Harold Pinter - a Political Tribute 1930 - 2008

Harold Pinter 10th October 1930 - 24th December 2008.This video mashup concentrates on his unstinting politics and includes his anti war poem God Bless America and a brief scene from the Homecoming.

For over two decades, in his essays, speeches, interviews, and literary readings, Pinter focused increasingly on contemporaneous political issues. He strongly opposed the 1991 Gulf War, the 1999 NATO bombing campaign in Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War, the United States' 2001 War in Afghanistan, and the 2003 Invasion of Iraq.
In accepting an honorary degree at the University of Turin he stated: "I believe that [the United States] will [attack Iraq] not only to take control of Iraqi oil, but also because the American administration is now a bloodthirsty wild animal. Bombs are its only vocabulary." Distinguishing between "the American administration" and American citizens, he added the following qualification: "Many Americans, we know, are horrified by the posture of their government but seem to be helpless".

He called the President of the United States, George W. Bush, a "mass murderer" and the (then) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, both "mass-murdering" and a "deluded idiot", and described them, along with past U.S. officials, as "war criminals." He also compared the Bush administration ("a bunch of criminal lunatics") with Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany, saying that, under Bush, the United States ("a monster out of control") strives to attain "world domination" through "Full spectrum dominance". Pinter characterized Blair's Great Britain as "pathetic and supine," a "bleating little lamb tagging behind [the United States] on a lead." According to Pinter, Blair was participating in "an act of premeditated mass murder" instigated on behalf of "the American people," who, Pinter notes, increasingly protest "their government's actions" .

Pinter published his remarks to the mass peace protest demonstration held on 15 February 2003, in London, on his website: "The United States is a monster out of control. Unless we challenge it with absolute determination American barbarism will destroy the world. The country is run by a bunch of criminal lunatics, with Blair as their hired Christian thug. The planned attack on Iraq is an act of premeditated mass murder" ("Speech at Hyde Park"). Those remarks anticipated his 2005 Nobel Lecture, "Art, Truth, & Politics", in which he observes: "Many thousands, if not millions, of people in the United States itself are demonstrably sickened, shamed and angered by their government's actions, but as things stand they are not a coherent political forceyet. But the anxiety, uncertainty and fear which we can see growing daily in the United States is unlikely to diminish" .

In accepting the Wilfred Owen Award for Poetry, on 18 March 2005, wondering "What would Wilfred Owen make of the invasion of Iraq? A bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the conception of international law?", Pinter concluded: "I believe Wilfred Owen would share our contempt, our revulsion, our nausea and our shame at both the language and the actions of the American and British governments".

In March 2006, upon accepting the Europe Theatre Prize, in Turin, Pinter exhorted the mostly European audience "to resist the power of the United States," stating, "I'd like to see Europe echo the example of Latin America in withstanding the economic and political intimidation of the United States. This is a serious responsibility for Europe and all of its citizens".

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[ibilly99]

Thanks Sparky - if only I can quit the Peston habit (HARD) then I might get back on track.

DENOUNCE PESTONISTIC DALEKISM !

Damn - not there yet.

[Nonniemayrox]

oh england,england,england. always trying to be like everyone else. when will you find your own identity? when you do let me know,k. britiots

[TwoTube2]

I remember when I watched Harold Pinter's Nobel prize speech, I didn't know much about him at the time, but I sat for the full 40 odd minutes transfixed. He was never afraid to speak openly about his views on politics, and I admired him for that.

[swannavon]

A nice tribute.  Well done. Thanks.

[sparkythetortoise]

Another tasty treat cooked up in ibilly's Crucible

[crumpet1057]

Hello ibilly. Nice tribute - it's made me subscribe to your tube.

Look forward to more of your projects in the new year nudge, nudge, wink, wink. Crumpet X