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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| "Brooklyn to Baghdad": A backpacker’s blog and pix of Iraq |
| 2003-10-17 |
| A great personal blog from an American college student who, while backpacking through Europe, decided to go for broke and head to Iraq. It’s full of some good personal anecdotes and pictures from downtown Baghdad. |
| Posted by:Dar |
| #7 Chuck---You're right, I was forgetting Kimmy. By being so secretive he keeps a lower profile; and, of course, he's hasn't got any oil revenue with which to build monuments to himself. JFM---Thanks for the info. I didn't know that about "Heil Hitler". |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2003-10-17 6:53:29 PM |
| #6 Angie Schultz No. Hitler was relatively modest, he believed in his own military genius but that is another story (1), he never attributed himself any title besides Fuhrer (leader, guide), the Nazi propaganda never gloated about him as an inspirer of scientists, poets or the ability to make crops grow faster (unlike Mao, Stalin or the Kims in NK), he never attributed himself a military rank (unlike Stalin who appointed himself a marshall), the only medal he ever wore he had earned it during WWI (Iron Cross, first class), I am unaware of any statues of him or of monuments bearing his name. About the only manifestation of megalomania was the "Heil Hitler" salute but that was Himmler's idea for humiliating the Army after Stauffenberg's attempted assasination of Hitler (July 20, 1944). Before that the "Heil Hitler" was used only by SS and party members with the Army using the same salute than every other army in the world.
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| Posted by: JFM 2003-10-17 4:03:50 PM |
| #5 Youse guys are forgetting the Dear Leader. I think he wins the prize. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2003-10-17 3:47:08 PM |
| #4 I think Saddam takes the prize for Most Egomaniacal Dictator in the modern age. Caligula and his ilk didn't have the advantage of the printing press and other mass media, although I think they'd give Saddam a run for the money based on sheer ego. The funny thing about Hitler was that neither he nor Himmler were quite up to the standards of his "Master Race" ideal, which much of Nazi art promoted. I'd say the Nazis promoted an ideal and symbolism more than the image of Hitler himself. Imagine if George Washington had opted to make himself King George I of the USA (which was an option). Wonder if near as many places and monuments would be still dedicated to him today? |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-10-17 2:48:25 PM |
| #3 About the "Mother of All Battles Mosque": [It had] decorated minarets in the shape of SCUD missiles and AK-47 barrels. It would have a pool in the shape of all the Arab countries, busts of Saddam, an island with the countour of Saddam's fingerprint, and a Quran written in Saddam's blood...It was designed as a scaled-down version to test the building methods for its successor, the "Mosque of Saddam the Great", originally scheduled for completion in 2015. Tell me, history students: was Hitler anywhere near this big of a megalomaniac? How about Stalin? Mao? |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2003-10-17 2:14:31 PM |
| #2 Just wanted to add that if you view nothing else on the site, just take a look at his "Baghdad, Part 3" page. The pix of Saddam's military square (the arch with his hands holding crossed swords), Baghdad university (with Uday's looted private discos and equestrian track), and other sites, along with narration, just can't be beat. |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-10-17 1:00:44 PM |
| #1 I found this blog a couple of weeks ago and thought it was terrific! But thanks for reminding me and everyone else! |
| Posted by: Jennie Taliaferro 2003-10-17 12:56:07 PM |