On “Journalist, scoundrel Christopher Hitchens dies at 62”
Dear David:
Bravo on the Hitchens obit. I have been cursing that awful man’s memory for some time now. How do you go from hosting a fundraiser for CovertAction Quarterly with Noam Chomsky as guest to kow-towing to the Bush crowd? Of course, he would always address the audience as “comrades”.
Another awful memory: I remember reading in a magazine about how historians and biographers often find their works pilfered by Hollywood, and a woman writer commented on how Hitchens had picked her brain without properly crediting or compensating her for something he wrote on a subject of her book. After the article appeared in print, Hitchens responded in a letter to the editor—drunk, no doubt—in which he dismissed the woman’s complaints with an arrogant “F*** you...”
I look forward to reading those earlier WSWS essays on this dreadful man. Great words of yours: “His was an especially spectacular and filthy evolution...”
Peace,
Max
19 December 2011
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WSWS’s obituary of Christopher Hitchens clearly delineates the dangers of writers and in particular journalists becoming too close to the establishments about which they write. Two additional points bear mention. Whatever Hitchens’ politics later in life, he was consistently a virulent critic of America's war in Vietnam. In August of 2006 Hitchens authored the text of a photo essay in Vanity Fair which chronicled the effects of Agent Orange and other weapons on the people of Vietnam. The effects of these on the people of Vietnam are so horrendous that only reading Hitchens’ article and viewing the accompanying photographs will provide the reader with some idea of what these weapons actually did. To the extent that Hitchens’ article brings these facts to the consciousness of Americans and makes the case for both American and other foreign aid to remediate the situation in Vietnam,his career is not a complete waste.
Finally, one can argue that Hitchens’ main flaw was his economic and social class bias. From a purely bourgeois point of view his charges against Bill Clinton centered around Clinton’s sexual conduct. Hitchens failed to focus on the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act; the Gramm-Leach-Biley Act and the Commodities Futures Modernization Act, which provided the regulatory and legal framework for the current economic crisis.
Sincerely,
Peter L
Connecticut, USA
19 December 2011
On “Philippines: Hundreds dead and missing in flash flooding”
You have forgot to mention that the logging companies in the Philippines are “job creators” and are not to be regulated. Any efforts to curtail their creation of jobs will be met with fierce opposition.
PK
19 December 2011
On “Australia: Refugee boat disaster claims over 180 lives”
Thanks for the article, it helps maintain sanity in the face of the vile media bombardment.
As the first announcements were made, I sat there waiting for the inevitable use of this tragic loss of life as a vehicle to promote the absolute mind-numbing, disgusting propaganda, re: people smugglers etc., etc., and pray for the day these reprobates are held accountable for their crimes.
FD
Melbourne, Australia
20 December 2011
My father was a Korean War Veteran and he would be the first to tell you that the Korean War was utter nonsense. He actually got locked up in the stockade because he was not too keen on supporting it. Capitalist regimes, such as the one in the US, are always keen on propaganda supporting ignoble ends. To what avail was the Korean Police Action? Other than anti-Marxist paranoia, its hard to imagine one good reason for the US to have entered into such a military venture.
JL
20 December 2011
On “The reality of the Iraq War”
A great article by Joseph Kishore… A wonderful antidote to the shameful propaganda spewed out by the Obama administration and the compliant mass media.
Tim H
England
21 December 2011
On “The Democratic Party and the assault on Medicare”
It is nice that the federal government can pass a law that forces the people to pay their money to the rich insurance companies. Sounds like a bought and paid for tax to me.
RD
Oklahoma, USA
20 December 2011
On “North Chicago police beating death sparks public outcry”
“North Chicago is one of the poorest municipalities in the Chicago region. Thousands of manufacturing jobs in North Chicago and nearby Waukegan have been eliminated, and North Chicago residents have an unusually high tax burden because of a massive US Naval station that is part of the city, but which contributes no tax revenue.
“Just a few miles south of this deprived area is the tony ‘North Shore,’ the location of some of the richest cities in the United States, where many Chicago-area executives and business owners keep palatial homes.”
Well-written article. The last two paragraphs exemplify the radical class distinction in America. It was a vivid reminder to me, that just a few miles south of North Chicago’s poverty is the elite financially-gated community of North Shore where the wealthy live and play, oblivious of the ants who struggle at the base of their tower.
Jacque S
Tennessee, USA
20 December 2011