Christopher and Peter Hitchens on The Abolition of Britain (1999)

[324wilson]

I must say that Hitch didn't do well on this debate.

[benehan]

"fuck off!" :D

[Riiye]

Not nit picking, but at 24:50 Christopher says "you haven't made me proud to be British, I've been proud to be English all along". I have noticed this trend with Hitch, through his outright insult to Northern Ireland while apparently supporting their plight for a united Ireland, to his admission that he hates Yorkshire and others. He seems, bizarrely, to have quite a little Englanders attitude towards the other nations in the UK. Anyone else notice this?

[324wilson]

@Riiye Absolutely! That's where I disagree with Christopher. There can be little or no doubt that Christopher had a "Little Englander" attitude! It would have been quite interesting to see his views on the coming Scottish referendum.

[Riiye]

@324wilson Glad I'm not the only one to notice. Got any other examples? The direct insult to Northern Ireland was by far the worst and I have never seen a man conduct himself in such a conceited, snobbish manner as I did when he gave that portion of the speech.

[Clivepom]

'I don't understand it, you vote for the destruction of the things you love.' ...if I could say one thing to Britain....

[Clivepom]

Billy Bragg should have been removed. Pathetically incoherent.

[AeolisticFury]

Even though I disagree with Peter's views and Christopher is and always will be awesome, I think Peter was the better speaker here.

[tomthefunky]

I didn't know Chris supported the EU. It's collapsing as I write this.

[Bastiat90]

He wasn't a besotted supporter... as he explains in his magnificent book Hitch 22, he identified as a citizen of the European Union because it fitted with his self description as an internationalist.

[tomthefunky]

@Bastiat90 Chris wanted a European Union like every other European Lefty because that was the way (they thought) they could compete with America. Admit it, Bastiat90.

[Bastiat90]

Hitchens became an American citizen, so you cannot ascribe such motivations to him.

[TheIkaraCult]

I must say Peters rant at the end was pretty epic

[Fleshious]

- There is a European parliament.

The best joke ever.

[AngloSoviet]

This is brilliant, and a great snapshot of the early Blair/Hague years. Well worth watching all the way through.

[1GodOnlyOne]

Hitchens is dead -- long live Hitchens!

[ec123456789able]

Peter Hitchens seems like a typical foaming at the mouth conservative.

[Bastiat90]

Have you ever seen a conservative foam at the mouth, or are you just repeating the bullshit of your leftist influences?

[ec123456789able]

@Bastiat90 I have family who are foaming at the mouth upper class tories, so yes.

I would say I am somewhat in the centre perhaps veering to the left, but I don't class myself as a socialist or a leftist.

I am definitely an open minded liberal person though. liberalism is prgressive. conservativism is backward and repressive.

It seems to me like conservative Christians simply don't like change. I myself am against the EU. but think progress and globalization are good things.

[ec123456789able]

@Bastiat90 I have family who are foaming at the mouth upper class tories, so yes.

I would say I am somewhat in the centre perhaps veering to the left, but I don't class myself as a socialist or a leftist.

I am definitely an open minded liberal person though. liberalism is prgressive. conservativism is backward and repressive.

It seems to me like conservative Christians simply don't like change. I myself am against the EU. but think progress and globalization are good things.

[Bastiat90]

You say you're open minded but then say conservatives foam at the mouth? Does irony not occur to you?

[ec123456789able]

@Bastiat90 I don't see the irony, I am an open minded person to anything, even open minded to close mindedness, however since I am open minded and understand close mindedness I am not close minded myself and don't like close mindedness. I am always open to different ways of thinking, however since I understand these ways of thinking (for example, the conservative's anxiety to change and progress) I don't embrace all ways of thinking after I have thought about them and considered them.

[TheMatthewfortuna]

Riiye go read his many novels on subjects besides god & religion. I think you would be humbled to realize how wrong & foolish your comment is. His books on Thomas Jefferson, George Orwell, mother theresa, Bill Clinton, and Henry Kissinger are absolutely wonderful, like bukowski poetry a fine wine.

[Riiye]

Good to see ChrisHitch debating something other than religion, he's very intelligent and it's so boring to see him talking about atheism all the time. Sadly to say, he's not so good when it's a topic other than "God doesn't exist".

[retonete]

Only hitchens can beat hitchens LOL!!!!!!!!!!!

[alexwank]

they're not hissing peter you morons... they're hissing derek draper.

[manco82]

Chris Hitchens is a godless heathen!

[adcashmo]

@manco82 I'm a godly heathen.

[rmstew]

Top drawer of Christopher telling the crowd to f-off when they started hissing Peter.

[gcwjohn]

Billy Bragg made a bit of a fool of himself. Rambled on and then (from nowhere)

[JBMontgomery87]

Amazing how much Peter Hitchens's public speaking has improved since then.

[godno1god]

Its sweat when Christopher sticks up for his younger brother on 1.09. Peter looks at his brother with love.

[HBCjunke]

im a liberal here in the usa but i could easily support the conservatives in the u.k, at least there conservative mps i know of arent the foaming at the mouth religous zelots like we have with conservatives in the u.s.

[TolpuddleMartyr]

@HBCjunke In the words of Alistair Campbell: 'We don't do God'.

[gropingwithastoker]

And up jumped Billy Bragg! With Peter pretending not to understand him, of course. Christopher and Billy are both interviewed in the new Phil Ochs documentary.

[Nizlopi2]

OH BILLY BRAGG. 

[cruithneuladh]

Donegal is in the province of Ulster/Uladh/Ulidia

Next question please (is it a starter for ten?).

[cruithneuladh]

Gosh, such an impartial introduction from the chairman, John Humphries.

Who said the BBC was biased?

Disgraceful!

[edj66]

@cruithneuladh You'll notice of course that it's not being broadcast on the BBC?

[nbachmann]

They were hissing at Derek Draper, who was the British Equivalent of Jack Abrahmov, or at least he claimed to be while talking to an undercover reporter in 1998. He left England for a while after the story came out.

[terrybahoon]

... and Rushdie too. They've all turned up to see their pal.

[RATM4LYFE]

Wonderful discussion. Thanks.

[0candle0]

is that ian mcewan in the green at 1.03.00?

[LeBigMacDaddy]

I think Peter got the best of that one. Don't usually take to conservative types but I like his honesty

[LeBigMacDaddy]

He was rankled by the hissing noises that came from the audience when the moderator informed them of the questioners name. Not sure why they were hissing, can only assume they thought it was an old pals act because Peter seeemed to know the guy

[Bastardozer]

what happened at an hour and nine minutes in? what was hitch scoffing at?

[padraic2001eire]

The person at 1:19:03 needs to answer one simple question. The island of Ireland has four provinces: Connaught, Munster, Leinster and Ulster. Galway is in Connaught. Cork is in Munster. Dublin is in Leinster.

What province is Donegal in?

[antihostile]

1:24:00....it's Billy Bragg!

[F33bs]

Glad this was finally uploaded. I saw it on CSPAN's website and thought it would have been great to see on YouTube.