Freedom From Religion Convention w/Hitchens: Anyone go?

[shecky]

Pharyngula is a blog I read on a regular basis, which had this recent post on an event called the Freedom From Religion Convention, whcih among other things, had Chris Hitchens as a speaker. The blogger, PZ Myers, seemed to have been quite unimpressed by Hitch.

We cannot afford to allow the Iranian theocracy to arm itself with nuclear weapons (something I entirely sympathize with), and that the only solution is to go in there with bombs and marines and blow it all up. The way to win the war is to kill so many Moslems that they begin to question whether they can bear the mounting casualties.
___

Basically, what Hitchens was proposing is genocide. Or, at least, wholesale execution of the population of the Moslem world until they are sufficiently cowed and frightened and depleted that they are unable to resist us in any way, ever again.

Did anyone from around here attend? Is there a video or transcript? Myers is giving his account of the event. Which certainly makes Hitch sound unusually bloodthirsty and unhinged. If accurate, I'd have to agree with Myers' assessment.

 

[articulett]

I think he came across similarly at a TAM and was similarly rebuffed...

I love his brilliance when it comes to exposing religion-- I find his warmongering offensive and his approach a poor solution. I prefer Randi's educate the youth and let them dismantle the faith fascism through each other and from within approach.

 

[Puppycow]

I'm not saying I agree with Hitch's solution. I wish we could have a "war of ideas" in which Muslims and more generally those in totalitarian societies had free access to information. The problem is that you can't for example publish Hitch's book "God is not Great" in Saudi Arabia because it would be censored. So the Muslims won't let us make a peaceful approach because they censor us, while they are allowed to spread their religion in our society.

I would like to give every muslim a translated copy of "God is not Great" but we cannot because of the totalitarian nature of the religion. Deprived of the opportunity to communicate our POV, we are left with only cruder means such as violence? Maybe there is a better solution. I'd like to know what it is.