Christopher Hitchens opens his diary

The Spectator, 7 May 2011 issue


"I abhor the idea of taking a mobile-phone call at the dinner table but my friend Douglas Brinkley, eminent historian and editor (of Ronald Reagan and Hunter Thompson alike) has three small children and when his wife calls he rightly answers. So on Sunday night in Houston, Texas, at the home of the bountiful Michael and Nina Zilkha, we got an early notice that the President would soon be on the air."

Read More (spectator.co.uk)

Death of a Madman

What Obama does next will help define the legacy of Osama Bin Laden.
By Christopher Hitchens

"There are several pleasant little towns like Abbottabad in Pakistan, strung out along the roads that lead toward the mountains from Rawalpindi (the garrison town of Pakistani's military brass and, until 2003, a safe-house for Khalid Sheik Muhammed). Muzaffarabad, Abbottabad … cool in summer and winter, with majestic views and discreet amenities."

Read More (Slate)

A debate between Hitchens and Barry Brummett

University of Waterloo:

"Please join us for a debate between God is Not Great author Christopher Hitchens and Barry Brummett (University of Texas at Austin) on the resolution 'Religion, as a literary value, is a force for good.'

Saturday, June 4, 2011, 7 to 8:30 p.m. (reception with light refreshments to follow) Hagey Hall, Humanities Theatre, University of Waterloo.

More Info..

Go After Qaddafi

Stop worrying about an "exit strategy." What America needs in Libya is an entrance strategy.
By Christopher Hitchens

"The embarrassing failure of NATO's strategy with the Libyan "rebels" is easier to understand when it is contrasted with its closest parallel case, which is probably that of Kosovo."

Read More (Slate)

Amis on Hitchens

The Observer - April 24, 2011.
Martin Amis hails the peerless intelligence and rhetorical ingenuity of his exceptional friend, Christopher Hitchens.

"..Christopher is one of the most terrifying rhetoricians that the world has yet seen. Lenin used to boast that his objective, in debate, was not rebuttal and then refutation: it was the "destruction" of his interlocutor. This isn't Christopher's policy – but it is his practice." 

Full Article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/24/amis-hitchens-world

Hitchens' address to American Atheists

via PZ Myers / Pharyngula

"Christopher Hitchens was scheduled to appear at the American Atheist convention, but had to cancel because of his illness. He sent this letter instead.

Dear fellow-unbelievers,

Nothing would have kept me from joining you except the loss of my voice (at least my speaking voice) which in turn is due to a long argument I am currently having with the specter of death. Nobody ever wins this argument, though there are some solid points to be made while the discussion goes on."

Read More http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/04/hitchens_address_to_american_a.php

Beware the In-Laws

Does Kate Middleton really want to marry into a family like this?
By Christopher Hitchens

"A hereditary monarch, observed Thomas Paine, is as absurd a proposition as a hereditary doctor or mathematician. But try pointing this out when everybody is seemingly moist with excitement about the cake plans and gown schemes of the constitutional absurdity's designated mother-to-be."
Read More (Slate)

Hitch In Confidence

Hitchens interviewed by Laurie Taylor. Aired April 14, 2011, Sky Arts 1.

In Confidence: Peter and Christopher Hitchens, Sky Arts 1, review. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8451761/In-Confidence-Peter-and-Christopher-Hitchens-Sky-Arts-1-review.html

Christopher Hitchens: most provocative quotes

The Telegraph

In Confidence: Peter and Christopher Hitchens airs on Sky Arts 1/SAHD on Thursday at 10.00pm and 11.00pm.

"The writer, polemicist and devout atheist Christopher Hitchens is known for his confrontational style of debate. Here we list some of his more controversial outbursts."

Plus related articles.. (US 'nasty and boring, 'I told my brother he was adopted'..)

Read More (telegraph.co.uk)

Happy Birthday Christopher Hitchens !

Enjoy your day, Christopher. All the best to you and your family, you're in our thoughts.

An Ode to Christopher Hitchens

"A fangirl's tribute to the great Hitch."

Philip Larkin, the Impossible Man

How the most exasperating of poets met his match
By Christopher Hitchens

"IN MAY 1941, Philip Larkin was the treasurer of the Oxford University English Club and in that capacity had to take the visiting speaker George Orwell out to dinner after he had addressed the membership on the subject of “Literature and Totalitarianism.” Larkin’s main recollection: “We took Dylan Thomas to the Randolph and George Orwell to the not-so-good hotel. I suppose it was my first essay in practical criticism."

Read More (The Atlantic)

American Atheists 2011 Convention Update

"CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS (Canceled due to health problems -- Mr. Hitchens will write an original letter to be read at the convention.)"

Dave Silverman, President of American Atheists: Hitchens can't make the convention even by video. He will (hopefully) be writing a statement to be read instead. I am very sad that such a lovely light is growing so dim.

VIDEO: http://www.vimeo.com/23215997

http://www.atheists.org/events/National_Convention

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=202382073115612&id=172185706135249

Africa's Worst Dictator

How has Robert Mugabe been able to rule Zimbabwe for so long?
By Christopher Hitchens

"Now that the South African political leadership has—after years of shameful silence and even complicity—declined to continue its open-ended indulgence of Robert Mugabe, it becomes possible to envisage a time when Zimbabwe will be free of the hideous regime of one man and one-party rule."
Read More (Slate)