Christopher Hitchens loses battle with cancer, aged 62

Hitchens Finally lost his battle with cancer yesterday,

His charm, his way with words and his brilliant contentiousness have all been well cataloged, but Christopher Hitchens’s key quality was his ability to make common cause with the oppressed wherever he found them.

The Best of the Hitchslap




RIP Hitch



Some of his quotes


“What I used to say to people, when I was much more engagé myself, is that you can't be apolitical. It will come and get you. It's not that you shouldn't be neutral. It's that you won't be able to stay neutral.”




“Take the risk of thinking for yourself, much more happiness, truth, beauty, and wisdom will come to you that way.”




“The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks.”




“Thus, though I dislike to differ with such a great man, Voltaire was simply ludicrous when he said that if god did not exist it would be necessary to invent him. The human invention of god is the problem to begin with.”




"The Bible may, indeed does, contain a warrant for trafficking in humans, for ethnic cleansing, for slavery, for bride-price, and for indiscriminate massacre, but we are not bound by any of it because it was put together by crude, uncultured human mammals."




“Religion is man-made. Even the men who made it cannot agree on what their prophets or redeemers or gurus actually said or did.”




“Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are god. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are gods.”

Just a beautiful, truthful and powerful video....




Amazing debate




Hitchens Destroys Blair

Thanks for the videos.

RIP Mr. Hitchens... You will be remembered fondly...

sad news

I'm not sure what to say this morning - I knew this was coming, but I wasn't prepared to actually hear the news

a uniquely perceptive and honest man - fearless in a way most people don't even understand

the pen really is mightier than the sword

I'll miss him

Great analogy from Hitch