Funny zinger by Hitchens: "Is it good for the world to consider women as an inferior form, as all religions do?"

I don't know how Blair answered and I wonder what the response would be if a woman was the pro-faith debater and had to respond and rebut.

I really find it disappointing that an otherwise intelligent person like Blair could be so blind when the subject is religion. Especially Catholisism, which has the most depraved and murderous history.

I am sad that Hitchens's days are numbered. . . I loved when he said religion set up a "celestial dictatorship, a divine North Korea. . ."

I'd like to think a Canadian Fox News wouldn't fly here, as the fear mongering "scare news" isn't seen in Canada, at least on our national channels. Hopefully, Fox North *and* Harper will have an equally short tenure.

Defunding transit and pushing a massive investment in highways? Gosh, I thought they were talking about Seattle City Council and Governor Gregoire for a moment.

I watched Mr. Hitchens debate Rabbi Wolpe at my college a while back. Hitchens won intellectually, hands down. But Wolpe was more compelling emotionally. I concluded that religion's merit is entirely emotional, and that it is without intellectual justification. Since that time I have developed a new philosophy - a philosophy of defiance. We are mortal. The Earth is mortal. The stars are mortal, and the universe itself may be mortal. In that mortality, we all share a common kinship. Let us revel in, and celebrate, that unity, even as we seek to defy it in what little time we have: live, though we will die; love, though all we love will die; and create, though everything we create will die. If the universe is immortal, as the linked article at the bottom seems to suggest, then we have a measure of immortality after all: the fact that we are part of an immortal universe. We cannot be separated from the whole which we belong to, and that much is eternal.

what about that 'downtown club' incident that the pi is barely reporting. What happened there?

Glad to see that Mr Hitchens is still out fighting the good fight.

Fireplace damper, my ass. There is NEVER a good technique for indoor charcoal cooking. DON'T DO IT.

@9 But when you have dozens living in your home, there just isn't room on the stove.

@7: I was curious about the same thing. Seems like something the Stranger would totally be all over. But not any mention of it here.

From 911 info though, it looks like it was at or very close to Studio Seven. (Map and info about the place at http://www.yelp.com/biz/studio-seven-sea… )

@5, very smooth.

Re: cyclical universe. Big Duh! It's only the monotheists who posit a "one-time-through" model of existence. Hindus, Buddhists, and every stoner ever born are perfectly aware of the infinitely regenerating nature of reality.

Fnarf is correct. There is never a smart solution to indoor cooking that doesn't involve the stove, unless your home is designed for it.

@11 : thanks

#15, I like this tweet:

"A fight broke out last night at the Studio Seven club in Seattle last night. The club's Four Square mayor was not available for comment."

http://twitter.com/WheezingGeek/statuses…

I keep telling you: it's not "Fox News," it's "Fucks Gnus," reminding us that this is what its newscasters like to do, and Murdoch's favorite pastime when he's on "safari."

Hitchens made callous, irritating mistakes. He was bored. He chose to get hawkish. I loved it when he coincidentally argued my side on something, but he was not reliable though he could have been.

@5 and @9 are both correct.

Which, technically, is one of the precursors to the Apocalypse ...