RIP

[Anti Federalist]

Dead at 62 from cancer.

Christopher Hitchens, RIP

http://reason.com/archives/2011/12/16/christopher-hitchens-rip

I'm saddened to write that the great essayist and writer Christopher Hitchens is dead at the age of 62. He had been weakened by the cancer of the esophagus that he disclosed publicly in 2010 and the treatments he had undertaken to fight his illness. Reason extends its condolences to his wife, family, and friends.

[donnay]

I never cared for him much, but I hope he RIP.

[Xenophage]

I got to see him talk last year. Very fortunate for that chance. I have tremendous respect for Hitchens, even despite my political disagreements with him. He was an extraordinary mind.

[thehungarian]

I thought I was upset by the debate last night, but not long after that I read this news and it was like a punch to the gut.

I remember just a few days ago reading his last article and thinking to myself, "You know what? He may pull through this." And now he's gone. This is devastating.

I don't think there's been a single writer who has had more of an impact on my life than Hitchens. Honestly, I don't know where I'd be without having watched his debates and read his books. Just awful. The world is demonstrably worse off with him gone.

[TER]

May he find peace and mercy from the Lord.

[Jtorsella]

I thought I was upset by the debate last night, but not long after that I read this news and it was like a punch to the gut.

I remember just a few days ago reading his last article and thinking to myself, "You know what? He may pull through this." And now he's gone. This is devastating.

I don't think there's been a single writer who has had more of an impact on my life than Hitchens. Honestly, I don't know where I'd be without having watched his debates and read his books. Just awful. The world is demonstrably worse off with him gone.
Completely second everything you said. The most hilarious guy ever. Check out what he said about Rev. Falwell. He is probably the person I look up to second most.

[emazur]

..

[Napolitanic Wars]

Surprised he didn't die of cirrhosis given how much drinking he did.

[heavenlyboy34]

I got to see him talk last year. Very fortunate for that chance. I have tremendous respect for Hitchens, even despite my political disagreements with him. He was an extraordinary mind.
+1 R.I.P.

[ExPatPaki]

I don't want to speak ill of the recently departed; even though Hitchens most certainly spoke ill of the recently deceased such as Mother Theresa, Ronald Reagan, and John Paul II. He was definitely someone who I think was conflicted in his beliefs with regards to US foreign policy (for example he was anti-Zionist, but supported the Iraq war). He got caught to much in the us vs. them mentality.

The article by Tom Piatak at The American Conservative titled The Purest Neocon (http://www.theamericanconservative.com/article/2005/oct/10/00022/) tries to explain Hitchens belief system from Trotskyist to Neoconservatism.

[light200763]

RIP.

[heavenlyboy34]

I don't want to speak ill of the recently departed; even though Hitchens most certainly spoke ill of the recently deceased such as Mother Theresa, Ronald Reagan, and John Paul II. He was definitely someone who I think was conflicted in his beliefs with regards to US foreign policy (for example he was anti-Zionist, but supported the Iraq war). He got caught to much in the us vs. them mentality.

The article by Tom Piatak at The American Conservative titled The Purest Neocon (http://www.theamericanconservative.com/article/2005/oct/10/00022/) tries to explain Hitchens belief system from Trotskyist to Neoconservatism.
It's not a convincing piece, even if what they claim is true. Over the last decade, Hitchens was one of the few prominent "left" intellectuals who opposed the war on principle rather than petty partisan reasons. He did a really interesting interview with Charles Goyette several years ago, talking about the corruption of the Bush regime and the folly of the invasions in the mideast.

ETA: he must have changed his mind about Iraq by the time I heard him discussing it, if what you say is true.

[ExPatPaki]

Hmm, I need to check out that interview. So you're saying he was against the war, then became a supporter for it?

He did write this piece in the Weekly Standard, A War to Be Proud Of (http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/995phqjw.asp?page=1) in which he begins by saying that conditions in Abu Ghraib have remarkably been improved after Saddam's fall. He really, really hated Saddam, even though Saddam was quite anti-religion as he was.

[donnay]

Hmm, I need to check out that interview. So you're saying he was against the war, then became a supporter for it?

He did write this piece in the Weekly Standard, A War to Be Proud Of (http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/995phqjw.asp?page=1) in which he begins by saying that conditions in Abu Ghraib have remarkably been improved after Saddam's fall. He really, really hated Saddam, even though Saddam was quite anti-religion as he was.

Yes and he also was a professed Marxist.

[LibertyEagle]

Yes and he also was a professed Marxist.

Exactly. I mean, I'm sorry the man died, but he was no friend of liberty.

Once a Commie; ALWAYS a Commie.

[Napolitanic Wars]

Ron called him a neocon--on the floor of the House no less.

[Jtorsella]

Exactly. I mean, I'm sorry the man died, but he was no friend of liberty.

Once a Commie; ALWAYS a Commie.
Completely disagreed with him on politics, hilariously funny, witty, and intelligent on everything else.

[NewRightLibertarian]

I like how Hitchens went out of his way to blast that POS Bill Clinton whenever possible. Other than that, he was witty but a pompous asshole as well. I'm 50/50 on him but RIP.

[LibertyEagle]

Ron called him a neocon--on the floor of the House no less.

:D

[eduardo89]

May he find peace and mercy from the Lord.

+1

[heavenlyboy34]

Exactly. I mean, I'm sorry the man died, but he was no friend of liberty.

Once a Commie; ALWAYS a Commie.
He opposed Zionism and the War on Drugs. A broken clock is right twice a day. (not to forgive the majority of what Hitchens did/wrote, of course)

[ryanmkeisling]

Exactly. I mean, I'm sorry the man died, but he was no friend of liberty.

Once a Commie; ALWAYS a Commie.

A notorious Neocon with a capital N. He was a welcome friend of the Bush/Cheney whitehouse. Good riddance and RIP if you can.

[Jtorsella]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQorzOS-F6w
Disagree with him, but still a badass.

[donnay]

He opposed Zionism and the War on Drugs. A broken clock is right twice a day. (not to forgive the majority of what Hitchens did/wrote, of course)

He opposed Zionism in the sense he was a Atheist not in the sense of political Zionism where people are not practicing Judaism. His political perspectives were very disjointed and dysfunctional. Probably the way his life was, I suppose.

[JohnGalt1225]

He was a Marxist and a war supporter, also a vehement atheist, but it's truly sad how cancer ravaged his body. May he rest in peace and may God have mercy on his soul.

[Anti Federalist]

A notorious Neocon with a capital N. He was a welcome friend of the Bush/Cheney whitehouse. Good riddance and RIP if you can.

It's telling that the Reason obituary is full of flowery praise.

[heavenlyboy34]

He opposed Zionism in the sense he was a Atheist not in the sense of political Zionism where people are not practicing Judaism. His political perspectives were very disjointed and dysfunctional. Probably the way his life was, I suppose.
O rlly? I misunderstood, then. I withdraw my previous comment about that.
This (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens#Criticism_of_George_W._Bush) is the wiki entry which led me astray:


Hitchens has said of himself, "I am an Anti-Zionist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Zionism). I'm one of those people of Jewish descent who believes that Zionism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism) would be a mistake even if there were no Palestinians (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_people)."[96] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens#cite_note-H.C3.B6lblingRieser-Wohlfarter2004-95)
A review of his autobiography, Hitch-22, in the Jewish Daily Forward (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Daily_Forward), refers to Hitchens as "a prominent anti-Zionist" and says that he views Zionism "as an injustice against the Palestinians".[97] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens#cite_note-Forward-96) Others have commented on his anti-Zionism as well[98] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens#cite_note-Rodden2006-97) suggesting that his memoir was "marred by the occasional eruption of [his] anti-Zionism".[99] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens#cite_note-Commentary-98) The Jewish Daily Forward quotes him saying of Israel's prospects for the future, “I have never been able to banish the queasy inner suspicion that Israel just did not look, or feel, either permanent or sustainable.”[97] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens#cite_note-Forward-96)
In Slate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slate), Hitchens ponders the notion that, instead of curing antisemitism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism) through the creation of a Jewish state, "Zionism has only replaced and repositioned"[100] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens#cite_note-Slate60-99) it, saying: "there are three groups of 6 million Jews. The first 6 million live in what the Zionist movement used to call Palestine. The second 6 million live in the United States. The third 6 million are distributed mainly among Russia, France, Britain, and Argentina. Only the first group lives daily in range of missiles that can be (and are) launched by people who hate Jews." Hitchens argues that instead of supporting Zionism, Jews should help "secularize and reform their own societies", believing that unless one is religious, "what the hell are you doing in the greater Jerusalem area in the first place?"
During a town hall function in Pennsylvania (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania) with Martin Amis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Amis), Hitchens stated that "one must not insult or degrade or humiliate people"[101] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens#cite_note-FrontPage-100) and that he "would be opposed to this maltreatment of the Palestinians if it took place on a remote island with no geopolitical implications". Hitchens described Zionism as "an ethno-nationalist quasi-religious ideology" and stated his desire that if possible, he would "re-wind the tape [to] stop Hertzl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodor_Hertzl) from telling the initial demagogic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demagogue) lie (actually two lies) that a land without a people needs a people without a land (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_land_without_a_people_for_a_people_without_a_lan d)".
He continued to say that Zionism "nonetheless has founded a sort of democratic state which isn’t any worse in its practice than many others with equally dubious origins." He stated that settlement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_settlement) in order to achieve security for Israel is "doomed to fail in the worst possible way", and the cessation of this "appallingly racist and messianic delusion" would "confront the internal clerical and chauvinist forces which want to instate a theocracy for Jews". However, Hitchens contended that the "solution of withdrawal would not satisfy the jihadists" and wondered "What did they imagine would be the response of the followers of the Prophet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad)?" Hitchens bemoaned the transference into religious terrorism of Arab secularism as a means of democratization: "the most depressing and wretched spectacle of the past decade, for all those who care about democracy and secularism, has been the degeneration of Palestinian Arab nationalism into the theocratic and thanatocratic hell of Hamas and Islamic Jihad".[100] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens#cite_note-Slate60-99) He maintained that the Israel-Palestine conflict is a "trivial squabble" that has become "so dangerous to all of us" because of "the faith-based element."[101] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens#cite_note-FrontPage-100)
Hitchens collaborated on this issue with prominent Palestinian advocate Edward Said (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Said), in 1988 publishing Blaming the Victims: Spurious Scholarship and the Palestinian Question (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaming_the_Victims:_Spurious_Scholarship_and_the_ Palestinian_Question).

[ronpaulitician]

Thought-provoking guy. Mother Theresa ain't no saint. Stuff like that made me realize that things aren't always what they seem. Good prep for my conversion from neocon to Ron Paul. Loved his appearances on Real Time.

[Danke]

I never cared for him much, but I hope he RIP.

Couldn't you just walk over to the garage and comment to AF to his face on his posts?

[Anti Federalist]

Couldn't you just walk over to the garage and comment to AF to his face on his posts?

I wish.

I swear, I'm gonna build one these out on the back 40.

I'll call it, "The Doghouse".

http://tinyhouselistings.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/97b855bd4ba9970badfd5d086ed35e73-500X369.jpg

[donnay]

Couldn't you just walk over to the garage and comment to AF to his face on his posts?

That walk would be a long one (1800 miles), and then I would have to walk on water to tell him. :p

[donnay]

I wish.

I swear, I'm gonna build one these out on the back 40.

I'll call it, "The Doghouse".

http://tinyhouselistings.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/97b855bd4ba9970badfd5d086ed35e73-500X369.jpg

If wishes were horses beggars would ride. :D

This would work too:

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/Outhouse%201.jpg

:p

[Danke]

That walk would be a long one (1800 miles), and then I would have to walk on water to tell him. :p

Oh, he is out on one of his all boy crew adventures again, sorry, my condolences.

[Anti Federalist]

That walk would be a long one (1800 miles), and then I would have to walk on water to tell him. :p

Pay him no mind my dear, Danke's just a frustrated Fly Boy who wishes his dad would have let him go to sea instead.

[Danke]

Pay him no mind my dear, Danke's just a frustrated Fly Boy who wishes his dad would have let him go to sea instead.

Have u two not heard of PM's, Skype or emails?

[donnay]

Have u two not heard of PM's, Skype or emails?

Yes, I heard of them! I am sensing a bit of jealousy. :toady:

[Danke]

Yes, I heard of them! I am sensing a bit of jealousy. :toady:

Hey, whatever floats your boat, or his boat.

[anaconda]

One of the finest speakers since the American Founding Fathers. One insanely smart son of a bitch that I only discovered recently. I intend to read some of his works very soon. Appears to be a neocon, but I will enjoy reading him nonetheless.

[donnay]

Hey, whatever floats your boat, or his boat.

I just checked your E-Harmony info and found the perfect gal for you!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww

[Anti Federalist]

Have u two not heard of PM's, Skype or emails?

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pyUrNZ20a9U/TihofH0ycLI/AAAAAAAABBc/99KdNQykh2M/s1600/crybaby.jpg

[Esoteric]

He was a Marxist and a war supporter, also a vehement atheist, but it's truly sad how cancer ravaged his body. May he rest in peace and may God have mercy on his soul.

Believe me, Hitchens wouldn't have wanted your sympathy.. or your imaginary god's mercy ;)

[Danke]

I just checked your E-Harmony info and found the perfect gal for you!


I wish, she has never responded to my emails thus far.

[donnay]

I wish, she has never responded to my emails thus far.

Probably because she thinks long distance relationships just do not work...of course she cannot find California on the map, so that doesn't help either.

[Danke]

Probably because she thinks long distance relationships just do not work...of course she cannot find California on the map, so that doesn't help either.

And here I was thinking it was because she didn't know how to use the "reply" function. Thanks for bursting my bubble, lover of seaman, you.

[Ricky201]

Loved Hitchen's, hated his take on foreign policy. But he was an extremely talented orator, writer, and debater. RIP

[vita3]

Not going to miss him

[gmc1988]

Don't want to speak ill of the dead, but he did a lot of that while he was alive, and for that and other reasons It's hard for me to feel bad about his death. His Atheism is the only reason he ever became famous. The media loves to hype people who create controversy, and Hitchens definitely did that.

[angelatc]

Exactly. I mean, I'm sorry the man died, but he was no friend of liberty.

Once a Commie; ALWAYS a Commie.

I'm glad he's gone. He was a mean, nasty person who brought absolutely nothing good into the world. And not just nasty, he went out of his way to be nasty.

[Endgame]

Surprised he didn't die of cirrhosis given how much drinking he did.

Consuming lots of hard liquor increases risk of esophageal cancer.

[ExPatPaki]

Hitchens always was ranting against Islamists. Saddam was secular, anti-religion just like Hitchens was, there was no reason for him to support a war against Saddam. Saddam kept al-Qaeda out, protected Iraq's Christian minority and kept the religious fundamentalists who Hitchens hated in check. After Saddam's fall, Iraq basically became a religious fundamentalist state with al-Qaeda safe havens, things that Hitchens opposed. Despite this, he maintained his support for this war, saying it was worth it, showing blatant indifference to civilian deaths, much like Madeline Albright who said that sanctions against Iraq which resulted in the deaths of half a million Iraqi children was "worth it". His support for the Iraq war stemmed from an us vs. them mentality. Us being the civilized west who use depleted uranium and them being the barbaric brown Arabs who need to learn about democracy through invasion and war. Hitchens was also very inconsistent and hypocritical when it came to the Middle East. He was okay with Iraqi religious fundamentalists coming to power via democracy; but called for collective punishment against Gaza because the people there voted for religious fundamentalists Hamas. He was against Saddam, but favored recently deposed Tunisian dictator Ben Ali.

[PreDeadMan]

I enjoyed the Hitch's work i wasn't that thrilled when I noticed he was a neoconservative but for what it's worth a very very brilliant man.