Christopher Hitchens on Charlie Rose 28-Apr-99 (Part 1)

[folkhippy]

Charlie Rose is one of the worst interviewers I have ever seen in the chair. This interview is a great example of the disorganized, bumbling commentary that he regularly adds to his program. 

[MrAnthonyVance]

Dear Charlie ... let HIM SPEAK. Jesus!

[jimmbo13]

Any one here who admires both Hitchens and Clinton? I wasnt sure what to do...

[zackhanscom]

@jimmbo13 hitchens is easy to understand, but what exactly is admirable about clinton?

[firestartertwistedfi]

Anyone asks you what you think about Clinton, just quote the following: "Anyway, here's what he did to get out of it. ... He flew down to Arkansas to personally supervise the execution of a lobotomised black defendant.. who couldn't even understand the charges against him. He'd blown his brain away" There's no comeback to that.

[oxykotor]

Why would they invoke the copyrights to pull an interview with Charlie Rose off Youtube? Give me a break.

[flymogram]

Charlie supposed to be the interviewer, so he should actually let him speak. Christopher has changed his tune over Blair, on question time in 2007 he said he WAS a great admimrer of Blair.

[Lanark8]

Hitchens really loves to sell books... lol. Money money money.

[padraic2001eire]

And?

[Lanark8]

think about it... :s.

[brandonihidalgo892]

dude, Charlie is fucking irritating. Can't he just let someone finish a sentence without interrupting? Jeez.

[gulshabbo]

@brandonihidalgo892 You are right. Charlie Rose should have just shut the hell up and let Christopher Hitchens speak. Hitchens, by the way, was really cool back then.

[zigzagbigbag]

I really have to disagree with Hitchens on the point of Ricky Ray Rector. Who cares of Rector's state after the fact, he deserved to die for what he did.He was a coward and obvious psychopath who destoyed the lives of four people. Why should tax payers pay anymore money to house this guy. I would have had him executed too if I were in the position of Clinton.

[jp2007ms]

Despite being a great fan of Hitchens, I have to disagree with him here. He seems to be drawing conclusions - relationship between sex and death, appealing to the racist subconscious etc. Several experts decided that it was OK to execute Rector. While I think the execution was a political move on Clinton's behalf to try and appear tough so he wouldn't be made to look like Dukakis and the Willie Horton incident, Hitchens is treating him with a different standard as compared to other politicians.

[mongobobo]

does anyone think of charlie rose as a great intellect?

[jorgemacafura]

Like most English sociological/philo. intellectuals, Hitchens is an ex-Trotskyist. That's where he gets most of his anti-theis ideology from. But he brilliantly redeamed and released himself from Marxism with age and experience, and nowadays is one of the sanest CENTRISTS I know. He is liberal in some matters, and conservative in others. Props to him!

[NefeshChaim]

I don't think he's betrayed The Trostky left rather the Trotskyist left abandoned him. Leftism is more then just economic theories.

[BoozyBeggar]

Damnit, come back over to the left side, Hitch.

[JACKtheRIPP3R189]

He never left the left. He supports the war and certain conservative elements because so much of the left wing has become over-apologetic for terrorists and thugs. Hitch is oldschool left.

[miauwww]

A intellectual is also a human so like some of them they reacted not on facts but on emotion after the 9-11 attacks. Hitchens obviously did not recover from that and still hasn't. For someone who knows so much about the middle east and the diversities and the layers of problems concerning that region,he has made a very thoughtless and primitive decision by supporting the war.

[bears132]

No, you have it backwards. The left needs to return to Hitchens. The left turned mediocre, not Hitchens

[BoozyBeggar]

If by "left" you mean "what passes for left in America", then no. Hitch is just right of that bland, tofu-like bullshit. That would mean the democrats would have to become even more conservative than they already are. Chris used to be a socialist, now he's a *gulp* NEOCON! Blech, just typing the word puts a foul taste in my mouth.

And I would never say Hitch is mediocre, no matter his stance on a given political subject.

[charlesvan13]

The word "neocon" on the internet has no meaning whatsoever. If anything it just means "hawk who psedo-leftist adolescents dont like".

[BoozyBeggar]

WOO-HA, you just left out the "u" in "pseudo", which means I win by default.

[gtalcstories]

totally agree. Though most of these morons who use the word neocon as a derogatory word also claim that neocons are gun toting members of the religious right. Their logic seems to me to be that the word neo means extreme and hence neo con must mean extreme american conservative.

[LiBlub1]

@gtalcstories It means new, as in neo-nazi.

[gtalcstories]

@LiBlub1

i know what neo means. My point is that those who use the term neocon to attack anyone they dont like dont know what it means. they reffer to the most extreme and reactionary members of the right as neocons and ive even heard them suggest that the far left are therefore neoliberals (ignorant of the fact that neoliberalism was the ideology of the right- Reagan and Thatcher)

So im guessing that they think the neo must mean extreme cos how else do you call someone like Limbaugh a neocon.

[Freshhhhh1982]

I agree with you completely. It has been hijacked by conspiracy theorists, idiots, frauds and bleeding hearts. Instead of standing up for what is right, the left of today just assumes the opposite position of the right wing.

[poossum12345]

I love hitchens, and he has finally got over the socialism phase and is now in the centre

[port27420]

you spelled center wrong you limy

[PXR05]

Nope..that`s how you spell "centre"...it`s called English. We can accept your shoddy use of the language, but not criticism of it`s CORRECT use!

Oh, and that`s limey, not "limy"...can`t even spell American words, can you?!

[Rainyfield]

Well they are both correct. "Centre" is definitely correct, but so is "center." I don't think you should criticize American spelling of "center" as shoddy. Languages evolve and change. :) And we are all the richer for it :D

[gg4465a]

If only to point out the striking irony here, you've used "it's" here when you really meant "its". "It's" is a contraction of "it is". "Its" indicates possession (as in the phrase, "its correct use".)

Although I'm an avowed anglophile, I would caution you to tread carefully when generalizing about wide swaths of American culture. It's one of the most diverse nations on the planet, not only in race and culture but also in intellectual abilities. But I agree, "port" is an idiot.

[LiBlub1]

@gg4465a HaHaHaHaHa.

Love seeing these idiots coming on here, posing intellectually but then gets 'pwnd' so viciously.

[2timmy4u]

Port, people do not take grammar advice from people who do not have the basic capability to capitalize letters and add proper punctuations.

[gg4465a]

Also, it's criminal that no one is calling you out on this. Hitchens is an outspoken advocate of socialist institutions, as well he should be. Because they work.

We have plenty of socialist institutions here in America, and I'm willing to bet my credibility that you've benefited from them. They include: police, firefighters, public schools, water and electric utilities, Social Security, and the FDIC.

But you're right, the police are just socialists and we should hate them.

[macflyfilm]

I wouldn't agree with Hitchens on most things I'd bet, but his take on Clinton [Bill] intrigues me cause I always felt there was something disingenuous about Bill. Not counting any Lewinsky stuff, I never trusted him.

[TomPiltoff]

I think calling Bill Clinton disingenuous is quite an understatement.

[historywillabsolve]

respect the hitch!

[jumbowhite]

I don't get Charlie Rose where I currently live.

:-(

[TheBannedAtheist]

Pathetic. Look up Godwin's Law.

[PhillyDickinson]

Yep, it's amusing to observe how many youtube comments descend into Nazi comparisons.

[jumbowhite]

So true.

[gr0mithtimon]

its a law in any internet discussion, that before reaching a hundred comments some1 will make a nazi comparison!

[SuperLemonchipchip]

How dare you you total nazi!

[conflagrated]

i am a huge fan of christopher hitchens, thank you for posting thise fantastic interview!

[machineinindia]

You falsify much concerning history, and on the matter of rhetoric, you emulate much in the way of Star Wars.

[machineinindia]

Yes, the minimum wage tour-guides at Monticello must have a commanding knowledge of history. You aren't the only member of this dialogue to have been to such places; only one of us can cite a historical account for proof.

[machineinindia]

Read "Thomas Jefferson: Author of America," or perhaps any book about him, then make some of your convenient theological claims.

[machineinindia]

Quite correct, or at least if one disregards your use of plurality. I have opportunity to enlighten at least one "You-Tuber," which is of the history of Thomas Jefferson. He cut from the bible everything that is fanciful and ridiculous; you can still get a copy of the Jefferson bible from your local Unitarians. He was a Deist, which was as close as one got to atheism before Darwin.

[eamonncake]

No it isn't. Atheism has been around long before deism. An atheist believes the universe happened by action, a deist believes in an intelligent driving force (God) and most of us believe in life after death, universal standards of morality and are open to the paranormal. It is nothing like atheism. Both groups oppose religion but so do all intelligent people.

[TheBannedAtheist]

Of course "atheism was here first"! My pet cat is an atheist.

Atheism doesn't signify anything more than a non-belief. It is redundant. Like afairist or aThorist. Labels that signify a belief carry information, labels that signify a non-belief don't.

[machineinindia]

...what? Are you completely ignorant of the Jefferson Bible?

[jgmcgill]

Am I the only one who thinks Charlie Rose is disgusting in this interview. Defending Clinton?? Yuck. Hitchens is a master and argues as he does today about religion.

[Siriaan]

A good interviewer gives noone a free pass. On the other hand, Charlie is pretty liberal. :)

These two are perfect foils for each other.

[OneBigRetard]

MORE HITCH VIDS PLEASE. BerkelyGuy = Top man.

I once slept with a Berkely Girl. Don't let that put you off though.

[12Zwolf]

Thank you for the Christopher Hitchens' video views, because his work keeps improving everyday, and he is the only immigrant, now U.S. citizen, that actually works for a living.

Valkyrie Ziege Mourne

[Tesselator]

Yeah this is back before Christopher Hitchens drank his brains out. Back when he knew what he was saying. Watching Chris these days in the 2000's is like watching a sad (stoned) reflection of what once was a smart person.

[Chomskyno1]

Fully agree with your points. I think they are highlighted by the contrast of his stances on the two Gulf wars.

[nemetem7]

There is absolutely no difference in the quality of his writing and speaking now and then, or in the precision of his reasoning. The only difference lies in that now, he uses his talents for a cause that you don't like. This is obviously a pitiful attempt on your part to grapple with the disturbing fact that such an eminent intellectual has a view opposite to yours on Iraq - and has the travel, the learning, and the knowledge of the region's history to substantiate it. Ouch, that must hurt.

[Tesselator]

I think you must believe that. It isn't the case however. He looks, acts, and sounds like a drunkard! He now stutters, stumbles over his words, gets angry when others disagree, repeats himself over and over saying childish things like "you are! you are! you are!" in debates, and is starting recently to get a lot of known historical facts wrong.

I wish it weren't the case - I liked him b4 even what I didn't agree!

But he's screwed himself on Bourbon and even admits it.

[nemetem7]

I'll agree with you when I see any of the things you have listed. I see him on tv all the time.

He admits that he's "screwed himself on Bourbon" - where? when?

I'm sure some random Youtuber is privy to Hitchens' comparative drinking levels pre- and post- millenium.

[Jackinthehizzle]

I think you need to watch his free speech debate in Canada before making that remark. It's one of the best, most convincing arguments I've ever heard.

"Once a smart person." Please.

[Tesselator]

Is there a link to it?

[Jackinthehizzle]

Just type "Christopher Hitchens" and "free speech" into the Youtube search engine. It's from 2006.

[Tesselator]

Ooo, you're right! This is pretty good! Thanks!

[tabber87]

Fabulous collection of Hitchens clips. Thanks very much.

[sa2572]

Brilliant, thanks.