101. Christopher Hitchens and Al Sharpton: A Debate God Is Not Great

Comment #38607 by IQHQ on May 8, 2007 at 6:22 pm

FAO Romin_Devourin

What a pity that you turned out to be found intellectually wanting also, especially after such a fine opening paragraph! Not only a non sequitur, offending the very logiv you previously professed to love, but also morally repugnant. I'll tell you what other solution there is: to live and let live!

FAO Bonzai

"anti-war/pacifict" - here, i did not mean to imply synonymity, merely two alternative stances. Hope this clears this up.

102. Christopher Hitchens and Al Sharpton: A Debate God Is Not Great

Comment #38596 by IQHQ on May 8, 2007 at 5:43 pm

In addition, I implore you to read the fantastic "Terror and Liberalism" by Paul Berman. Here's a link:

[url]http://www.amazon.com/Terror-Liberalism-Paul-Berman/dp/0393325555/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-9878474-7074508?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178671208&sr=1-1[/url]

Perhaps you're not a political thinker, and so the morally comfortable anti-war/pacifist rings true for you. Well congratulations. However, the complex and dangerous world we live in today (with ever-increasing technological capacities in the hands of those with the most archaic and barbarous motives) requires that those who are political thinkers adopt a slightly more nuanced approach. I gervently hope you do the same.

103. Christopher Hitchens and Al Sharpton: A Debate God Is Not Great

Comment #38593 by IQHQ on May 8, 2007 at 5:36 pm

I suggest that if you truly want to like Hitchens, then you should try to emulate him in just this one way: go get informed! (instead of throwing about slanderous comments).

Noone but the most bloodthirsty savage has as a starting premise "War is good", not even the most hawkish commentator. It's too simplistic to impute such reasoning to a man of Hitchens' intellect. Too simplistic, and wrong. If you want a book recommendation, go check out (amongst others) "A Matter of Principle" (edited by Cushman) - it contains an essay on "Regime Change", by Hitchens himself.

104. Christopher Hitchens and Al Sharpton: A Debate God Is Not Great

Comment #38583 by IQHQ on May 8, 2007 at 5:13 pm

Excuse me, Catchy Nick, but that is plain slander . . .

Where is your evidence for that closing assertion? I'm quite sure Hitchens supports no such thing. In fact, he has for years been an ardent advocate of human rights for minorities around the globe.

105. Christopher Hitchens and Al Sharpton: A Debate God Is Not Great

Comment #38580 by IQHQ on May 8, 2007 at 4:52 pm

More than half-way through this debate, and I gotta say (rxcuse the vulgarity): Hitchens is fucking awesome! I've read most of his published works, and have always admired his debating skills. Yet here he is UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!

106. Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #38461 by IQHQ on May 8, 2007 at 7:24 am

I loved this interview. Not necessarily that the inteviewer was one of distinction - he was OK, at best. But the issues of discussion were those that i've felt were being neglected in other recent interviews, e.g. the whole "Que est veritas?" question. . . it's so important to address. Whether or not the truth actually matters whould be a non-issue, yet it seems for many of our apathetic youth "ignorance is bliss" is the defining maxim of our times.

107. Here Comes the Fourth Musketeer.

Comment #33626 by IQHQ on April 20, 2007 at 6:57 pm

Ok so he's a prat, but Christopher Hitchens is the best literary journalist in the English-speaking language. I really hope that this one (which i've just ordered) is up to his usual standards. If it is, then God may not be great, but it most certainly will be!

108. Irish poll shows parents no longer want to force religion on to children

Comment #32617 by IQHQ on April 17, 2007 at 3:43 pm

Also, in relation to "Irish Wakes", let me settle the issue for you with some cold hard facts from my experience:

I have never known someone to die in Ireland and not have a wake in their honour. Ever.

109. Irish poll shows parents no longer want to force religion on to children

Comment #32615 by IQHQ on April 17, 2007 at 3:36 pm

FAO FXR

First of all, that was a great post above (comment 28) - I agree wholeheartedly. Nevertheless, I must ask you to explain the sectarian form of nationalism you have espoused in your last post... What's it all about? and where is it coming from ? What is this, Slugger O'Toole? Isn't this website supposed to be a "clear-thinking oasis"? lol . . .

You may want to check the Constitution of the Irish Republic, namely articles 2+3; whilst the Good Friday Agreement forced the Dublin government to amend those articles, they still provide for anyone born on the Island of Ireland to hold Irish citizenship. I, myself, live in Belfast, though I have exercised my lawful right to hold an Irish passport, and I do so proudly. Is that ok with you?

Now for this "them and us" talk... I recall a line from Ryszard Kapuscinski in "Shah of Shahs":

"What should one write to ruin an adversary? The best thing is to prove that he is not one of us - the stranger, alien, foreigner. To this end we create the category of the true family. We here, you and I, the authorities, are a true family. We live in unity, among our own kind. We have the same roof over our heads, we sit at the same table, we know how to get along with each other, how to help each other out. Unfortunately, we are not alone".

110. Is this another Sokal Hoax?

Comment #29495 by IQHQ on April 3, 2007 at 5:30 am

N.B. The following legislative passage, s.57(1)(b) of the Trustee Act (Northern Ireland) 1958, was not chosen because it is a particularly bad example of the archaic syntax used by legislative draftsmen, but rather because it is the passage I was reading straight after I read this article. It is, thus, much more typical, and demonstrates that... well.... that us lawyers should be shown more sympathy than we currently are... ;-)

any person (whether ascertained or not) who may become entitled, directly
or indirectly, to an estate or interest under the trusts [or settlements] as
being at a future date or on the happening of a future event a person of any
specified description or a member of any specified class of persons so,
however, that this paragraph shall not include any person who would be of that
description, or a member of that class, as the case may be, if the said date
had fallen or the said event had happened at the date of the application to
the court; or

111. Is this another Sokal Hoax?

Comment #29494 by IQHQ on April 3, 2007 at 5:26 am

LOL... what a load of bollocks (excuse my french)...

My gripe's not so much with the technically-obscure sesquipedalia, nor with the odd flare-up of poetic verbosity, but with the fact that, once deciphered, it is actually meaningless drivel. I worry much more about the fact that our society accepts this nonsense as "useful scholarship" than I do about it proclaiming religious tolerance.

112. She's No Fundamentalist: What people get wrong about Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Comment #24761 by IQHQ on March 8, 2007 at 11:23 am

I've always been very fond of Hitchens's writings. sure, he's verbose, and loves the sound of his own voice, but he's got a great command of the English language. He's also uncompromisingly atheistic.

N.B. I'm not sure if you are aware, but his next book is due out later this year and is called "God is Not Great". It promises to be a burning polemic. Roll on release date!

113. Debate between Sam Harris and Reza Aslan

Comment #22004 by IQHQ on February 12, 2007 at 9:04 am

This is an EXCELLENT debate. Please, I implore everyone reading this to watch the above video in its entirety.

114. Robert Wright interviews Daniel C. Dennett

Comment #21514 by IQHQ on February 9, 2007 at 4:13 pm

I can't believe more hasn't been said of this video. It's excellent, especially near the end. Wright goes on an all-out assault to persuade Dennett he's wrong on consciousness.

Look out for the part where Dan is speaking of cryogenics and Wright asks him "Make sure you send me an e-mail (when the technology is ready for it to work successfully". Dan replies: "Ohhh, I don't know . . . there might only be room for one or two of us".. Ha! No friends here.

115. Der Digitale Planet (lecture)

Comment #15023 by IQHQ on December 28, 2006 at 9:12 am

It would be great if someone could upload the panel discussion that follows these excellent talks.