I have to admit that when I saw the news about Pinter, the first thing that crossed my mind was "that's about as nice a Christmas present as I can imagine". For starters, he was highly overrated as a playwright. But that in and of itself would not cause me to rejoice in his passing.

No, as one could guess by both my handle and my own blog's content, it was his support for Serbia and especially Slobo in both the Bosnia and especially Kosova matters that caused me to move him from the mere "hack writer" category to the "sub-human piece of shit" one, and hence my rejoicing in his death. His defense of The Big Slob and his membership in the International Committee to Defend Slobodan Milosevic is, needless to say, vile beyond words to me. Though that alone would be enough to make me hate the man's guts for all eternity, I also discovered over time his constant slams against the US and Israel.

Until now, though, I never realised just how truly disgusting an example of humanity this arrogant, overblown twit really was until I read this article George posted the link to. To call him "filth" would be an insult to landfills and toxic waste sites. IMO, he is in his own way just as monstrous as the scumbags he supported. The world is a much better place without him. Too bad his plays can't all be burned, or at least banned worldwide from ever being performed again. Rot in hell, Harold.

Good-bye, good riddance and good luck - he's going to need it where he's going.

I shall paraphrase Harold Pinter.

On history:
The past is what you remember, what you imagine you remember, what you are convinced you remember,or what you pretend to remember.

It fits the playwright himself better than those he chides. Whenever I read about someone like Pinter who turns everything on its head - Cuba, Ortega, good, USA, Israel, bad - I can't help thinking he is in the pay of our enemies. Certainly, at the least, his political rants represent what he is pretending to remember.

I am reminded of an old jazz tune: "I'll Be Glad When You're Dead, You Rascal You."

In addition to hating America, it looks like Pinter wasn't too fond of Cuba, either. Or perhaps I should say, he was awful fond of the Castros, but obviously didn't give a damn about the Cuban people.

A better obit is at Times Online:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5398006.ece

Another 1960's loose cannon gone. He lived large and excoriated the system that allowed him to do so. I agree, he was way overrated. Didn't Arafat win a Nobel too?