R.I.P. Christopher Hitchens., page 1

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posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 06:36 AM

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Christopher Hitchens has lost his battle with Cancer.

He died Thursday evening 15 Dec in the company of his loved ones and friends.

If you loved him or loathed him, it would be impossible to deny that he was a great writer of our time, some would say the best writer of our time.

Never one to shy away from controversy or subjects deemed unsuitable for public consumption, he will be remembered with some affection by this member.

So long Chris, R.I.P.

Cosmic..

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edit on 16-12-2011 by Cosmic4life because: correction

Swizzy

posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 06:46 AM

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I will never forget the Intelligence Squared debate he did alongside Stephen Fry, they bulldozed that debate together.

A phenomenal mind was lost today.

isyeye

posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 06:47 AM

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R.I.P.

Another great mind lost to cancer.

CBS News

(AP) WASHINGTON - Christopher Hitchens, the author, essayist and polemicist who waged verbal and occasional physical battle on behalf of causes left and right and wrote the provocative best-seller "God is Not Great," died Thursday night after a long battle with cancer. He was 62.

Hitchens death was announced in a statement from Vanity Fair magazine. The statement says he died Thursday night at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston of pneumonia, a complication of his esophageal cancer.

BBC News

Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter described the writer as someone "of ferocious intellect, who was as vibrant on the page as he was at the bar".

"Those who read him felt they knew him, and those who knew him were profoundly fortunate souls."

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DJW001

posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 06:55 AM

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"The rest is silence."

nthelight

posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 07:24 AM

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“The only position that leaves me with no cognitive dissonance is atheism. It is not a creed. Death is certain, replacing both the siren-song of Paradise and the dread of Hell. Life on this earth, with all its mystery and beauty and pain, is then to be lived far more intensely: we stumble and get up, we are sad, confident, insecure, feel loneliness and joy and love. There is nothing more; but I want nothing more.”
― Christopher Hitchens,

blupblup

posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 07:30 AM

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reply to post by Cosmic4life

Posted this this morning too

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Cosmic4life

posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 07:43 AM

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reply to post by blupblup

Strange, i did a search before posting and there was nothing there for today or his departure from this mortal coil.

Really i'm surprised there aren't loads of threads about Hitch's demise, he was about as controversial as is possible to be in this world of political correctness.

Freedom of speech..just watch what you say !!

Cosmic..

blupblup

posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 07:47 AM

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reply to post by Cosmic4life

I know man, you would have thought plenty of people would be talking about it.
Oh well.. his legend will live on.

Peace

Astyanax

posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 08:15 AM

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reply to post by Cosmic4life

I’m not so surprised. Christopher Hitchens stood for secularism, for rational, empirical inquiry as the only reliable basis of knowledge, for social justice, social-democratic liberalism and the glory of the English language. He despised hypocrisy, irrationality and cant.

A few of us here will mourn his passing. I certainly do. But frankly, he was too much of a scoffer to ever appeal to the greater membership of ATS. We are an army of the credulous here, by and large, and we hate to have our beliefs subjected to the kind of searching, critical, taboo-busting investigation for which the Hitch was so justly famed.

SavedOne

posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 08:18 AM

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Originally posted by blupblup
I know man, you would have thought plenty of people would be talking about it.

To paraphrase an old saying- if you want to see how much you'll be missed when you're gone then stick your hand in a pail of water. When you remove it, the void left behind is the void you'll leave in this world. You can leave your hand still while it's in the water, or you can swish it around violently. But when you remove it, that's how much you'll be missed. I doubt there are many tears being shed over Hitchen's departure.

Cosmic4life

posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 08:24 AM

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reply to post by Astyanax

I know what you mean..

..i was and still am awaiting the torrent of hate to spew forth from the religious zealots who frequent ATS with their mindless belief systems.

Cosmic..

blupblup

posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 08:34 AM

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Originally posted by SavedOne

Originally posted by blupblup
I know man, you would have thought plenty of people would be talking about it.

To paraphrase an old saying- if you want to see how much you'll be missed when you're gone then stick your hand in a pail of water. When you remove it, the void left behind is the void you'll leave in this world. You can leave your hand still while it's in the water, or you can swish it around violently. But when you remove it, that's how much you'll be missed. I doubt there are many tears being shed over Hitchen's departure.

I didn't say how much he'd be missed, I said people talking about it.....he was a controversial figure and I was just meaning that his death may have sparked debate, and I mean debate... not nasty, petulant little comments like yours.

JessopJessopJessop

posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 09:51 AM

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A great shame that this is not 50 pages deep. The man had a monster wit and was constantly analysing and evolving his own beliefs, something lesser men are unable to attempt.

Good bye to an intellectual heavyweight - I'll put some Whiskey on today's shopping list in honour of the man

Cosmic4life

posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 10:12 AM

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I hear Hitch did a final interview with Richard Dawkins on Dec13 i hope it gets released as a Video soon..

...until then..

Cosmic..

edit on 16-12-2011 by Cosmic4life because: (no reason given)

edit on 16-12-2011 by Cosmic4life because: Some vid troubles...sorted.

CranialSponge

posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 10:19 AM

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I for one will miss his fantastic tongue-lashing debates. I was probably one of the first people standing in line to buy his infamous book "God is Not Great"... a say-it-like-it-is novel that rocked the dogmatic world like no other.

He was never one to back down from speaking his mind... and a great mind it was indeed.

*raises glass to toast in memory of an honourable soul*

R.I.P. Hitch - you had a great run my friend

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'Wow, what a ride!'"

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Hootsmanwheresmaheid

posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 10:23 AM

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reply to post by Cosmic4life

I wonder what this Atheist is thinking now he's in spirit, moron!

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Cosmic4life

posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 10:26 AM

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That's a great quote Cranial Sponge.

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'Wow, what a ride!'"

Surely that has to be the best epitaph ever, fired out of the womb and crashed into the grave.

Cosmic..
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CranialSponge

posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 10:29 AM
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Originally posted by Cosmic4life

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'Wow, what a ride!'"

Surely that has to be the best epitaph ever, fired out of the womb and crashed into the grave.

Cosmic..

I know, it's a great one... and it suits The Hitch perfectly like a glove.

Cosmic4life

posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 10:32 AM
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Originally posted by Hootsmanwheresmaheid
reply to post by Cosmic4life

I wonder what this Atheist is thinking now he's in spirit, moron!
edit on 16-12-2011 by Hootsmanwheresmaheid because: (no reason given)

Wow your a nice person aren't you..

You could at least have some respect for the dead.

Maybe you would like to prove the existence of the spirit before you spew your hate.

So..what denomination of the blind are you ??

Cosmic..

dbates

posted on Dec, 16 2011 @ 10:34 AM
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reply to post by SavedOne

That's a bit too cynical for even myself. Sure he was an antitheist (Hitchens would be proud I called him that and not an athiest) but to pretend he was a terrible person and nothing exceptional would be a farce. It's not as if he was Mohammed Atta or someone sinister. He was quite an intellect even if it was to his own detriment. I'm sure his family and those that he inspired will remember him with great fondness.

The title of this thread however is disingenuous because it's implying something that Hitchens argued against constantly. Hitchens would have scoffed at the the idea of him resting in peace. The irony isn't lost on me.
edit on 12/16/2011 by dbates because: (no reason given)