Kurt Waldheim's Dead

I suppose, in order to be a credit to my community, I should be sombre and respectful when reporting the death of such an uber-Villain.

But I don't wanna.

The man was clearly a Nazi and an anti-Semite; because of it he tainted the office of Secretary-General of the United Nations and the chancellory of Austria.

Yet, each figure from that period who passes on brings us closer to closure on the entire mess of World War II. Of course, we shouldn't ever forget it (and thanks to the History Channel we won't be able to) but its ability to polarise us needs to end. Today's problems are far more important than yesterday's, and dealing with them will make tomorrow's easier to manage.

I like to think that it was press scrutiny which kept Herr Waldheim in check throughout the final half of his life. If there was ever a better case to be made for a strong press, that's it right there.