Attack in Beirut |
by Gina Dalfonzo |
Journalist and author Christopher Hitchens was attacked by members of the Syrian Nazi party while on a trip to Beirut. Blogger "Ace" from Ace of Spades HQ, who was on the trip with Hitchens, has details. The story contains frequent profanity -- including what Hitchens wrote on one of the party's posters that sparked the attack.
Better account here - http://exiledonline.com/christopher-blubber-jaw-hitchens-picks-a-three-against-one-fight-with-a-syrian-nerd-and-still-gets-his-ass-stomped/
There's some kind of neocon bully lesson in here somewhere...
Posted by: rbk | February 19, 2009 at 12:29 PM
Rbk, Mr. Ames links to the exact same source that I did.
And are you seriously arguing that defacing a swastika poster is a bad thing? Because while I might not write the same words, I confess to admiring the sentiment.
Posted by: Gina Dalfonzo | February 19, 2009 at 02:01 PM
Poetic justice for a pompous loudmouth.
Posted by: rbk | February 22, 2009 at 03:27 PM
Of course he's a pompous loudmouth. But being a pompous loudmouth has different consequenses in Beiruit. Which means his pomous loudness can be looked at differently.
Posted by: Jason Taylor | February 22, 2009 at 04:49 PM
It will be interesting to see if Mr. Hitchens will attribute this attack to Islam (since it occurred in a Muslim country), paganism (since the Nazi movement is based on that), or something else religious, since as he has said, "religion poisons everything".
I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that he *won't* attribute it to his own atheism. That would open the door to critiquing his own beliefs, which would cause his book sales to drop.
Posted by: LeeQuod | February 22, 2009 at 06:02 PM
Of course he will attribute it to his own atheism. He will claim to be a victim of persecution. And in this particular case he won't be so far from the truth. He did go looking for trouble, so persecution isn't the right word. But he at least did that with people who were prepared to give trouble.
Posted by: Jason Taylor | February 22, 2009 at 08:17 PM
I'll say this,
I would hope more people would stand up for what's right, against bullies like these Nazis, and have some intestinal fortitude, like Hitchens, (even if they ultimately have a contradictory worldview on the matter, like Hitchens).
Posted by: Steve (SBK) | February 22, 2009 at 09:28 PM