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Gauge the distance

mussolini-hanging-out.jpg
The death Benito Mussolini and his mistress by Italian Partisans in April 1945.

The May 7, 1945 Time Magazine reports the death of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini with the following prose:

"Death came last week to Benito Mussolini, from the rifles of an Italian firing squad. As his body lay, reviled and spat upon, in a public square of Milan, it was as though the pent-up jury of a nation was beating upon the senseless clay of the man who had led it to vainglory, shame and disaster..."


The entire report from that day can be found here.

In summary - Benito Mussolini – Killer , thug, madman, murderer, who found justice that the end of a rope. No trial, no appeal. His body in all its gore, displayed for all to see with no respect or concern given to his family.

Shall we now compare that clear minded prose to the "goo-goo" coverage of Saddam Hussein?


Jan 3rd 2007 – Time Magazine

“The brutal spectacle of Saddam Hussein's execution, recorded on cell phone video and seen around the Middle East, has drawn condemnation from around the world, including Washington. But Saddam's final moments highlight a much more serious and fundamental problem facing the Administration: The U.S. no longer has any control over the Iraqi political process.

Having created a new state in Iraq — and not yet ready to admit that it is a failed state — the U.S. felt obliged to hand Saddam Hussein over to the Iraqis to administer the death penalty...”

The full report can be found here.

Saddam Hussein. Brutal dictator? Madman? A Killer who found justice at the end of a rope, after he was given a trial, and then an appeal? Oh no dear reader, Todays time magazine views Saddam Hussein as but another victim of a failed US foreign policy. A brutal monster not to be reviled, but a low man worthy only of pity. A victim of the dumb cluck ham-handed American military-industrial machine.

Just what the hell happened to the minds of journalists? Is this what happens to peoples brains after two generations of fluoridation?

Posted @ January 03, 2007 11:18 AM | Current Affairs

Comments

"The U.S. no longer has any control over the Iraqi political process."

So, we are now free to quote Time magazine to counter claims that Iraq is merely Bush's puppet, right?

Posted by: refugee at January 4, 2007 11:29 AM

Thank you for doing the work to dig up this photo and story. I really like your blog!

Posted by: Bob Agard at January 9, 2007 08:19 PM

Communism fell in Eastern Europe, only to spread to American media and educational institutions... I doubt it's the flouridation; but one never really knows...

Posted by: jtb at January 11, 2007 09:30 AM