Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins TEXAS FREETHOUGHT CONVENTION

[GypsyLeah]

11:05 I can imagine those three words being Hitchens' last.

[LueTm]

It hurts to see him like this :(

[british123able]

@LueTm sure does,

[richo61]

Brilliant speech. And very moving.

[TimAndJohnnie]

It makes me SO sad to see this awesome man in this condition.

[BlckSbthMan]

Damn, he's actually looking real good with that lost weight.

[kram83au]

''idiotic bliss'', a wonderful summary of the self deceivers

[hitchslap101]

i worry for when hitchens passes away that there will be nobody to fill his shoes.

[clipsryan]

@hitchslap101 Those are some big shoes but Richard is doing great as usually, Matt Dillahunty and the great Aron Ra are also great speakers for rational thought. Thanks to guys like those and especially, Hitchens, all atheists have the tools to destroy theist argument and help the fight for rational thought and the fight against, superstition.

[REALITY2point0]

@hitchslap101 don't worry. I'm on it.

[Yahweigh]

FFS :(

[Paramedicguy]

heartrending :( long live the HITCH

[karablak1]

When was this recorded? Last time I heard anything about him was quite some time ago when he lost his voice.

[Trampadoo]

@karablak1: It was recorded this month. :) He seems to be doing better at the moment.

[nsofast]

I wish there was a place where we could get updates on his health, I find myself thinking about him quite a lot and wondering how he is fairing.

[I85PIES]

Its heartbreaking to see Hitch like this, but his strength of character and determination to carry on shines through. What a great man.

[antibulletdodger101]

@I85PIES yeah, its really too bad. what a great man. you can tell he´s very weak

[GiantSandles]

Christ, (if you'll pardon the expression) Hitchens is almost unrecognizable here.

[TheAtheistSwede]

Man.... he's all but wasting away... =(

[dkinetik]

i hate seeing hitchin`s like this :( .. great man , we need him well , truly !!

[ardendogma]

@HIM0G

A fascinating (albeit undoubtedly grim) experience. It would be most interesting to converse with you on the subject, that is if you are totally okay with that. I can understand one may be reluctant to relive such a harrowing event, especially in your case when you honestly believed your children would have to live without a father.

[meanmark1]

the man apologizes for his cancer......what humility!! (though we all know he is often labeled as being arrogant...)

[1877keeganj]

Yikes. He's not looking so hot. Cancer is a bitch.

[AscendingParadigm]

Harvard Study: Cannabis Cured Cancer in the lab.

Also watch: Run From The Cure: The Rick Simpson's Story.

Extraordinary evidence for the extraordinary claims.

[AscendingParadigm]

Anyone who thinks "there are no atheists in fox holes" knows nothing about Hitch.

[Nasbin]

I love you Hitch

[macgeek2004]

Now, that said and considering ALL of that, I JUST finished the vid. "I'm not gonna quit until I ABSOLUTELY have to." Holy fuck, this must be one of the strongest and greatest people alive (or not). seriously! I mean...WOW! *standing ovation*

[macgeek2004]

I mean, of ALL the people in the world, THOSE two deserved cancer THE LEAST. ESP. Sagan...Well, ok, maybe not Hitchens, lol, I suppose he DID kinda have it coming, what w/his family history, his genetic predisposition and his smoking and drinking -- what he called "burning the candle from both ends" -- but...that doesn't make it any easier/better!

Now, that said and considering ALL of that, I JUST finished the vid. "I'm not gonna quit until I ABSOLUTELY have to." Holy fuck, this must be one of

[macgeek2004]

This REALLY pisses me off and depresses me to no end...I mean, I keep choking up writing this, realizing the gravity of what I'm saying. What REALLY makes me sick, tho, is the realization that...Carl Sagan was taken from us in a similar manner in the early '90's! Just look at the way Sagan looked during _his_ last interview and look at the way Hitchens looks _now_ -- you'll be sick when you realize just how similar their conditions appear!

[macgeek2004]

He has terminal cancer -- he IS going to die...there's no avoiding it, and NO possible way Hitchens can "get better." IT WILL EVENTUALLY KILL HIM. The most we can hope for is a delay of the inevitable -- we will see him continue to get worse and worse over the coming months as the disease starts to take finally him, and gradually withdraw from public life as his condition forces him to. (Which we're already seeing now.)

He may live to see 2012, but I doubt we'll be seeing him come 2013.

[macgeek2004]

So, I hate to be the sober person in the room, but...there is NO "curing" stage IV cancer -- you can't just "fight" it...that's what *makes* it stage IV and separates it from stages I-III. See, stages I-III *can* be fought and cured and is survivable...but by the time it reaches stage IV, it's too late -- there is no going back. A diagnosis of stage IV cancer *is* a TERMINAL diagnosis -- a DEATH SENTENCE -- one of those "you have X months to live," type situations.

[macgeek2004]

Guys, Hitchens has stage IV (that's "stage four") Esophageal Cancer (that's cancer of the esophagus), most likely directly brought out by Hitchens' LONG smoking habit coupled with, and made worse by, his genetic predisposition towards the disease. (It's the EXACT same thing that killed his father.)

[wrongwayup]

Oh dear. It had been quite a while since I saw a recent video of Hitchens... I really am quite shocked to see him this ill. :(

[erbdeen]

with 1% of his ableness he's 99% more able than all else: A true inspiration.

[1stCainite]

Wow. This is a great video, but it is painful, to me, to see Hitchens like this, he is clearly in pain. Yet even through this pain he manages to be eloquent and funny.

My respect for him increases.

[flassk7]

This is painful to watch.

[strangle7]

Hitch wIll beat this. We need him!

[AlvahWatson1]

To be honest, i am just more than happy to hear this man speak one more time. Hitchens even in his time of hurt has a voice that has lifted me since first discovering him.

[oliethefolie]

It is such a shame to see such a hero so ill.

[blurryshiny]

Pray for him..he doesn't have much time left

[MrDezokokotar]

@blurryshiny up yours

[4165mc]

Seeing Hitch like this....I'm bawling my eyes out. Why him of all people. We can't afford to lose someone of his inspirational calibre; the world needs him. Especially now.

[jimchuck99]

@4863440 - You're right about Hitchens' oratorical skill, but telling others to pipe it is just the kind of authoritarian mindset he would be against. Just saying...

[MisterAlexGabriel]

I've never been to the Smithsonian Museum or interned with Lawrence Krauss - but I did briefly share a planet with Christopher Hitchens. That's enough for me.

[kelco93]

@MisterAlexGabriel Nice thought. I remember when I first heard about Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) I thought "I was alive before this great man died" and I felt a great sense of the injustice that the lives of certain people who seem to have earned a right to live on, nevertheless have to come to an end. Also it didn't take me long to feel a sense of betrayal that He was not on our school reading list - the wasted minds that could have been spared.

I feel a change coming on ...

[stjamal11]

@MisterAlexGabriel That was a beautiful comment, seriously.

[logicalthinker101]

It is my most sincere hope and desire that Christopher Hitchens would recover from the infestation that plagues his body. I believe that this man is one of the pioneers of change in our country and our world. As I was taught about great Greek and Roman stoic philosophers, I have no doubt that my offspring will one day be taught about this man. Thank you for being such a powerful influence in the lives of many people. History will remember you as the greatest mind of our time...and so shall I.

[BigMikeMcBastard]

The scandal that would erupt after a scientist who worked on it spilled the beans, that is to say. To emphasize, if you think a researcher gives a shit about some shareholders making more money more than he cares about people he or she knows and cares about dying of a disease they know they can cure, I'd have to disagree. Conspiracies almost always get blown by the people who make it happen becoming disillusioned with the cause. In this case, there wouldn't even be a cause to care about for them

[Mr62ford]

@BigMikeMcBastard Your probably right. Actually your completely right. Good points and thanks for not being a dick about it like most people on you tube. But none the less were does all the research money go?

[BigMikeMcBastard]

@Mr62ford Well, the problem is that "cancer" is a catch-all term to describe an incredibly diverse series of diseases. Not all tumours are created equally, and unfortunately the treatments that are required for one type of cancer will differ compared to another if you're looking for a cure. Or at least, they've yet to find a solution that would be able to reduce the growth of a benign tumour in your brain and also reduce a metastatic tumour in your tibia shedding cancer cells throughout.

[BigMikeMcBastard]

@Mr62ford Otherwise, the money goes towards paying for researcher salaries, equipment, cancer treatment centres and equipment, and other miscellaneous costs. But, again, the money is divided amongst many different types of cancer research. So each year a given type of cancer -- like prostate cancer or breast cancer -- only receives a fraction of the total money being spent on cancer research overall. So it's less money finding a "cure for cancer" than it seems.

[Mr62ford]

I know it sounds a little obserd but I think the pharmaceutical companies are holding back the cure for cancer. Doesn't it seem wierd that humanity hasn't had a cure for a disease since Jonas Salk's vaccine for Polio? Billions spent on research and still no cure, seems wierd.

[BigMikeMcBastard]

@Mr62ford The scandal that would eventually erupt after the scientists who worked on it, or some other people who are just guys who collect a decent paycheck like any other working professional, or the janitor or some other person who happens to find out, would make it not worth it. If it were found that a pharmaceutical company were allowing people to die to make money people would go to jail and the company would be dissolved.

And all it would take is a single anonymous tip.

[TheLuckySaGe]

@Mr62ford it is completely absurd.

[Mr62ford]

I live near Houston and wish I knew about him visiting the area. Where does one find his lecture schedule?Anyone? Even if Hitchens doesn't survive cancer, no one will be able to say he didn't go down swinging.

[dogmachris]

@levonet33

You don't sound much different from a mullah...

[mysql0]

i hate the way hitchens is seeking sympathy looking at the audience with a sad face and distant stare for extra sympathy voice - fck off dude!!!

[dogmachris]

@mysql0

That's the way people look like, when they have terminal cancer, you heartless crackpot...

[yatter1]

@mysql0 May you suffer more than he you disgusting pile of festering puss.

[dogmachris]

Hitch ist an inspiration as always. He makes you just want to go outside, and see the beauty of the world with your own eyes. His very presence enriches everyone who loves to THINK.

If he dies, the world loses a great mind and inspiration.

Mullahs fuckin' come and go, but there's only one Christopher Hitchens, unless we finally stop letting others do the thinking for us, so we better don't let his lifework go to waste.

[LAWAGO]

We would have cured cancer years ago if civilization had not been restrained by myth and dogma for centuries.

This just pisses me off !

[EdwardHowton]

@LAWAGO A nice sentiment, but unless I'm very much mistaken (and since I'm not a creationist it's difficult for me to be wrong by the necessary factor of a trillion), cancer is basically your body's healing process gone haywire. Cell division gets broken and goes wild.

To cure cancer, you'd have to stop people from healing and growing older. Essentially, it'd mean killing them, because once the cells alive in them die out they couldn't be replaced.

But lessening cancer? Sure, yes, that.

[GypsyLeah]

@LAWAGO I hope that, in time, it shall also motivate you.

[MrEPH80]

It saddens me to see Hitch here looking somewhat stricken by the apparent steady progression of his illness but strangely I find myself smiling,... proud & humbled by the brilliant mind of this individual. His unwavering gift for logical statement & intellectual reasoning is as powerful as ever & serves as an example of his genius...this man is a modern legend, a walking individual reniassance of condensed reason & thought. Get well Hitchens.

[petelovesrat]

damn, hitchens looks like he is about 35.. kinda reseblmes vin diesel in this video as well. what an honor for vin diesel

[leffehoegaarden]

I did cry.

[leffehoegaarden]

I could just cry.

[alphacause]

This man is more eloquent and vibrant, fighting a terminal illness, than most people are when they are young and perfectly healthy. No greater justification is there, to find a cure for cancer, than to save such prodigious talented people like Hitchens, so they can grace us with their thoughts and better our world because of the expression of their ideas.

[zivaray]

Even though Christopher has cancer, I think he looks quite good at his size now. How I so love him dearly. He has changed my entire belief system. I can watch his youtube vidz all day long. LOVE U HitCH!

[ElectricSexPants]

Hitchens is a pundit. Why does everyone describe him as if he's the pope of rationality. Dawkins is impressive, so is Dan Dennett. Hitchens, like Fukuyama has become famous for being wrong about something (iraq) and not apologizing. It's a terrible precedent really.

[hagenttzd]

@ElectricSexPants

I disagree slightly in that pundits are usually really poorly educated. this is not the case with CH. also, could you elaborate on exactly what it is about iraq that he was wrong about and what it is that he should apologize for?

[MoriyaMug]

@ElectricSexPants He has no reason to apologize; his primary motivation in supporting the Iraq war was to remove Saddam Hussein from power, because he had borne personal witness to the atrocities that Saddam had inflicted upon the Iraqi people. Regardless of anything else, that was vindication enough, for him. Agree or disagree, them's the facts.

And he's not wrong about religion. At all.

[4863440]

@ElectricSexPants

pipe it, kid. even in the depths of stage 4 cancer, hitchens would absolutely murder you in an argument on the iraq war. it wouldn't even be an argument, it would just be one of his famous tongue lashings. this is why he is world renowned, why we're watching a video of him, and you are posting short anonymous youtube comments under the name electric sex pants. show some goddamned respect.

[petelovesrat]

@4863440 god damn right

[instereovideos]

@4863440 Thanks for that. I couldn't have said it better.

[beaprod]

@4863440 Fuck yeah

[TheVofR]

@4863440

You have good intentions, but are off base. Hitchens is a very skilled debater and author. But he is not infallible. He has been wrong at some point, it's a consequence of being human. Part of critical thinking is remembering arguments stand on their own. You respect hitchens, and for good reason, but you should be willing to listen to those you don't respect as well. Also illness or death is not a reason to stop being critical of someone, Hitchens himself believes this.

[SupersonicUK]

@4863440 'amen' to that 

[evenayr]

Comrade. Pure epistomological honesty.

[ThomasCarson1982]

The most devastatingly honest and rational public figure of our generation. We're all born to die eventually but Hitchens can take solace in the fact he helped to open the eyes of so many people, raising our consciousness and reminding us that, as well as logic and reason, we need humour.

[un2mensch]

Fucking brilliant oration

[comanchio1976]

@un2mensch The talking wasnt have bad either

[Jallandhara]

He's losing more weight.... sigh.