Aleksandra's Note: Dr. Michael Pravica has consistently remained vigilant throughout the years about creeping Fascism. He has often taken pen to paper to address this issue and how it is manifesting in our world today.
The posting below is a mirror of the "editing" process that determines what information readers and viewers of the media will be privy to. What is not revealed is why certain omissions are made. We are left to draw our own conclusions.
Thank you to Dr. Pravica for your vigilance and eloquence in responding to issues that we should all be concerned about.
Sincerely,
Aleksandra Rebic
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Dr. Michael Pravica
THE LETTER PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL POST
Letters
The National Post
Canada
January 31, 2013
Time does not diminish evil
Re: Mussolini ‘Did Good,’ Berlusconi Says, Jan. 28. [2013]
Given the tremendous amount of human sacrifice and financial and material expenditure that was required to defeat fascism in Europe and elsewhere during the Second World War, it is a tragedy that there are efforts by some to rehabilitate and resurrect this evil menace yet again.
Regardless of the passage of some 75 years since the rise of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and other dictators, their lasting legacy of hatred, racism and evil must remain forever seared in the consciousness of all freedom-loving people. “Never again” must be consistently and frequently spoken and understood lest we be forced to repeat history because of these wholly ignorant attitudes.
Michael Pravica
Henderson, Nevada
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/01/31/todays-letters-windsor-ont-and-pakistan-are-closer-than-most-people-think/
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THE ORIGINAL LETTER SENT IN TO THE NATIONAL POST:
Letter to the Editor
National Post
Canada
January 28, 2013
Dear Editor:
Re: "Silvio Berlusconi praises Benito Mussolini for backing Hitler, says he ‘did good’ despite anti-Jewish racial laws," January 27. [2013]
Given the tremendous amount of human sacrifice and financial and material expenditure that was required to defeat fascism in Europe and elsewhere during WWII, it is a tragedy that there are efforts by some to rehabilitate and resurrect this evil menace yet again.
Regardless of the passage of some 75 years since the rise of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Ante Pavelic and other fascist WWII dictators, their lasting legacy of hatred, racism and evil must remain forever seared in the consciousness of all freedom-loving people. "Never again" must be consistently and frequently spoken and understood lest we be forced to repeat history because of these wholly ignorant attitudes.
Sincerely,
Dr. Michael Pravica
________________________________
THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE THAT WAS PUBLISHED IN THE NATIONAL POST:
National Post
Canada
Associated Press
Jan 27, 2013 11:48 AM ET
Silvio Berlusconi praises Benito Mussolini for backing Hitler, says he ‘did good’ despite anti-Jewish racial laws
ROME — Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi praised Benito Mussolini for “having done good” despite the Fascist dictator’s anti-Jewish laws, immediately sparking expressions of outrage as Europe on Sunday held Holocaust remembrances.
Berlusconi also defended Mussolini for allying himself with Hitler, saying he likely reasoned that it would be better to be on the winning side.
The media mogul, whose conservative forces are polling second in voter surveys ahead of next month’s election, spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony in Milan to commemorate the Holocaust.
In 1938, before the outbreak of World War II, Mussolini’s regime passed the so-called “racial laws,” barring Jews from Italy’s universities and many professions, among other bans. When Germany’s Nazi regime occupied Italy during the war, thousands from the tiny Italian Jewish community were deported to death camps.
“It is difficult now to put oneself in the shoes of who was making decisions back then,” Berlusconi said of Mussolini’s support for Hitler. “Certainly the (Italian) government then, fearing that German power would turn into a general victory, preferred to be allied with Hitler’s Germany rather that oppose it.”
Berlusconi added that “within this alliance came the imposition of the fight against, and extermination of, the Jews. Thus, the racial laws are the worst fault of Mussolini, who, in so many other aspects, did good.”
More than 7,000 Jews were deported under Mussolini’s regime, and nearly 6,000 of them were killed.
Reactions of outrage, along with a demand that Berlusconi be prosecuted for promoting Fascism, quickly followed his words.
Berlusconi’s praise of Mussolini constitutes “an insult to the democratic conscience of Italy,” said Rosy Bindi, a center-left leader. “Only Berlusconi’s political cynicism, combined with the worst historic revisionism, could separate the shame of the racist laws from the Fascist dictatorship.”
Undated photo of Hitler and Mussolini. Dominion Institute.
Advocating aggressive nationalism, Mussolini used brutish force and populist appeal evoking ancient Rome’s glories to achieve and keep his dictatorial grip on power, starting in the early ’20s and lasting well into World War II. His Fascist “blackshirt” loyalists cracked down on dissidents, through beatings and jailings.
He encouraged big families to propagate the Italian population, established a sprawling state economy and erected monumental buildings and statues to evoke ancient Rome. Mussolini sought to impose order on a generally individualistic-minded people, and Italians sometimes note trains ran on time during Fascism.
With dreams of an empire, he sent Italian troops on missions to attack or occupy foreign lands, including Ethiopia and Albania. Eventually, Italian military failures in Africa and in Greece fostered rebellion among Fascist officials, and in 1943 he was placed under arrest by orders of the Italian king. His end came at the vengeful hands of partisan fighters, who shot him and his mistress, and left their bodies to hang in a Milan square in April 1945.
Berlusconi’s former government allies have included political heirs to neo-fascist movements admiring Mussolini.
In 2010, he told world leaders at a Paris conference that he had been reading Mussolini’s journals, and years earlier Berlusconi had claimed that Mussolini “never killed anyone.”
Berlusconi is running in Feb. 24-25 Parliamentary elections and has repeatedly changed his mind on whether he is seeking a fourth term as premier. Monti is also running, but polls put him far behind front-runner Pier Luigi Bersani, a center-left leader who supported Monti’s austerity measures to save Italy from the Eurozone debt crisis.
Polls show about one-third of eligible voters are undecided.
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/01/27/silvio-berlusconi-praises-benito-mussolini-for-backing-hitler-says-he-did-good-despite-anti-jewish-racial-laws/
THE LETTER PUBLISHED BY THE IRISH EXAMINER:
The Irish Examiner
Monday, February 04, 2013
Evil legacy of fascism
Considering the untold human sacrifice and financial and material expenditure that was required to defeat fascism in Europe and elsewhere during WWII, it is a tragedy that there are efforts by megalomaniacs such as Silvio Berlusconi to sanitise, rehabilitate and resurrect this evil menace.
However, no amount of historical revisionism and wishful thinking can alter the fact that Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and other fascist WWII dictators, left a devastating legacy of racism, hatred, and evil in their wake.
Dr. Michael Pravica
Henderson
Nevada, USA
http://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/letters/evil-legacy-of-fascism-221519.html
*****
THE ORIGINAL LETTER SENT TO THE IRISH EXAMINER:
Letter to the Editor
The Irish Examiner
January 30, 2013
Dear Editor:
Re: "Berlusconi: ‘Mussolini did good in many ways’," January 28.
Considering the untold human sacrifice and financial and material expenditure that was required to defeat fascism in Europe and elsewhere during WWII, it is a tragedy that there are efforts by megalomaniacs such as Silvio Berlusconi to sanitize, rehabilitate and resurrect this evil menace. However, no amount of historical revisionism and wishful thinking can alter the fact that Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Ante Pavelic and other fascist WWII dictators, left a devastating legacy of racism, hatred, and evil in their wake. This fact must remain forever seared in the consciousness of all freedom-loving people. "Never again" must be understood by all lest we repeat history because some never learned it properly.
Sincerely,
Dr. Michael Pravica
________________________________
THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE THAT WAS PUBLISHED IN THE IRISH EXAMINER:
Irish Examiner
Monday, January 28, 2013
By Antonio Calanni
Berlusconi: ‘Mussolini did good in many ways’
Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi praised Benito Mussolini for “having done good” despite the Fascist dictator’s anti-Jewish laws, immediately sparking expressions of outrage as Europe yesterday held Holocaust remembrances.
Berlusconi also defended Mussolini for allying himself with Hitler, saying his likely reasoning was that it would be better to be on the winning side.
The media mogul, whose conservative forces are polling second in voter surveys ahead of next month’s election, spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony in Milan to commemorate the Holocaust.
In 1938, before the outbreak of the Second World War, Mussolini’s regime passed the so-called racial laws, barring Jews from universities and many professions, among other bans.
When the Nazi regime occupied Italy during the war, thousands from the tiny Italian Jewish community were deported to death camps.
“It is difficult now to put oneself in the shoes of who was making decisions back then,” Berlusconi said of Mussolini’s support for Hitler. “Certainly the government then, fearing that German power would turn into a general victory, preferred to be allied with Hitler’s Germany rather than oppose it.”
Berlusconi added that “within this alliance came the imposition of the fight against, and extermination of, the Jews. Thus, the racial laws are the worst fault of Mussolini, who, in so many other aspects, did good”.
More than 7,000 Jews were deported under Mussolini’s regime, and nearly 6,000 of them were killed.
Reactions of outrage, along with a demand that Berlusconi be prosecuted for promoting Fascism, quickly followed his words.
Berlusconi’s praise of Mussolini constitutes “an insult to the democratic conscience of Italy”, said Rosy Bindi, a centre-left leader. “Only Berlusconi’s political cynicism, combin-ed with the worst historic revisionism, could separate the shame of the racist laws from the Fascist dictatorship,” he said.
Italian laws enacted after the country’s disastrous experience in the war forbid the encouragement of Fascism.
A candidate for local elections, Gianfranco Mascia, pledged that he and his supporters will present a formal complaint tomorrow to Italian prosecutors, seeking to have Berlusconi prosecuted.
This is not the first time Berlusconi has courted controversy when speaking of Mussolini.
In 2010, he told world leaders at a Paris conference that he had been reading Mussolini’s journals, and years earlier Berlusconi claimed Mussolini “never killed anyone”.
Berlusconi is running in the Feb 24-25 parliamentary elections and has repeatedly changed his mind on whether he is seeking a fourth term as prime minister.
Mario Monti is also running, but polls put him far behind front-runner Pier Luigi Bersani, a centre-left leader.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/berlusconi-mussolini-did-good-in-many-ways-220898.html
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If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com
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