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b748b4b Edward had a personal horror of violence and never endorsed or excused it, though in a documentary he made about the conflict he said that actions like the bombing of pilgrims at Tel Aviv airport 'did more harm than good,' which I remember thinking was (a) euphemistic and (b) a slipshod expression unworthy of a professor of English. euphemism tel-aviv violence Christopher Hitchens
be4faff Then all at once our personal and political quarrels were made very abruptly to converge. In the special edition of the published to mark the events of September 11, 2001, Edward painted a picture of an almost fascist America where Arab and Muslim citizens were being daily terrorized by pogroms, these being instigated by men like Paul Wolfowitz who had talked of 'ending' the regimes that sheltered Al Quaeda. Again, I could hardly credit t.. al-quaeda arabs edward-said fascism friendship lrb muslims paul-wolfowitz pogroms politics quarrel september-11-attacks united-states Christopher Hitchens
d9aa55a I was hungry when I left Pyongyang. I wasn't hungry just for a bookshop that sold books that weren't about Fat Man and Little Boy. I wasn't ravenous just for a newspaper that had no pictures of F.M. and L.B. I wasn't starving just for a TV program or a piece of music or theater or cinema that wasn't cultist and hero-worshiping. I was . I got off the North Korean plane in Shenyang, one of the provincial capitals of Manchuria, and the airpor.. airports books cinema cults food hero-worship hunger kim-il-sung kim-jong-il literature manchuria music newspapers north-korea propaganda pyongyang shenyang television theatre totalitarianism tourism tourism-in-north-korea Christopher Hitchens
e878e69 I am so made that I cannot believe. Christopher Hitchens
b92f26c Christian reformism arose originally from the ability of its advocates to contrast the Old Testament with the New. The cobbled-together ancient Jewish books had an ill-tempered and implacable and bloody and provincial god, who was probably more frightening when he was in a good mood (the classic attribute of the dictator). Whereas the cobbled-together books of the last two thousand years contained handholds for the hopeful, and references t.. Christopher Hitchens
7a28f40 This surrender, by a man of the Enlightenment and a man of truly revolutionary and democratic temperament, is another reminder that history is a tragedy and not a morality tale Christopher Hitchens
050a61b Osama bin Laden's writings and actions constitute a direct negation of human liberty, and vent an undisguised hatred and contempt for life itself. Christopher Hitchens
bb4eee0 If you will devote a little time to studying the staggering photographs taken by the Hubble telescope, you will be scrutinizing things that are far more awesome and mysterious and beautiful--and more chaotic and overwhelming and forbidding--than any creation or "end of days" story. If you read Hawking on the "event horizon," that theoretical lip of the "black hole" over which one could in theory plunge and see the past and the future (excep.. Christopher Hitchens
b87e10e The level of intensity fluctuates according to time and place, but it can be stated as a truth that religion does not, and in the long run cannot, be content with its own marvelous claims and sublime assurances. It must seek to interfere with the lives of nonbelievers, or heretics, or adherents of other faiths. It may speak about the bliss of the next world, but it wants power in this one. Christopher Hitchens
29d2c62 One of the juiciest pleasures of life is to be able to salute and embrace, as elected leaders and honored representatives, people whom you first met when they were on the run or in exile or (like Adam) in and out of jail. I was to have this experience again, and I hope to have it many more times in the future: it sometimes allows me to feel that life is full of point. dissent life politics Christopher Hitchens
f7bd275 Whatever view one takes of the outcome being affected by morale, it seems certain that the realm of illusion must be escaped before anything else. Christopher Hitchens
767a06e When the bones of prehistoric animals began to be discovered and scrutinized in the nineteenth century, there were those who said that the fossils had been placed in the rock by god, in order to test our faith. This cannot be disproved. Nor can my own pet theory that, from the patterns of behavior that are observable, we may infer a design that makes planet earth, all unknown to us, a prison colony and lunatic asylum that is employed as a d.. Christopher Hitchens
905dec4 this is what I have been telling writing classes for years. You must feel not that you want to but that you have to. Christopher Hitchens
1f51e38 Government regulations required that an elevator be installed for the use of the disabled. Mother would not allow an elevator. The city offered to pay for the elevator. Its offer was refused. After all the negotiations and plans, the project for the poor was abandoned because an elevator for the handicapped was unacceptable. Christopher Hitchens
def1c22 Prayer: A petition that the laws of nature be suspended in favor of the petitioner; himself confessedly unworthy. Christopher Hitchens
d00abd7 All religions must, at their core, look forward to the end of this world and to the longed-for moment when all will be revealed and when the sheep will be divided from the goats, or whatever other bucolic Bronze-Age desert analogy might seem apt. (In Papua New Guinea, where as in most tropical climes there are no sheep, the Christians use the most valued animal of the locals and refer to the congregation as "swine." Flock, herd: what differ.. Christopher Hitchens
4c1ce1d You might think that the Left could have a regime-change perspective of its own, based on solidarity with its comrades abroad. After all, Saddam's ruling Ba'ath Party consolidated its power by first destroying the Iraqi communist and labor movements, and then turning on the Kurds (whose cause, historically, has been one of the main priorities of the Left in the Middle East). When I first became a socialist, the imperative of international s.. anti-war ba-ath-party baghdad communism democratic-party-united-states george-w-bush invasion-of-kuwait iran-iraq-war iraq iraq-war iraqi-communist-party iraqi-kurdistan kurdish-people kuwait labour-movement leftism middle-east opposition-to-the-iraq-war peace-movement republican-party-united-states saddam-hussein socialism Christopher Hitchens
63121c1 Some peaceniks clear their throats by saying that, of course, they oppose Saddam Hussein as much as anybody, though not enough to support doing anything about him. interventionism iraq iraq-war saddam-hussein Christopher Hitchens
c769481 The 'pre-emption' versus 'prevention' debate may be a distinction without much difference. The important thing is to have it understood that the United States is absolutely serious. The jihadists have in the past bragged that America is too feeble and corrupt to fight. A lot is involved in disproving that delusion on their part. debate delusion iraq-war islam islamic-terrorism jihad preemptive-war preventive-war united-states war war-on-terror Christopher Hitchens
2cc4db6 The President is also captured in a well-worn TV news clip, making a boilerplate response to a question on terrorism and then asking the reporters to watch his drive. Well, that's what you get if you catch the President on a golf course. If Eisenhower had done this, as he often did, it would have been presented as calm statesmanship. If Clinton had done it, as he often did, it would have shown his charm. charm double-standards dwight-d-eisenhower george-w-bush golf hypocrisy statesmanship television terrorism united-states war-on-terror Christopher Hitchens
8559b02 Philosophy begins where religion ends, just as by analogy chemistry begins where alchemy runs out, and astonomy takes the place of astrology. Christopher Hitchens
dc36301 A local phrase book, entitled , has the following handy expressions. In the section 'On the Way to the Hotel': 'Let's Mutilate US Imperialism!' In the section 'Word Order': 'Yankees are wolves in human shape--Yankees / in human shape / wolves / are.' In the section 'Farewell Talk': 'The US Imperialists are the sworn enemy of the Korean people.' Not that the book is all like this--the section 'At the Hospital' has the term ('I have loose .. famine imperialism kim-il-sung korean-language language north-korea north-korean-famine phrase-books propaganda united-states Christopher Hitchens
50be27b Kim Jong Il, incidentally, has been made head of the party and of the army, but the office of the presidency is still 'eternally' held by his adored and departed dad, who died on July 8, 1994, at 82. (The Kim is dead. Long live the Kim.) This makes North Korea the only state in the world with a dead president. What would be the right term for this? A necrocracy? A thanatocracy? A mortocracy? A mausolocracy? Anyway, grimly appropriate for a .. eternal-president kim-il-sung kim-jong-il korean-people-s-army north-korea politics-of-north-korea workers-party-of-korea Christopher Hitchens
3b315a0 Even in former days, Korea was known as the 'hermit kingdom' for its stubborn resistance to outsiders. And if you wanted to create a totally isolated and hermetic society, northern Korea in the years after the 1953 'armistice' would have been the place to start. It was bounded on two sides by the sea, and to the south by the impregnable and uncrossable DMZ, which divided it from South Korea. Its northern frontier consisted of a long stretch.. 1953 china curtis-lemay division-of-korea hermit-kingdom japan joseph-stalin kim-il-sung korea korea-under-japanese-rule korean-demilitarized-zone korean-war mao-zedong north-korea pyongyang siberia south-korea world-war-ii Christopher Hitchens
c3f2d82 It doesn't matter how obscure or arcane or esoteric your place of publication may be: some sweet law ensures that the person who should be scrutinizing your work eventually does do so. Christopher Hitchens
9f3f1d5 In the early days of the December that my father was to die, my younger brother brought me the news that I was a Jew. I was then a transplanted Englishman in America, married, with one son and, though unconsoled by any religion, a nonbelieving member of two Christian churches. On hearing the tidings, I was pleased to find that I was pleased. atheism jews religion Christopher Hitchens
fa309e9 It is certain, that, in every religion, however sublime the verbal definition which it gives of its divinity, many of the votaries, perhaps the greatest number, will still seek the divine favor, not by virtue and good morals, which alone can be acceptable to a perfect being, but either by frivolous observances, by intemperate zeal, by rapturous extasies, or by the belief of mysterious and absurd opinions. Christopher Hitchens
be87daf A little later, the Apollo mission was consummated and there were Americans on the moon. I remember distinctly looking up from the quad on what was quite a moon-flooded night, and thinking about it. They made it! The Stars and Stripes are finally flown on another orb! Also, English becomes the first and only language spoken on a neighboring rock! Who could forbear to cheer? Still, the experience was poisoned for me by having to watch Richar.. nixon united-states Christopher Hitchens
5acbffc Rolf Ekeus came round to my apartment one day and showed me the name of the Iraqi diplomat who had visited the little West African country of Niger: a statelet famous only for its production of yellowcake uranium. The name was Wissam Zahawi. He was the brother of my louche gay part-Kurdish friend, the by-now late Mazen. He was also, or had been at the time of his trip to Niger, Saddam Hussein's ambassador to the Vatican. I expressed incompr.. baath-party baathism baathist-iraq baghdad bbc corruption damascus diplomacy george-w-bush gordon-correa invasion-of-kuwait iraq journalism kim-jong-il kuwait libya military-intelligence niger north-korea nuclear-proliferation nuclear-weapons pakistan rogue-states rolf-ekeus saddam-hussein sanctions syria terrorism tony-blair united-nations uranium vatican west-africa western-europe wissam-zahawi Christopher Hitchens
9256887 Kingsley could 'do' the sound of a brass band approaching on a foggy day. He could become the Metropolitan line train entering Edgware Road station. He could be four wrecked tramps coughing in a bus shelter (this was very demanding and once led to heart palpitations). To create the hiss and crackle of a wartime radio broadcast delivered by Franklin Delano Roosevelt was for him scant problem (a tape of it, indeed, was played at his memorial .. kingsley-amis Christopher Hitchens
04e0a34 Offered a job as book critic for magazine as a young man, Bellow had been interviewed by Chambers and asked to give his opinion about William Wordsworth. Replying perhaps too quickly that Wordsworth had been a Romantic poet, he had been brusquely informed by Chambers that there was no place for him at the magazine. Bellow had often wondered, he told us, what he ought to have said. I suggested that he might have got the job if he'd replied.. robert-browning romantic-poetry saul-bellow time-magazine whittaker-chambers wordsworth Christopher Hitchens
233f9c5 Over the course of the last decade, I have become vividly aware of a literally lethal challenge from the sort of people who deal in absolute certainty and believe themselves to be actuated and justified by a supreme authority. To have spent so long learning so relatively little, and then to be menaced in every aspect of my life by people who already know everything, and who have all the information they need... More depressing still, to see.. Christopher Hitchens
424a8cb Where questions of religion are concerned, people are guilty of every possible sort of dishonesty and intellectual misdemeanor. Sigmund Freud, The Future of an Illusion Christopher Hitchens
d8cfb52 In some cases--most notably the Christian--one revelation is apparently not sufficient, and needs to be reinforced by successive apparitions, with the promise of a further but ultimate one to come. In other cases, the opposite difficulty occurs and the divine instruction is delivered, only once, and for the final time, to an obscure personage whose lightest word then becomes law. Since all of these revelations, many of them hopelessly incon.. Christopher Hitchens
8e59f44 Since religion has proved itself uniquely delinquent on the one subject where moral and ethical authority might be counted as universal and absolute, I think we are entitled to at least three provisional conclusions. The first is that religion and the churches are manufactured, and that this salient fact is too obvious to ignore. The second is that ethics and morality are quite independent of faith, and cannot be derived from it. The third .. Christopher Hitchens
31a88fd When the first news of the Nazi camps was published in 1945, there were those who thought the facts might be exaggerated either by Allied war propaganda or by the human tendency to relish 'atrocity stories.' In his column in the London magazine , George Orwell wrote that, though this might be so, the speculation was not exactly occurring in a vacuum. If you remember what the Nazis did to the Jews before the war, he said, it isn't that diff.. antisemitism george-orwell germany holocaust holocaust-denial jewry nazi-germany nazism world-war-ii Christopher Hitchens
2c222e4 In the late 1940s, a dystopian novel based on the notorious horrors of 'National Socialism' would probably have been very well-received. But it would have done nothing to shake the complacency of Western intellectuals concerning the system of state terror for which, at the time, so many of them had either a blind spot or a soft spot. Christopher Hitchens
1feeb32 Hesitate once, hesitate twice, hesitate a hundred times before employing political standards as a device for the analysis and appreciation of poetry. poetry politics ts-eliot Christopher Hitchens
1527041 For all its outwardly easy Latin charm, Buenos Aires was making me feel sick and upset, so I did take that trip to the great plains where the epics had been written, and I did manage to eat a couple of the famous : the Argentine barbecue fiesta (once summarized by Martin Amis's John Self as 'a sort of triple mixed grill swaddled in steaks') with its slavish propitiation of the sizzling gods of cholesterol. Yet even this was spoiled for m.. asado dictatorship fascism politics Christopher Hitchens
b9eccdf Life in Britain had seemed like one long antechamber to a room that had too many barriers to entry; here in the USA it seemed to be true that if you dared to give things 'your best shot' then the other much-used phrases like 'land of opportunity' would kick in as well. united-states Christopher Hitchens
fdcb533 Dogma in power does have a unique chilling ingredient not exhibited by power, however ghastly, wielded for its own traditional sake. politics power Christopher Hitchens
16223c7 I was to grow used to hearing, around New York, the annoying way in which people would say: 'Edward Said, such a suave and articulate and witty man,' with the unspoken suffix 'for a Palestinian.' It irritated him, too, naturally enough, but in my private opinion it strengthened him in his determination to an ambassador or spokesman for those who lived in camps or under occupation (or both). He almost overdid the ambassadorial aspect if yo.. bigotry dress edward-said new-york palestinian-national-council palestinians snobbishness Christopher Hitchens
2d66c27 Where questions of religion are concerned, people are guilty of every possible sort of dishonesty and intellectual misdemeanor. Christopher Hitchens
2d8c5b9 M]ost people, most of the time, prefer to seek approval or security. [...] Nonetheless, there are in all periods who feel themselves in some fashion to be apart. And it is not too much to say that humanity is very much in debt to such people, whether it chooses to acknowledge the debt or not. Christopher Hitchens
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