Christopher Hitchens on George Orwell (2/7)

[z3rsk1]

@cnestudy1 No.

[TheoJbird]

thanks for the upload- very interesting. Only thing i disagree with Hitchens on here is what he said about the Nazi-Soviet pact- according to historian Paul Doerr there were lots of rumours after Munich about a possible rapprochement between the two powers, but that these were not groundedi in truth. Indeed many historians argue that Stalin was still hopeful of an allied bloc against Germany as late as august 1939.

[umbrellaman75]

Pat Tillman. Not Ben. Only time i've ever heard Hitchens make a mistake.

[xn117]

@umbrellaman75 It is just his first name. He has made mistakes before (rare).

[diceyLee]

i wonder if as a interviewer, one just gets nervous and freaks out when sitting across from Hitchens...

[benthejrporter]

@diceyLee I think I would. If I ever met Hitchens I would simply avoid all talk of politics. Even if I had the information to prove him wrong I'd know that I do not have the debating skills. Nobody does!

[joeoglinda]

I love listening to the brilliant Hitchens, but it's plain wrong that Stalin didn't know Hitler would attack. You can pick up any historybook today, from his fellom british historians Kershaw or Beevor among others, and learn that Stalin tried to buy time with his defensive attitude regarding Hitler. Stalin was very much aware of the massive propaganda, that had been circulating for years, about the "lebensraum" Hitler planned in the east.

[david552]

I think what he meant was that Stalin wasn't expecting the attack when it came - Stalin knew that Hitler was aiming to attack the Soviet Union at some point, but thought that his pact was holding until the day the attack came.

[joeoglinda]

That sounds more right, absolutely, I might have misunderstood him.

[jwill5587]

@david552 You're correct. Stalin thought Hitler would finish off Britain first, which would've given him time to develop more artillery and train a new officer corps.

[bodnotbod]

The interviewer said that he couldn't see any modern day intellectuals risking their lives.

But some have opposed Islamic extremism, which very definitely puts their own lives in danger.

[ufo5147]

@bodnotbod perhaps true ... but it's worth noting that right-wing militia groups, and frequency of domestic terrorism far outweighs that of Muslims, and while the extreme right wing also is the dominant, perhaps de facto unilateral political power .. The Young Turks did a segment on it the other day

[Morclaw]

@bodnotbod Although I have a great respect for Sir Salman Rushdie. Here I think you are wrong, at least when it comes to The Satanic Verses. Rushdie never saw it comming. He thought there would be some muslims oposed to him but never anticipated the Fatwa.

[karangmail15]

@Morclaw After the Fatwa, writers like Christopher Hitchens, Susan Sontag and others did risk their lives by declaring that they showing solidarity with Rushdie.

[z3rsk1]

@karangmail15 True. Comparing such support to soldiering in the Spanish Civil War is a bit of a stretch, though.