Marc Perkel Rantz

And someone pointed out that if the fellow doing the beheading is al-Zarqawi he's too flexible for a fellow with a prosthetic leg.

That may or may not be true, a doctor would know...

My wife's sixth sense caught Berg's strange demeanor from the beginning. She knew something was not right from Berg's relative calmness despite the horrific circumstances. This is getting VERY weird. I hope the truth gets out.
Good work, Marc.

Is this another possible clue? ABC News reported that the "terrorist" who beheaded Berg wore a large gold ring. This is forbidden by Islamic tradition. Why would a hardcore Islamic fundamentalist wear gold jewellry?

"A close examination of the tape shows none of the five masked men is wearing gloves, so federal officials are trying to determine if there are any tell-tale tattoos on their hands. One of the clues the FBI and CIA is studying is the large gold ring Zarqawi is wearing on his right hand, giving off a glare several times during the six-minute tape."

http://www.khilafah.com/home/category.php?DocumentID=9529&TagID=2

Gold is NOT forbidden. Try a simple Google search and one card in this house comes tumbling.

What kind of ring is on the finger of the terrorist holding a gun to Pearl's head (in the photo on this page)?

I saw the video too. The version I saw was from c*****junction.com and looking at the clock in the bottom corner, it jumps from 02:44:51 (or something) when Nick is dragged to the ground before he is killed to 13:45:47. A couple of senconds later and after some "sawing" his head is removed. What's the story with the clock??? Was there 2 cameras? One of them using European clock on daylight saving and the other using US style AM/PM. Is there missing footage? Was it really a person or a dummy after the clock jumps in the footage. Special effects could be involved.

What do you think?

"Gold is NOT forbidden. Try a simple Google search and one card in this house comes tumbling."

The fact that www.khilafah.com is an Islamic site holds more water with me than your Google search. They put the title heading "Executioner wore gold ring - forbidden by Islam" above the ABC story which was originally titled "Behind the Masks Clues From Graphic Tape of Beheading Could Help Identify Killers" and did not mention anything about gold rings being forbidden by Islam. BTW, the killers of Daniel Pearle were Pakistanis and not Arab.

"BTW, the killers of Daniel Pearle were Pakistanis and not Arab."

I know. If gold jewelry is forbidden by Islam, it doesn't matter whether the follower is Arabic or Pakistani.

Then again, hardcore fundamentalists (of any religion) pick and choose which rules to emphasize and which to ignore just as much as any other follower does.

Its not a bloody conspiracy, there have been enough real errors made without people resorting to fantastical scenarios. There is NO rule in Islam about gold, the very idea is ridiculous and only goes to prove how few Americans actually know Muslims. Almost all Muslims I know wear gold, and living in Leeds in in the UK I know lots.

Muslim men are prohibited from wearing gold. This is rather easily reinforced by a Hadith "Gold and silk are lawful for the women of my Ummah, but unlawful for its men"

By the way, my muslim wife is also insisting muslim men aren't supposed to wear gold.

Gold prohibited???
Jimmy Swaggart was prohibited from jerking off all over a whore in New Orleans but it happened. And the fact that it happened does not prove that he is not Jimmy Swaggart. Your evidence is nonsense.

Maybe it's a brass ring. You know, *looks* like gold? The guy putting a gun to Pearl's head has a ring on his right ring finger. Is it gold? Don't know. Hard to scrape the photograph.

i didn't saw the movie, because its to cruel, but the things that Marc posted are showing that all things may not be as they look.

Has the mothership landed yet? First, and follow me here, do you think it is possible that in all of Iraq, there is more than one $4 white plastic chair? Yeah, me too.

Secondly, you guys are killing me with the "gold ring" thing. If these people are willing to murder innocent civilians, women, children, etc., I'm thinking it isn't much of a stretch for them to wear gold.

Put your tin foil hats back on....quickly.

In most parts of the world (i.e. NOT 'Merica) there are very little choices when you want to buy something like a plastic chair. I live in Hong Kong--and if I want something like a garden hose, for instance, there is ONE type of garden hose--no Wal-Mart 24 different choices and colors like you get in the US, but ONE. Everyone here has the same damn garden hose. So just because it's the same type of chair doesn't mean anything. It's probably the only kind of chair available...

Have you looked at the footage of the war? I have seen plenty of fat Iraqis running around.
Good Lord people....thanks for the humor.

I've heard it mentioned that one of the possible reasons for the orange jumpsuit is that Berg was actually in US custody for some time, and in fact had pretty much just been released. Some have theorized that his executioners put him in the jumpsuit to make a statement about Gitmo detainees, but I find this much less plausable.

I think skepticism, questions and debate are healthy, but I would hesitate to jump to any one conclusion. Thanks for the insights, they are definitely food for thought.

A CIA conspiracy... interesting...

How F*cking stupid do we think they are? If the CIA were behind this, would they have made such a HUGE number of mistakes? I don't think so, and I know I'm right!

May 14, 2004
Regarding the chair.
Chairs like that are bought and sold around the world.
Why would a chair like that prove anything unusual...
If possible, please explain.. Thank You

It's really sad that we've become a people that think we know all the answers and second guess everyone. Leave the Armed Forces alone and let them do their job. My son's over there and I wish all you people with nothing else to do would get behind our government instead making our Nation look bad with all your bitching. It'd be pretty darn hard for anyone to fight for freedom knowing the people the're fighting for are so completely stupid and uncaring. Do something good or shut the hell up!

Wearing gold or silk is a sin (haram) for Muslim men: http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/Q_LP/ch2s2pre.htm#Gold%20and%20Pure%20Silk%20are%20Haram%20for%20Men

My question is, why were they wearing masks? That seems very out of place.

Marc
SOMETHING ELSE SMELLS

I think that you raise some really interesting questions.

There is also something very smelly about the photos of British soldiers abusing prisoners. It is a bizarre coincidence that the British photos which are now proven to be faked miraculously appeared on the heels of the American photos.

I think this coincidence STINKS OF KARL ROVE because the British photos took the heat off American abuses and smeared British efforts which up to that point were stellar compared to the American efforts.

American efforts were looking pathetic compared to the British who were establishing good relations in their sector.

Could it be that Rove has done to the British reputation what he did to McCain's? Has Rove sought to destroy the British reputation so that the America doesn't look so bad in comparison?

My questions:
If you read CNN initial article on the beheading here:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/05/11/iraq.main/index.html

you'll note a few interesting things:

1. The speaker identifies himself as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
2. The web site states that the speaker/executioner is Abu Musab al-Zarqai.
3. CNN staffers said it doesn't sound like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
4. He's covering his head and face with a scarf and ski mask
5. Abu Musab al-Zarqai was reported to have lost a leg over a year ago at which point he began wearing a prosthetic leg - this guys has two real legs.

The BIG question:

If he identifies himself by name, as CNN says, WHY THE BLOODY HELL IS HE COVERING HIS FACE?!

Why does the CIA say it sounds like him, but CNN says not?

Kerry is a nimrod.

Hope that helps.

Shalom!

Those arent bullet proof vests...man is your info really messed up!

Man, that damned chair gets around. Last week, I saw it on a National Geographic TV program: a monk was sitting on it in a cave in Tibet, where they were restoring 16th century Bhuddist frescoes. Last year, it was on my aunt's front porch in Buffalo.

"Bullet proof vests"? (cackle) You know what? You don't know what in the world you're talking about, but I'm just telling you: nobody in that video was wearing a bullet proof vest.

I've been researching descrepancies on the whole Nicholas Berg thing, and I'm up to 15 pages already. There's a lot of questions, and damned few answers.

But your piece today really doesn't hold water. Those white lawn chairs are common as dirt, sold everywhere in the world, almost. American tennis shoes are even more pervasive, and in the middle east, there's nothing extraordinary about terrorists owning bullet proof vests.

As I said, there's a lot of questions that demand answers without sailing off the edge. Why was Berg in Iraq, really? (Do you buy the idea of a starry-eyed Bush idealist?) Did the Americans hold him, or the Vichy Iraqis? How did he come to be alone in downtown Baghdad in an orange jump suit? Or did America or Iraq turn him over to al-Qaida, or allow him to be captured in the hopes that something like this might occur?

The identity of the purported killers is open to conjecture, of course. But no jury is going to buy evidence as flimsy as the world's most common type of chair, or tennis shoes.

Hey Freepers -
Glad to see you've all realized that plastic chairs can be bought anywhere - you're not as dumb as you look.

Still you haven't answered these questions:
Why would he identify himself but wear a mask?
(answer: it ain't him - duh!)
Why is he so agile with a prosthetic leg?
(answer: it ain't him - duh!)

So who is it really and why are they pretending to be Abu Musab al-Zarqawi?

Come on Freepers give this one a try!

so a white chair is hard to come by, and the orange jump suit is also the rarest of items. oh and you can realy tell anything definite from the video and its crystal clear resalution. all this is, is a fan on the flame of conspiracy. oh and i bet if you look hard enough there's black helechopters in the background. go back to lookin at porno ya freaks!!!

zzzzzzzzzzzzz

well thanks for the waste of time, ive heard some real crackpot theories but yours is right off the BS scale and does not even make sense at all.

Hmm, terrorists can't be fat?

Here are two photos of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
photo 1
photo 2

Maybe he's one of those double chinned skinny guys. Khalid is reportedly to have been the hand that took Daniel Pearl's life before they cut his head off.

Keep digging Mark. I think you're probably on to the fact that there's more questions than answers to the story of Nick Berg, but my favorite is still the life of the lawn chair.

I'm having an Al Qaida party this weekend. Which translated means I'm having a barbeque and we'll be sitting in chairs identical to the ones Nick Berg was seated in meaning we're with the terrorists.

Byee'eeeee

I'm tired of the rhetoric of all this. Shut up and speak with the biggest power given to you by the greatest country on this earth. If you don't like what's going on then VOTE. But for now we have to stand behind this administration and do what we need to do to make sure that our men and women in uniform have our 100% support no matter what. The more we enable these fanatics and allow our slanted media to keep putting doubts in our heads about whose right or wrong the more serious this situation gets. We know that these terrorists are the radical minority, we know that they are capable of doing what we've seen on this video; so quit with the conspiracy theories and let's get this job done...on their turf. 9/11 proved that this world has changed dramatically and our oceans do not protect us anymore. What was seen on that video is what these radicals want to do to everyone of you and your loved ones. They will not stop until all western civilization is wiped from the face of this planet. If we stop now then before we know it that scene will played out in living rooms across America as some sick, demented radical Islamic reality TV show. Put away the bias and the hate and let's unite as a country...THE greatest country...and let's give our military and this administration our undivided support so that these thugs can be ended....NOW...while we have them on the run! GOD BLESS AMERICA!!

This definitely raises some valid questions. Thanks for the research Marc. There are just way too many discrepancies regarding this video. There is something not right about the so called terrorists in the video and Nick's calm demeanor, as well as a lack of blood. There would have to be blood everywhere in that room and all over the 'terrorists'. And please don't tell me Nick didn't know what they were going to do to him if in fact that was really the case. But, before I jump to any conclusions I would like to see more evidence. The whole issue could probably be easily answered using simple forensic techniques. Nick's body is due back in the states in the next day or two. Why not have reputable forensic investigators look for fibers, hairs and hopefully DNA evidence on Nick's body? Just my 2 cents worth here. Thanks for listening.

Hey Marc - I believe you're on to something here. I have had it in the back of my mind for the last day or so, that SOMETHING is not right!

These people (BushCO) are capable of anything, and nothing is too low to stoop to.

Good job!
Dex

It all seems pretty convenient to me.Prison abuse comes out,Bush approval ratings go down.Approval of Bush's war keeps dropping.Looks like a ROVE job to me!

Marc - you are the "most dangerous mind on the internet", because you don't reseach anything before you publish this crap.
1)White chair, how many millions are there. I own 4 myself.
2)'Bullet Proof Vest' these are AK47 Ammo Vests.
3)Orange Jump Suite. The material is to light, no collar, no zipper or front closure, short wide arms. This NOT a prison jump suit that I have ever seen.

I wasn't going to post again, but I am disturbed by people who attack others in this forum just because they want to look at all the possibilities in this case. Calling someone a retard doesn't help anything now does it? Why are these people always so obviously illiterate too? No capitalization, no punctuation, horrid misspellings of the English language etc....and they propose to tell us who can and cannot speak 'fluent Arabic'. Yeah, I'm really going to give you a lot of credibility buddy.

There must have been two cameras filming the execution. The timecode inconsistency cannot be explained any other way. Why do you have two cameras for an execution? Why do you edit a snuff video? What's with the horrendous audio? THere's certainly more to this than is apparent.

I've witnessed knifings to the neck when I worked with JV's. Where is all the blood? If someone is being beheaded alive without a tourniquet, and he's screaming so there is no tourniquet, there will be blood squirting all over the place. Where's the blood?

I knew there was something very phoney about this whole incident from the very beginning, but now I KNOW that this was a set up of somekind.

Has anyone thought that perhaps Mossad was involved? They would like nothing more than us fighting their battle for them, free.

As I said, there's a lot of questions that demand answers without sailing off the edge. Why was Berg in Iraq, really? (Do you buy the idea of a starry-eyed Bush idealist?)
Posted by: Zepp Jamieson at May 14, 2004 08:38 AM

MK-Ultra? Was he unknowingly recruited by the CIA to go work in Iraq to be used at the appropriate time? His father had been on the right-wing hitlist for being anti-war... it's one possibility.

My photo links didn't work. Damn html.

photo 1
http://www.foxnews.com/images/83349/4_21_mohammed_khalid_shaikh.jpg

photo 2
http://www.4law.co.il/kalid.jpg

Holy moly: khilafah.com says it is an Islamic website. The posters say they are Islamic. The posters quote Islamic verses. Does that mean they are Islamic? NOPE!

If I apply Mark's standards khilafah.com is likely a CIA front like the rumored jihadunspun.com.

Something tells me that sipping drinks at a titty bar is against Islam, but that didn't stop Mohammed Atta and Marwan al-Shehi.

First of all, what makes anyone think that this country is any less deceiptful than the next. Does anyone remember vietnam, how about watergate, how about clinton? Do you think anything is ever going to change without a booming voice from the American population. We cant just post some comments on a website and expect the whole world to flip 180 degrees and start singing Kum-Ba Yah!!!! I hardly ever believe what the government tells us....
The chair.....Please, theyre everywhere!
what we really need to ask is this...
Where are these beheadings taking place?! It looks like theyre sitting very comfortably in an air-conditioned office building! If we are in a complete state of occupation, why cant we find this damn location? If they still have a building to flee to, I guess we are still at war. All of this is a cover-up so America can save face after the prison torturings... I know its hard to stomach, but America needs to wake up and smell the white-out on CIA documents!

Pleeeeeeeeeeeease -

CHAIR: The US didn't bring that cheap white chair from the states. It's simply a popular mass produced chair in Iraq. Similar to those black halogen lamps that every college student seems to have.

FAT: Maybe they are wearing robes or have weapons strapped to their body. Maybe they eat too much falafel.

WHITE SHOES: It's impossible to have white shoes in a desert?

WEARING MASKS: They are cowards. Cowards that hide behind masks and their God when taking an innocent man's life.

This was a despicable act by evil people that scare the living hell out of me. After running the story about the prison abuse for 15 consecutive days on popular iraq sites (like http://english.aljazeera.net) This story gets covered twice. Once quoting mixed reactions of the people in Iraq mostly blaming Bush and the White house. The second one with this conspiracy about it being a US murder to grab the media's attention away from the prisoner abuses.

I didn't read of one public protest or one leader speaking out against the atrocity.

This article by John C. Dvorak at PC Magazine does a good job explaining the reality of digital images. This whole event does not pass the smell test.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1590180,00.asp

To Guy Spy:

Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE all condemned this act publically.

Boone: Perhaps not everyong posting in this forum is American or speaks, writes and reads perfect English. Possible, no? Don't be a racist. :)

Louise K said "Has anyone thought that perhaps Mossad was involved? They would like nothing more than us fighting their battle for them, free."

Umm, the Arab world hates Israel more than ever. Was that in the cards of getting the Americans to fight a war for Israel with no cost to Israel?

I think anyone who is skeptical about this, and about the lawn chair, do a google search, type in

"nick berg" fishy, and dig for yourself, and read for yourself. The white chair is just another thing. Like someone wrote about- you could get up to 15 pages on the inconsistencies...

Like why did the US gov lie and say he was never in custody, but then emails came out showing that he was? If he was in the custody of Iraqi police, why didn't the US do anything or care?

Like I said, dig for yourself. It's not about the rings, or the weight of the guys, there are many, many weird things, so look them up before you come to any conclusions (including dismissing this all as "tin foil hat")

Why did the CIA "mistake" the translation, and confuse the word "al queda" with the arabic phrase for "doing nothing."

One more thing:

This story was SPLASHED across the news...now, considering all the debate we've had in recent weeks, about how you can't show pictures of troops coming home in coffins because we have to respect the families' privacy...here we have a case where the family REQUESTED that this not be publicized. And nobody cared. Sean Hannity didn't care, he's using the audio to rile everyone up. This serves a useful purpose, and it's very strange how the media, tv and newspapers, feasted on it. It probably got great ratings. Even if it was censored on the tv networks, it was still hyped up..."You can hear the scream."

If I was his family, I would be devasted. This story has been pushed in a way that they can probably not escape. You can't go to Duncan Donuts's without CNN being on. I'm sure they couldn't hide from it, and I feel terrible for them. If this was my son, or brother. Just imagine.

And then explain to me why all those coffin photos had to be censored.

The white chairs are not one and the same. The angle of the arms as they go upward is different.

Folks, no one wears American tennis shoes these days. Everyone wears CHINESE tennis shoes.

I appreciate the comment Loving. By the way, It's Marc Perkel not Mark Perkel. I'm far from being a racist. My partner is African American, my best friend is Jewish and I am an American hybrid, so that one just doesn't work, sorry! I teach, so I'm sorry if illiteracy in the US bothers me. Getting back to the subject......

I still think examining the body for forensic evidence is the best bet at this point. It may create more questions than answers, but hey, it's worth a try. Since the 'terrorists' grabbed Nick and had their paws all over him, they may have left DNA evidence on his body. If so, it can be used to at least get a RACIAL profile of the persons in the video. Then we might be able to tell if they were Asian, Caucasian or what have you. Again, I make no claim to be Mr. Know It All, I'm far from it to be sure, but I think it's very much worth a try. My apology for hurting anyone's feelings in my previous post. Yes, I watch way too much Court TV and I idolize Dayle Hinman. *Grin*

First of all, in my opinion, who the hell cares what we do to those rat bastards???? They'd kill you in a second! They should string em up so we can all "abuse" them. They wouldn't be prisoners if they didn't do anything. They have killed so many of our people and the men and women over there are so stress out, who could blame them for beating them???? Wouldn't you??? As for the big "conspiracy" come on! Next your gonna say 9-11 was a conspiracy by our government too.

Oh! And I have a chair like that on my porch and a yellow house????? Hmmmmm does that mean I killed him?

Irrelevant question:

What is England holding in her hand?

Actually, I thought Ms England was polishing ashtray's at first. Hmm, I don't know, but there are known knowns, that is to say, we know what we know is not known to be known. Ask Rumsfeld, he might know.

I DID IT

you wanna see another thing that makes this real interesting? sorry if someone or marc already talked about it...

http://www.nbc5.com/news/3304146/detail.html?z=dp&dpswid=1167317&dppid=65192

9/11 Connection Reported To

There is a 9/11 connection to the American who was beheaded by terrorists in Iraq.

It turns out that the FBI questioned Nick Berg two years ago after finding his e-mail address was used by an acquaintance of 9/11 suspect Zacarias Moussaoui. It happened in 1999 when Berg was a student at the University of Oklahoma. Moussaoui attended flight school in Oklahoma, but the two apparently never met, and the FBI ruled out any terror link for Berg.

The CIA now said there is a "high probability" that Berg's videotaped execution was carried out by terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The tape of the brutal beheading claims it's retaliation for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers.

yes there are many puzzling aspects to the video.
the chair, the jumpsuit, the resemblance to the prison, ect. but only one mention of the most puzzling question. the lack of blood. where is the arterial spray that happens when someone's neck is cut? look at the pictures of the bastard's hand when he holds nick's head up to the camera. not a drop of blood on them. when you can explain to me how someone can saw through a living human beings neck, and not get blood on oneself, i'll take this video at face value. he was already dead when they decapitated him. i know this raises the point that he is still dead and it doesn't really matter when he died. however, why would al quaeda kill him and then fake his death for the camera? does this fit their mo?

"To them it's like putting on their underwear. hey wear them so that if a prisoner tries to make a knife and stab them in the heart - they are protected."

As others have pointed out, they're not wearing bullet-proof vests. Look at the guy standing 2nd from the left (in the white hood) - the vest doesn't even cover his heart. Compare that to the bullet-proof vest the soldier labeled #6 in the first photograph is wearing.

I notice in the photograph that Lynndie England is also sitting in a white lawn chair as well.

Ah, Osama! Nice to have you here in our lovely forum. Could you possibly give us a clue as to your whereabouts? I'll be sure to let your buddy Dubya know, so you can meet up for some Chai and biscuits avec Baba Ganoush!

I've read this entry and I read as much as I could stand of the bitching and arguing making up these comments. Granted the dude is presenting himself to be someone he's not. But didn't some other notorious terrorist use doubles? Maybe they couldn't find a perfect match. Or maybe our friends from the good ol' Army are playing mind games with Iraq using propaganda to get us all riled up. It's not morally right and it scares us sheltered spoiled Americans. But I don't think our own killed our own. I like the dummy idea. But either way can't you see us getting angry? Maybe to draw a little attention away from the "atrocities" of our own interrogation techniques? But I can go on about that. Just stop calling each other ignorant, read what we put here, and try to filter the good points from the bad and move on.

Nothing is beyond belief. We (the U.S.) have become the hated/feared bullies of the world, sucking up much more that our share of the worlds oil and everything else. The current administration has polarized the country more than ever before and squandered the sympathy the rest of the world had for us after 9/11. To dismiss the thought that this conveniently timed, fishy smelling, grainy video might have been conjured up by our government is just being blind, like the person waiting for jehovah to take down satan. Fine, you can get those flimsy plastic lawn chairs anywhere and you can get white shoes anywhere and religious people don't always follow all the laws of their religion and there's more than one yellow wall in the world...all that doesn't prove that we (and it is us they're representing here) didn't produce this (possibly faked [no blood?]) video. I know I wouldn't put it past us.

"...so you can meet up for some Chai and biscuits avec Baba Ganoush!"

Chai's too good for that bastard, try Earl Grey.

Boone: Ask Prince Turki al-Faisal if you want to know where UBL is at.

And your descriptions of you and your related parties fails to disqualify you from a potential "racist" status. Don't confuse my polemic for polished thought.

My first thought when seeing stills from the video:
"What's with the ski masks and orange jumpsuit?"

Today I read an editorial that stated Berg's body was found Saturday, May 9, 2004 - but the date on the video is Monday, May 11, 2004.

Whatever the facts are regarding the death of Berg, I don't think we're being fed "the whole truth and nothing but the truth" by Bush&Co and their media whores. (Their track record of deceptive lies precedes them...)

Well said, samyra. As in any murder investigation, all possibilities ought to be explored no matter how bizarre or outlandish they may seem. The lack of blood is most definitely a very disturbing fact. What did they do? Go take showers before presenting Nick's head to the camera? Scrub the walls, floors and ceiling? I'm off to work in the gardens, do have a splendid day all and hopefully this mystery will be solved soon.

You are right on target. You know you are. Now you have to watch over your shoulder. Same white chair. Berg's dad knows who had his own son. I haven't read your blog but Michael Moore is on to 9-11 too. Scarey now will be to see what happens to those who "know."

Here's a post I put elsewhere this morning before reading your "OMG!"

[UH OH] Berg sitting in same white chairs seen in Abu Ghraib

Here is the article about it from Citizens for Legitimate Government:
http://legitgov.org/index.html#breaking_news

and here is the actual - ON MSNBC - picture they use for the comparison:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4855930

(Better check that out quick because as soon as this federally licenced media realizes what they've done they will take the picture down I'm sure.}

Executioner wore gold ring - forbidden by Islam: Behind the Masks -- Clues From Graphic Tape of Beheading Could Help Identify Killers (ABCNEWS.com)
http://www.khilafah.com/home/category.php?DocumentID=9529&TagID=2

ALSO: IN THE MAINSTREAM PRESS!!!!

E-mail from consul says Berg was in U.S. military's hands
Diplomat disputed government account --A U.S. diplomatic official in Iraq told the family of slain American Nicholas Berg in early April that he was being detained by the U.S. military, according to e-mails provided by the family Thursday...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-05-13-berg-email_x.htm

Text of e-mails from U.S. consular officer in Baghdad to Berg family Text of e-mails from Beth A. Payne, a U.S. consular officer in Baghdad, to members of the family of Nicholas Berg. Copies of the e- mails were provided to The Associated Press by the Berg family...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-05-13-emails-text_x.htm

MSNBC VIDEO:
U.S. intelligence linked to abuse May 13: At least four of the people in the photograph provided by Spc. Charles A. Graner Jr.'s attorney were identified as U.S. military intelligence officers. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?S19E22C48
OR
http://msnvideo.msn.com/video/default.aspx?setcp=B&prepend=733cc922- bd01-4a47-8aa6-4936738b38e4&undock=true

I'm not to shure what to think but the story of how N B was in custody and then released and wound up dead smells familiar. This is just like the way uppity blacks and civil rights activist were lynched in the jim crow south. They would be released after they lynch party was waiting on the door step.

Of course this would not fit the appearence that this happened in the AG prison. Unless he was released in front of witnesses to show " we let him go"

With our press we will never know the truth. To bad. I still have hope when I see sighns of our press waking up. Maybe this will be the last straw.

LMAO! You're a friggin' lunatic, dude. Go outside and check for the black helicopters circling your home. Assuming you actually HAVE a home, that is. Oh. By the way. The man's name was Daniel Pearl, not "Richard" Pearl. Minor detail, but it speaks to your credibility, or lack thereof.

weatherman said "With our press we will never know the truth."

What? The press doesn't have an intellectual property rights over the truth. They don't own it. It's not theirs. Get over your delusion bud. Look at this blogpost. This is just one blog, although Marc Perkel is pretty famous or at least should be, among THOUSANDS.

Then you say "To bad. I still have hope when I see sighns of our press waking up. Maybe this will be the last straw.".

You sound like the parent that finds a roach in their teen's room and then confronts them hoping this "will be the last time" until they ditch the habit. A support network, ie BLOGS and the Perkelator, require constant nagging, bickering and confrontation in order to get the Press to kick the habit of failing to tell the WHOLE STORY.

There are alot of pictures coming out of Iraq. I for one would feel better if someone could come up with a picture of an ordinary Iraqi in a white plastic lawn chair, or an orange jump suit for that matter.

I have a chair just like that on my balcony. Maybe *I* did it! omgwtfirlstfukplzthxbbq

For me, the fat guys, the same chair, the bullet proof vests, all this don't mean shit.

But the orange jumpsuit says it all.

Excellent points, especially the lack of blood, I would like to hear what a doctor has to say about this..

I have that white chair too.

But seriously what bugged me the most about Berg was that he was sporting a Muslim style beard. That is a trimed or shaved mustache. When I saw the video I thought "oh a white muslim prisoner" From the articles I have read this Berg fella had some connection with the French brother who was charged for the 911 hijackings.

Was Berg a Muslim convert?

re above. It's not completely ridiculous to wonder what got covered up by the gov't re: 9-11.

There is some talk that the flight over PA- the let's roll flight- was shot down by US missiles. Look it up and judge for yourself.

Also- why did Bush fly the relatives of Bin Laden out of the US- when no one else was allowed to fly- to Saudi Arabia, even though the CIA wanted to question them?

How recently did the Bin Laden's dad divest himself from the Carlyle Group? It was over post 9-11 protest, but the Carlysle Group has made a killing off the war.

Look it up.

I looked at the beheading video. It was awful, and the awfullest part was that Berg SOUNDED SO SURPRISED. To me, it looked like he thought he was involved in some sort of act that shocked and, er, surprised him at the, ick, end.

Hey. Things are very weird right now.

this is only my second post here, i've never been much of a blogger. but, since bush took office, i spend as much time as i can spare reading the news. all the news. liberal, conservative, american, european, arabic, ect.
i am not a big conspiracy theory nut either. but, consider this: our government is currently run mainly by former executives from the oil and military industrial complex. business execs are interested in one thing the bottom line. profit.
now we have the highest oil prices in history and
not one but two ongoing wars. 16% of our economic growth last sector came from the defence industry and yet the military sector is only 4% of our overall economy. oils profits are at an all time high. you think they want these good times to end?
opinions on the war have been souring for the past couple of months. what better way could there be to keep prolonging the war than to first release graphic evidence that would inflame the arab world and then days later release even more graphic evidence to outrage the united states. perpetual warfare in the middle east. the folks at project for a new american century must be drooling. like i said, i've never benn much of a blogger. i am now.

Rumsfeld and Sadaam, old buddies.

http://www.atrios.blogspot.com/2004_05_09_atrios_archive.html#108445180096579030

The point regarding the gold is that if someone is a fundementalist muslim why would they break a simple rule about gold?? If they are going to go as far as killing a westerner they are not going to break the rules of Islam. That guy was spying on Ghraib while on a telephone pole, got caught, nabbed and killed, and it was released as anti-islamic propoganda.

this doesn't represent muslim..what our phrophet and god thought us...BTW only muslim guy is forbidden from using gold and silk. i'm a muslim and i admitt that most people that say they where muslim doesn't represent muslim. we all belived that we came from one root that is adam and eve we all human are the same it is proven in science.

US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce

look that up to, and look at the board of directors. Kissinger and Cheney, snug as a bug.

And people who don't believe "Dear Leader" George Bush and his security team are capable of conspiricies- need to brush up on history.

google "kissinger" pipleline

If you watch public beheadings, you will note that the victim is always drugged to prevent any serious struggle. It is standard practice. They almost never offer any resistance.

Look at the two chairs. One at the prison, the other Berg is sitting on.

Are they both white? And plastic? Sure.

THEY MUST BE THE SAME CHAIR! As though NO other such chairs have EVERY been produced.

Hell, *I* had foru such Piece of Crap plastic chairs for my lawn at one stage. One big rain/wind storm and I was down to three.

This is "proof"? Not really, except of your gullibility.

I noticed some of the same points that you bring out in your article,Marc. I watched the clip of the video that showed the beheading. I did not observe Berg giving out a scream just before the beheading.

It was a gruesome thing to watch, but like you, Marcm=, I smelled fish from the beginning.

When they held Berg's head up in front of the camera, there was no blood dripping as would be if Berg was still alive at the time of the beheading. In reality, blood would have been gushing and spurting out, but there was no evidence of this in the video. This also pertains to the fact that the camera panned around and showed Berg's headless body and neck--again, there was no blood.

Due to the fact that our CIA performs "damage control" for the President is nothing new, I truly believe that the 5 guys behind those masks are American CIA. Either Berg was already dead duriing this video, or he was going along with the scheme, not knowing what they really had planned for him. However, the bloodless video tends to make me lean towards the "already dead" scenario.

In addition, there was an 11 hour gap on the video between Berg announcing who he was and the actual beheading. Let's face it folks, the Official story being put out does not jive with the evidence--just as the 9-11 Offical story does not jive with the evidence.

Could it be that all of us who are dubbed as Conspiracy Theorists could actually be the ones revealing the obvious truth? Don't insult my intelligence by labeling those who do research and come to obvious conclusions as Conspiracists.

Bush is the most dangerous regime on this planet. I can't wait until November, so we can get rid of this ruthless, fundamentalist, right-wing, neo-con bunch of criminals. The Bush Administration is not conservative by any means of the word. They are all madmen.

The question isn't "are there fat arabs?" -The question is "Are there fat Al Queda terrorists?" and every time I see a video or photo of Al Queda members, they're healthy men who train in the desert, and are not out of shape. Nor do they have white skin. Also, let's get this clear: These were "terrorists" not Iraqi soldiers. There's a difference. While there are certainly Iraqi terrorists, that doesn't mean all terrorists are Iraqis.

The thing that gives it away for me are the white tennis shoes (not a typical "terrorist" choice) and the body language of everyone involved. People from different cultures carry themselves in different ways, and these dudes all say "westerner" with their body language. Berg's body language says "Nothing bad will happen to me. I know these guys."

having read the comments above i can conclude that most of you know absolutely nothing about Iraq, Muslims, or the CIA and yet have very intense opinions about everything. kudos.

Then inform us, Sean. Tell us about them if you are such an expert. Post links.

Look...

http://www.peskyflies.com/inv/index.php?showtopic=2263&st=0&#entry23361

But you can't refute that some people are getting really really rich from this war, and some of those people happen to be...the president's father, and Dick Cheney.

But you can't deny that some people are getting really really rich from this war, and some of those people happen to be...the president's father, and Dick Cheney.

And I think it's patriotic to ask questions. I think it's too early, and too suspicious to not wonder about the 'weirdness' of the video and details surrounding it.

You can't dismiss it out of hand, and say, nothing to see here. Think of the cultre in Iraq right now- the contractors from places like South Africa(who testified before the Truth and Rec Commission) and the symbolism of putting Negroponte in charge.

Liberal Logical Fallacy:

A simple search in google gives you this on the man with his hand up the back of the sock puppet:

Dick Cheney lobbied to lift sanctions against aid to Azerbaijan that were mandated under section 907 of the 1992 Freedom Support Act. The sanctions were imposed because of concerns about the ethnic cleansing of the Abkhazis. Cheney claimed the sanctions were the result only of groundless campaigning by the Armenian-American lobby. Then in 1997, Halliburton subsidiary Brown & Root bid on a major Caspian project from the Azerbaijan International Operating Company. (Halliburton 8-11-1997; Bruno and Vallette 2000; Flanders 10-06-2001; Cohn 8-10-2001)

It successfully lobbied, through the front organization U.S. Engage, against a 1997 bill intended to impose sanctions against foreign governments that persecute religious groups. (Bruno and Vallette 9-2000)

It supported the overturning of the Massachusetts Burma law that discouraged the state government from awarding contracts to companies doing business in Burma, a country notorious for its repressive government. Halliburton’s business interests in Burma and their complicity in major human rights violations - including the murder, torture, rape, forced labor and forced relocation of some of Burma’s indigenous populations - was documented in a 2000 report by EarthRights International. (Bruno and Vallette 9-2000)

Dick Cheney has lobbied heavily to prevent or eliminate federal laws that restrict Halliburton's ability to do business in Nigeria. (Bruno and Vallette 2000; Flanders 10-06-2001)

As the CEO of Halliburton, Dick Cheney lobbied relentlessly against the Iran-Libya Sanction Act of 1995 and tried to secure Halliburton an exemption. The oil company was very upset that it was being prevented from participating in the development of Iran's offshore oil fields and it wanted to take an active part in the construction of proposed pipelines that would carry Caspian Sea oil to the Persian Gulf. He argued that the “the unintended result of our policy toward Iran is to give Russia more leverage over the independent states of central Asia and the Caucusus by blocking export routes toward the south." (Bruno and Vallette 2000; Flanders 10-06-2001) http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/corporation/profiles/halliburton.html

Do you attempt to deny that Dick Cheney was CFO for Halliburton? Are you really this stupid to claim the current admin has no connections to big oil?

And don't you think we have a right to know why a fellow america was held without a lawyer, with no apparent charges, couldn't contact his family? I want to know why?

In the words of Michael Berg, before this all came out and his son was still missing:

"I think a lot of people are fed up with the lack of civil rights this thing has caused," he said. "I don't think this administration is committed to democracy."

http://kid-oakland.dailykos.com/story/2004/5/11/16488/7347

That's why it's fishy. It's not the shoes, it's not the gold... it's the timing.

Liberal Logical Fallacy:

President George Walker Bush (Republican) He is the son of the former President Bush. He and wife Laura have twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna. Born July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut, he grew up in Midland, Texas. He graduated from Yale in 1968, then returned to Texas and joined the Texas Air National Guard. Bush entered the oil business. Declining oil prices of the early 1980s took their toll on his company. He later sold his original stock shares and made a considerable profit. In 1978, he lost a race for the U.S. House of Representatives. He organized a group of wealthy investors (including himself) and arranged the purchase of the Texas Rangers. After an initial outlay of only $606,000, Bush walked away with nearly $15 million when the team sold in 1998. He was elected governor of Texas (1994-2000).
Unless otherwise noted, quotes are from White House press releases and may found at www.whitehouse.gov

What part of "Bush entered the oil business." don't you understand?

Hey marc, the abu-gharib prison is more of a yellow ochre and the backgroung for poor Mr. Bergs death is yellow orange. Everyone who doubts your credibility said what I have to say. I have an assignment for you LEARN HOW TO FACT CHECK, CORRECTALY. The more spin you peddle, the more the CIA takes intrest in you.

Just a quick question. Has anyone seen my white plastic chair? I had 2 now I only have one. Now let's look at another possibility for all you comspiracy theorists out there. Is it possible that the Berg video could have been done by Iran ? We know Iran and Iraq have a rather nasty history and with the US doing what Iran has been wanting done since forever maybe just maybe it would make sense that Iran did the video in an attempt to help unify US resolve in the war. We left without doing the job once maybe they want us to finish the job this time. Sorry to throw that wwrench into things. Maybe just maybe it isn't the CIA or the FBI or Bush maybe it's the innocent bystander. How does that make you feel?

the point about the white chair is, they are something AMEIRCANS would have. NOT iraqis. I dont think those chairs are as common in iraq as they are in Ameirca.

the point about the white chair is, they are something AMEIRCANS would have. NOT iraqis. I dont think those chairs are as common in iraq as they are in Ameirca.

I love how everyone's dwelling on the chair, the chair! and missing all the other points.

Like why he was detained.

Why he was on a right wing enemies list.

Why is he in an orange jumpsuit?

And why is he not bleeding again?

Forget about the chair for a minute, speculate on these other issues.

"the point about the white chair is, they are something AMEIRCANS would have. NOT iraqis. I dont think those chairs are as common in iraq as they are in Ameirca. "

That's right. See, 1) Iraq NEVER had white plastic chairs EVER before until the US MP's in the prison and 2) Therefore, the white plastic chair MUST be the same!

Couldn't be that Iraq did have white plastic chairs prior to 2003 and/or have made or shipped in such chairs post-2003.

No, couldn't be. Has to be a conspiracy. Call Mulder and Scully.

I've heard to many people say they have army medic experience post not to wonder why the cartoid artery wouldn't gush. Am I an expert? No. Not by a long shot. But there's no blood dripping from his head.

Funny, I didn't realize there were actual "white chair experts". How do you know Iraq never had WHITE PLASTIC CHAIRS?

lol...

That white chair is the HOLY GRAIL of ALL white chairs. Don't you see it? NO ONE has a white plastic chair JUST like that one.

Damn people... Open your eyes!

Rumsfeld has history of fake news-making:

http://tinyurl.com/2wloe

The Federation of American Scientists has pointed to a startling revelation by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that mainstream media have missed: In remarks during a recent press briefing, Rumsfeld suggested that though the controversial Office of Strategic Influence (OSI) no longer exists in name, its programs are still being carried out

OMFG! I have that chair also! Maybe they killed him in my apartment!

Also, for the curious, who want the oppurtunity to look beyond the friggin' chair:

Fishy Circumstances and Flawed Timelines Surround American's Beheading

http://www.infowars.com/print/iraq/berg.htm

that's a good one. go watch a cow being butchered.
now try some basic biology and physics. a cows brain is very much smaller than a humans and requires less blood. a human's heart must pump blood vertically to the brain not horizontilly. human's brain reaquires more blood flow than a cow. it's really all a matter of blood pressure.

Im no forensic pathologist, but I believe if someone is laying down and you cut their head off, the blood just flows out, it doesnt spray like a fire hydrant. Now if they are are standing, there is much more pressure and this will happen. I've seen other videos like this, and the result was similar. Also, the same thing happened in the OJ Simpson case, which is why the killer wasn't drenched in blood.

Also, noone has mentioned the interest al-Zarqawi would have in the case if it wasn't him. Wouldn't he rather save face in the Arab world and say that it was an American cover up? If he could prove it was our government, it would be pandemonium for the Bush administration throughout the entire world. I dont see why he would sit there and let our government scapegoat him when he would gain so much more than just the revenge of one man's life. Just some thoughts.

Hi.

I'm The Only White Plastic Chair In Iraq. My friends call me TOWPCIN.

Recently people have claimed to see me in photos of both Berg's death and in the prison. "TOWPCIN, it MUST be you!" they keep telling me.

Well as the ONLY white plastic chair in Iraq I'm here to tell you: it was not me. It was ANOTHER plastic chair, painted to look white.

Since as we ALL know there's only ONE WHITE PLASTIC CHAIR IN IRAQ, it just couldn't have been me.

Hope this clears things up.

These guys do look like they're wearing costumes for the first time. Look at how the one on the right primps his clothes. Also note that one guy starts the process of cutting the neck then another guy finishes it. Their clothes look like they were just unpacked.

Hey Bush Boys! Since you're so convinced that the admin can do no wrong, can someone explain why the NSC turned down THREE SEPARATE ATTACK PLANS offered by the military to kill Zarqawi? The story's at http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4431601/ .

Liberal media's at it again eh? All lies to corrupt the resolve of our courageous leader.

As for whether the CIA had involvement in Berg's death, especially considering how fortunate the timing is w/r/t the prison abuse ... dittoheads: just imagine if Clinton was running the war (IMO, the CIA doesn't care who's at the helm) -- you'd be lapping it up.

At least some of us radicals hated the fuck out of Clinton too. You conservatives will do anything to suck Bush's dick.

Slurp Slurp!

"Hey Bush Boys! Since you're so convinced that the admin can do no wrong, can someone explain why the NSC turned down THREE SEPARATE ATTACK PLANS offered by the military to kill Zarqawi? "

Maybe the same reason that when Oliver North called for the assassination of Bin Laden and his lieutenants during the Iran-Contra hearings his request was denied. I dont know what it is but you can go get the transcripts for that and look it up. I am sure you'll enjoy sucking on that awhile. Have a nice day ! :)

I'm certainly not one to assume that ANY government will manufacture atrocities to support a military effort. This story stinks in so many ways ... it's really impressive how right wing pussies rally around whoever Rove tells them to.

HOWEVER. Berg probably was killed in the interim time recorded on the tape. So what? That's just like the Pearl video, whose authenticity is never disputed. No spurting blood would seem to indicate already dead, in both videos.

The importance of the beheading is that it looks so shocking, not that it's a particularly easy or efficient way to take someone out. Same goes for the sound -- they probably did fake it. But that doesn't say anything to whether it's Zarqawi or the CIA (or both).

correction: I'm certainly not one to assume that ANY government WON'T manufacture atrocities to support a military effort.

Check out the video timestamp timeline:

13:26 - Berg states his and his father's name. Seated in plastic patio chair in orange jumpsuit. Shot taken from a side angle.

2:18 - Seated in same chair, same jumpsuit, shot taken from the front. Berg identifies his family and where he lives.

2:40 - Berg is seated quietly on the floor in front of five masked men. All the men seem very well fed and the exposed skin rather pale for a bunch of islamic terrorists on the run. The middle guy appears to be reading from two pages of prepared text, although he is continually turning the pages over and over and over, his actions making it completely impossible for anyone to read anything from those papers. The video is too grainy to tell if the guy's mouth is moving.

2:44 - The shot angle has not changed - the middle guy is still 'reading' from his papers. Wild screaming starts on the soundtrack, but none of the masked men seem to notice it, and Berg is still sitting very quietly in front of them. He has not moved at all during these four minutes.

2:45 - the middle guy draws a knife from his jacket, pushes Berg over, and the camera suddenly zooms into such a tight closeup that the screen goes black. The timestamp abruptly changes here.

13:45 - the camera pulls back to reveal Berg utterly motionless, being manhandled by the attackers. An assailant with a black mask draws the knife across the throat, while an assailant with a white mask sits on the motionless body. The soundtrack has several people shouting "allahu akbar", but the opinion of native Iraqi speakers who have heard it is that the accents are NOT Iraqui, more likely arabic or arabic as second language.

13:46 - screaming escalates on the soundtrack yet the windpipe has quite clearly already been completely severed by the knife-weilding assailant with the Black Mask, the head being connected only by the spine. No screaming is physically possible at that point, yet it mysteriously continues, much the way it started. White Mask assailant still stitting on the motionless body, doing nothing.

13:47 - There is another in/out camera zoom and suddenly it is the White Mask assailant, not the Black Mask one, that steps away from the body, knife in hand, holding the head aloft. No blood anywhere. At this point, the timestamp and the camera angle abruptly change again.

2:41 - Berg's head held aloft by White Mask, different angle, no blood. Curious - what day is this? As previously noted, during the 2:40 through 2:44 period, Berg could be seen alive, seated quietly in front of his captors as they 'read' their statement.

13:48 - timestamp and shot abruptly change again. Now we get shot of head resting on top of the prone body, with a zoom on the body's severed neck. Everything is very clean, completely inconsistent with the forensic reality of decapitation.

This tape is, to put a very black humor spin on it, a 'headfake'.

Joe R - why would Ollie North want to kill Osama bin Laden in the eighties? we were supporting ObL, much like we did saddam ... is it because he didn't like Iranians, who O.N. obviously loved so much?

Seriously, whah? I thought he was a loyal soldier for the reaganites.

Joe R said: "Maybe the same reason that when Oliver North called for the assassination of Bin Laden and his lieutenants during the Iran-Contra hearings his request was denied. I dont know what it is but you can go get the transcripts for that and look it up. I am sure you'll enjoy sucking on that awhile. Have a nice day ! :)"

That's a total fabrication, and proven false HERE--> http://www.snopes.com/rumors/north.htm

It's right up there with "Al Gore said he invented the Internet" and "Al Gore said he was the basis of Love Story." Just more neo-conservative nonsense masquerading as truth, that the public laps up in e-mail boxes without even checking the transcripts THEMSELVES. lol

The official govt version now is that the consul that told the Bergs that their son was in US custody was mistaken.....

Two words:

Mea Culpa!

Who stands to benefit?

We all know who and the timing could not be better. Like 9/11 and all other things in politics, it is planned.

As the greate Mr. FDR so eloquently stated, "Nothing in politics happens by chance. Whatever does happen, you can bet it was planned that way."

Support Mariani vs. Bush RICO Act lawsuit. It is one of our last hopes for justice.

Pawn X

Other than the fact you need to learn how to spell (so that your comments seem like they come from someone with more than a 3rd-grade education) I think you might be onto something. The whole thing seemed a bit staged to me from the start. Yes, he seems entirely too complacent for someone about to have his head removed. And, yes, it would be just like the Bushes (or their cronies) to stage something like this to "turn the tide" of public sentiment from the prison abuse story. Stranger things have happened.
However, the white chairs don't mean that much; they are ubiquitous, available just about anywhere. Need more information. You realize, of course, that if this was staged, we'll NEVER hear of it.

First of all my feeling and heart go out to the Berg family and friends, no matter what circumstances he was killed under they still lost him.
So here goes....
Chair-dumb
ring-dumb
shoes-dumb
walls-dumb
fat-dumb
vests-dumb
On to something:
-small amount of blood
-the fact that he was drugged
I noticed:
While reading the speaker's gestures and movements did not match those of the audio track, also he turns, what looks like 3 or 4 papers over 20 times while he, or recording, narrates. Tells me he is just trying to keep up with a recording. Don't know if it means anything, but odd.
Conclusion:
Berg handed over for execution to dudes in video by US(PRO-Bush)to take heat off of Prison abuse stuff so Bush wouldn't look bad for elections.
-or-
They just want us out of Iraq and they know that this sort of propogana would hurt or stop the bush re-election, and in turn end the occupation.
my 2cents

One point, I think the orange suit he is wearing is not prison-issue, its some sort of silk,shiny material like for saris or dressing gowns, not the tough,non-reflective material that you see in the pics of Guantanamo etc.

What first struck me when I saw the video is that maybe the terrorists tried to find something orange to make it plain that they were humiliating the prisoner just as Guantanamo etc. humiliates the Arab prisoners. Maybe that's why he's wearing orange garb.

About the chair, the Middle East is full of cheap-shit chairs like that imported from Asia, I wouldn't say there's much in that, its just a coincidence I think.

About the terrorists being fat, nothing wrong with that, you've seen the prisoner pix too and they weren't skinny.

I didnt realize that white plastic lawn chairs were an abundant item in Iraqi cities and towns. They sure come in handy when Iraqis are mowing their lawns and want to sit down to have a cool glass of lemonade. Or when they are having barbaques for their terrorist guests. Not to mention white plastic lawn chairs are more convenient than those folding chairs or wooden chairs than you usually find in the poor countries.

/sarcasm off

There's a 50% chance that it was done by Islamist terrorists, and a 50% chance that it was done by a group of bonkers CIA in that out-of-control nightmare that is Bush-War Iraq. Who's to tell? Regardless of who killed Nick Berg, the entire planet is going to pay for a good long time to come because of the warmongering religious nut in the White House. Militant, terroristic Islamists could have been controlled, sequestered, marginalized--whatever--by an intelligent policy of international cooperation promulgated by a hard-working, perceptive, engaged president who took seriously his responsibility to future generations of humans. (Remember Bush saying "History? Who Cares? We'll all be dead"?) Instead, we got Bush and his oily apocalyptic fantasies. Nice going, repugs!

To All: To the logical and intelligent, it's pretty obvious this is a retaliatory PsyOp carried out by Agents (either FBI, CIA, former or current military special forces, hired assassains, etc.--in short, anyone who is desensitized to murdering other humans) financially connected to the Corporatist Monolith predominant in the American Ruling Class structure, best symbolized by the Bechtel Group.

The Corporatist Monolith's main antagonists are the International Financier Monolith, which, in America, is best represented by the Rothschild-controlled JPMorganChase investment/commercial bank and the Rothschild-controlled Federal Reserve Banking System.

To make a long story short (the subtleties go much deeper), the machinations are as follows:

1) These forever competing Monoliths both agree on invading Iraq (one agreeing in the unenlightened ignorance of radicalized self-interest, the other agreeing while very much aware of the greater purposes behind the invasion) to secure both the geopolitical and the financial/economic advantages of controlling the country (which, fyi, is a prelude to a forthcoming, all-encompassing war in the Middle East to gain control of the region's natural resource wealth, mostly oil and opium),

2) The Financier Monolith, the more powerful of the two, according to its predetermined plans, desire to internationalize the control of Iraq, for reasons that are rather difficult to explain to those uninitiated with Ruling Class Behaviours and Desires.

3) The Corporatist Monolith has no desire to relinquish control of Iraq's advantageous resources to the Financier Class, so the Financier Class decides to use the motivators of worldwide public embarrasment, condemnation, and forthcoming legal prosecution via a media meme showcasing torturous illegalities committed by American soldiers in Iraq (torture which, fyi and rather unironically, was directed by the Financier Monolith's military intel forces within Abu Ghraib) to force the relinquishing process (and to direct Muslim rage worldwide at Israel and America, the purpose being a greater Mid-East war with America and Israel at the forefront of the assaults on oil-rich Muslim lands).

4) The Corporatist Class, in an effort to shift worldwide public opinion in a more favorable direction, murder Nicholas Berg (in a rather sloppy, unprofessonal manner, might I add), who was most likely a Financier-Controlled Mossad agent masquerading as an independent businessman. This murder had another purpose: it sends a message to the Financier Monolith, which is primarily composed of Secular Israelis in each country worldwide or agents of said Secular Israelis (like Don Stacey, the founder of Stonebridge Associates and the IAIB). The message from the Corporatist Monolith to the Financier Monolith is as follows: "We know what you're doing, we know who you are, and we know what you're trying to accomplish via your media apparatus. Stop it, or you all may suffer the fate of Mr. Berg."

And while these assertions may sound absurd and outlandish to some, their truths are all around you at all times and easily discerned if one ASKS HIMSELF OR HERSELF THE RIGHT QUESTIONS AND THINKS LOGICALLY AND INTELLIGENTLY ABOUT THE ANSWERS AT WHICH HE OR SHE ARRIVES!

Gotta appreciate a good conspiracy theory.

Here's what stands out in my mind.

Do you think that there could be more than one $6.00 plastic chair in Iraq?

How can anyone prove that that ring isn't made of another material other than gold? Brass? I work with many devout Muslims here at Microsoft and every one of them wears gold everyday.

If indeed this is some sort of CIA conspiracy, do you really believe that they are that stupid? Don't you think they'd do their homework before committing such an ungodly act that would be on display for the entire world to see?

The shit about him being dead already...don't think so. I watched the video a few times after reading this and noticed him move quite a few times during the reading of the document.

The blood spurting comments are off too. The external jugular vein runs just under the skin in your neck. They would be the first to be cut during that sort of thing. As many in the medical profession can tell you, veins don't actually "spurt" blood. It would be more of a continuous flow of blood rather than rhythmic "spurting". There are arteries in the neck that are capable of this "spurting" of blood, but they are much deeper with more tissue around them that would prevent this effect with such a slow cut. In the case of a fast cut like the swift blow provided by a guillotine, you are much more likely to see the spurting of blood from the neck. The slow cut allows the muscles around the arteries to contract and slow the blood flow as a measure of defense.

Nimrod???
Did you know......Nimrod is a Babylonian name. Where was Babylon? Currently, it is called Iraq. The cradle of civilization. What does the name Nimrod mean? In the Babylonian language it meant "Mighty Hunter".

Hey vasta, it must be nice to come to my country and run rampant with the first amendment. you should move to canada or better yet back to the cave you came from in the first place. the un-nited nations that you so criptically mention is crooked and obsolete. Human rights don't include american citizens (Blackwater) within this group on the forefront of "democracy" (I mean passive socalism) why dont you provide a sorce for your quote next time...to add to that the president actually has little control over American foreign policy, so place blame on the entire system, if you find them at fault (I don't)

al-Zarqawi is supposed to only have one leg. When did al-Zarqawi grow the new leg?

Uh, those aren't bulletproof vests.
They're AK "chest rigs".
Canvas or nylon magazine carriers. AK47

Minch-I stand corrected. Now I at least know where the hell I heard that. Abu Nidal. Must remember that. Either way sure the videos is false but who produced it. I still would like th think the CIA would be a bit better.

I agree .. too many inconsistencies in the video.

btw .. can anyone tell me why captured Iraqis are called prisoners and captured everything else is a hostage?

dg

"It's the Same Chair" article of Marc Perkel Rantz has been linked to the Information Times -- http://www.InformationTimes.com -- and now it's being read by millions of people across the world.

Also Read: http://www.InfoTimes.net

The Terrible and Strange Death of Nick Berg
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/may2004/berg-m14.shtml

Berg's Father and Firm Were on a Right-Wing 'Enemies' List
http://www.breakfornews.com/NickBergEnemiesList.htm

Nick Berg Decapitation Video Declared "a Fraud" by Medical Doctor
http://www.aztlan.net/fake_video.htm

Berg Died for Bush, Rumsfeld 'Sins' - Father
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0513-07.htm

Nick Berg Beheading Web Links
http://www.rense.com/Datapages/bergdat.htm

Is it worse to be cluster bombed or to be beheaded?

Or does it depend on how brown you are?

Interesting how the author's critics are attacking his credibility based on the possibility of coinicidence with the white chair, but almost no one will touch the orange suit he's wearing.

Executioner wore gold ring - forbidden by Islam-------------

Whether it is against Islam or not is really irrelevant. Most Muslims are condemning the whole act and saying it goes against Islam. That's why they are called EXTREMISTS! Many of the 9/11 hijackers rented porn videos in the days preceding 9/11. Clearly they are not devout Muslims but EXTREMISTS. There's a difference.

Three yeards later, Bush hasn't found Osama Bin Laden.

But he did get Martha Stewart.

I don't mind the fact that Bush is a liar, and is easily the worst president in the history of this country...with the possible exception of Benjamin Harrison.

What I mind is that he's a bad liar. An incompetent liar. And that makes hime the worst leader in the history of the world.

I'll touch the suits!

They are clearly different suits. In the pic at the bottom (of the US soldiers with the prisoner), the suit is short sleeve, it is a v-neck and it fits pretty tight. In the Berg pics, the sleeves are 3/4 sleeves, very loose, the neck has a button at the top (which is unbuttoned), and the suit looks shiny (like it's made of satin or silk type material). I'm pretty sure orange jumpsuits are made of cotton.

BTW, I have two of those chairs sitting on my deck!

i dont know anything about gold but i do know about photography and if they were using a low quality camera indoors white can develope a yellow tint because of the colour temperature indoor lighting.
barry

OK Doc, I'll take on the orange suit. Take a close look, it's shiny. Made out of satin or some polyester blend. Real prison jumpsuits are cotton, not shiny, and darker. Also, the one Berg is wearing looks homemade, the cut is weird. Wherever the suit came from, it's not the same ones put on prisoners by the U.S.

Found that darn chair again....

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20040505/capt.bag11105051711.iraq__bag111.jpg
Iraqi men watch in a cafe in downtown Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites), Wednesday, May 5, 2004 U.S. President's Bush interview on Arab television chanel Al Jazeera. Bush said in the interview that the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison was 'abhorrent' and does not represent 'the America that I know.' (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

FOCK YOU, YOU FUTHER MUCKER

SUCK MY HAIRY SCHWETTY BALLS

Im not a fan of Bush, nor do i think that us going into Iraq was a good thing, but we're there and our soldiers are fighting to stay alive as well as come home safely. This video does nothing but piss me off id like to string up everysingle ARAB and have a bonfire with their corpses, and fuck if they didnt do it. we shoudl pull our boys from iraq and nuke it fuck it just start over. all this religion shit is fuckin nuts. as long as everyone beielves there is a god and does what is right to each other then they will live eternally with god all religions are faked and made up by those who "think" this is how god wants them to live. I see no reason why we should even continue with this mess in the middle east. If they want a war lets give it to them and make them wish theyd never even opened their brown mouths. cuz theyll catch a bullet in it one day. peace and harmony and i know i sound contradicting but to b honest i dont care wut u think. as far as the "theory" that this guy has posted well more ppl might beilive it if you hadnt used some stupid ass examples to prove ur point. it's all one big cluster fuck which ends up leavin innocents dead. i say kill them all and let whichever god they pray to sort em all out.

Bullshit

Hey Rob! Here is one of over twenty thousand google links for "bush we'll all be dead woodward." It's been all over the news, dude. Where you been?

http://memes.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2671&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

Sorry to say it, bud, but folks are plain mad who continue to cheer and support Bush in the face of the disaster he and his hooligans have perpetrated on this fine country. Right-wingers and their religiously insane brethren (of all denominations) are dangerous cultists who cannot wait to force everyone to drink the poisoned Kool-Aid of Armageddon. As ol' Bartcop sez: "Koresh Help Us!"

Oh, and I use an alias because I don't feel like having freepers track me down and try to behead me for expressing my opinion. Have an ice day!

Details from photo analysis: 5 persons in back from left to right (camera tilted slightly L-R):

Person 1: male, 5ft 10in to 6 ft 1in tall,
standing in parade rest military position, possibly black (do "invert colors" his skin around his eyes is as dark as Berg's skin is light) wearing ammo vest

Person 2: male, 6ft to 6ft 4in tallest and heaviest, also
standing in military guard position wearing ammo vest

Person 3: male, 5ft 10in to 6ft tall, clowning gesture

Person 4: unk sex 5ft 6in to 5ft 9in tall, shortest and thinnest person, wearing ammo vest?

Person 5: male 5ft 8in to 5ft 10in tall, white, heavyset, civilian posture, possibly wearing glasses, wearing ammo vest

Berg -- in a pose of patience, not fear, wearing prison issue basic orange

BTW, the CIA's determination of the identity of one of the killers is REALLY as suspicious as the orange jumpsuit

Conclusion? a detailed forensic examination of the pictures/video by a lab will likely show this to be a staged event.

Hey all you neocons-if Bush is re-elected, I will leave the country, you can keep it. This is not the America I love.
Anyway, when watching the video, I kept my eye on the (victim). I saw him blink twice and move his head once. The (terrorists) are jostling, shifting their weight, moving their guns, but hardly any movement from the (victim).
My overall impression is something ain't right and I have no faith that our government is being truthful.

Um, excuse me you utter fools who doubt the authenticity of this killing, or think it's some kind of Mossad conspiracy. What do you mean there is no blood? Look a bit more carefully, and you'll see there are copious amounts of it all over the floor. What do you mean no struggle? Look more carefully, and you'll see Nick bucking and struggling several times as his throat is carved, until he loses consciousness. The sounds of someone's throat being severed are plain to hear. The fact that about 4 people are holding him down, might answer your silly question about his lack of movement. His mouth is opening several times in agony as he's unable to yell out anymore. This was not a faked killing at all. It was real and brutal. A bunch of renegade nutters have commited this atrocity. Chechyan rebels or similar groups flooding into Iraq were most probably the culprits here. Hence, the white hands you lot are oh so concerned about. Not all Muslims have to have brown skin or skinny hands for pity's sake. Bunch of ninnys. As for the plastic chair thing. I wont even bother, because you already know the answer. It's the most absurd theory i've ever heard. Many people live in utter denial about things that are so horrific. Their mind creates conspiracy to hide their shock. Denial is prevelant in certain countries. Particulary in the United States.

As for the wall/floor colour thing, it all depends on the camera you're using. I have a lot of experience with directing films and vides and you can give me two completely different shades of colour, and all it takes is a slightly different white-balance to get pretty much the exact same colour. Without good experience of different camera equipment, you cannot really make assumptions about wall colourings etc.

"As to can see on terrist 2, 4, and 5 - the BULLET PROOF VESTS. American MPs wear them all the time. To them it's like putting on their underwear. hey wear them so that if a prisoner tries to make a knife and stab them in the heart - they are protected." Do some research on ballistic vests or "bullet proof" a ballistic vest won't stop an edged weapon thats the reason they make "ballistic" and "Non-Ballistic vests" for law enforcement agents, and as for the vest they do have on they are just equipment vests for the gear such as magazines and so on. If you are going to paste something such as this on the internet for millions to see try having at least a few facts straight wil ya.

hey vasta, if there are over 20,000 google links to that "bit o spin" than why did you use a link to an article by an anonmyous author? You're just playing ya self kid.

You mention many different seemingly inconsistencies in this article. However, as I read the article, I've noticed that you have no expertise nor even a hint of legitimacy in your claims. You claim the guy doesn't sound like Arabic was his first language (as if that would prove anything), yet you cite no experience nor expertise in recognizing such details, much less whether or not you understand Arabic at all.

As for the chair, who is to say they don't have chairs like that over there? Who? Have you been there? Plastic patio furniture like that is so incredibly commonplace that it doesn't not raise my eyebrow one bit. Who's to say they didn't steal it from some tourist's RV?

This is just one big conspiracy rant that has just as much validity as the video itself. Though there have been reports of the man's family greiving and whatnot, but most likely that's just unsubstantiated rubbish as well.

Where is the proof? I neither believe, nor disblieve the video. It is what it is, because I have no reason to either believe its real, nor that it is completely false. There's no proof either way, and your article doesn't lead to any solid conclusions.

That poor old GOP dog must be dizzy to the point of nausea from the amount of wagging he is being subjected to - I do not know by whom Nick Berg was decapitated - as a matter of fact - I am not even certain that he was actually decapitated - but it should not be hard to CSI those tapes into a standstill and find out who, what and when. The why - for me - is getting more and more obvious. If this man is indeed dead then his murderers need to be brought to answer - but I too noticed how calm he was in the photo right before the knife fell. It did not make sense. Daniel Pearl looked terrified - his body language said it all. At this point in our recent history I am surprised by very little - look how the election was "won". It all started in Florida in 2000. As a resident of California - I can tell you this - Florida has many, many more nuts than we do - hard as that may be to believe.

Oh, and you're right about one thing:

"Marc Perkel is the most dangerous mind on the internet."

Do you think that there are people so hipnotised by Bush( i mena peole, I mena american, that could have done this?? I just cant believe that any sodiers would have followed orders to kill an maericvan like that. It just can't be.

I think it was all a huge prank by students in Iraq. That would have to be my hope if that was my son. Hoping he was okay, sitting in a house down there, smoking herb with them. Maybe he hates America for doing what they have done to them in the past. But, maybe.. just maybe, its all a huge prank, to rile the people of america. People are hating the CIA for possibly doing this, people hate iraq because of the possible chance they did it, it was probably a prank to make both sides hate eachother more. Thats my two cents. :>

Funny, you people who are urging us to believe in everything Bush says are the same people who would never believe Clinton. As if they're not both politicians, and thus both liars.

I saw blood, or what appeared to be blood, pouring out of the man's neck as it was cut. It is an extremely poor quality video, but if you look closely, there is something dark that appears to be flowing onto the floor.

My brain wishes it could puke right now. The biggest question in my mind is: what are the odds that one seemingly unassuming man, amid so much chaos, would be picked up by the authorities (regardless of which), then released, then abducted by terrorists but there be no connection between the two occurrences?

Regardless, speculation is pointless because no matter what happened, it happened, and no matter who perpetrated this barbaric act, the question is: who will make the guilty party pay and HOW? Speculation is a fancy word for gossip, and too often these days we spoon-feed each other bullshit while the truth goes uncovered.

He spoke some Arabic. How could he have not understood what was coming? Why would they not tell him? They're terrorists. TERRORISTS. Why would they not get some sick satisfaction from terrorizing him, and for that matter, from knowing we watched him feel such terror? There are unanswered questions, but under the current administration I personally don't see the truth changing much of anything, really. Has it changed anything thus far?

VOTE. Not only for the presidential candidate of your choice, but for every single elected office in this country, and if they DON'T do the right thing, don't reward them with another term (not to mention a large paycheck, in most cases). One term should be the limit. They do the best they can, and they aren't distracted by shit like re-election, and it would put a damper on so much pandering and lobbying and ass-grabbing. WHY HAVE WE ALLOWED OUR PUBLIC SERVANTS TO STOP SERVING THE PUBLIC'S INTEREST? Because it's easier to sit and type and gossip and speculate. Everyone says "If I were the boss, I'd do this and that". Well you are. Would you keep these people on your payroll if it meant success or failure in a business setting? Then DUH...who do you think we pay to control our economy, our rights, our very LIVES?
VOTE. Make any difference you can, in any way you can. Don't let other people dictate your thoughts and ideas and beliefs. THINK.

Oh, one more thing. You people bad mouthing other peoples opionions are completely out of line. No one knows what happened accept those who were there. Being mean to eachother about it isn't going to solve the problem, is it? No. So, taking what everyone thinks and putting into one huge bin might actually get us some where, you all have nice points, but don't hate on someone because they think something, even if they're not 100% right. So what, its what they believe, let it go. It's not like any of our actual imput will change anything, no matter how hard we think about this, it won't change. If he's dead, he's dead. The people who did it will not go forever unpunished. Even if they die, if there is a hell, they will go to it. Or whatever they believe in. But come on people, dont let the hate make you hate people. We gotta stick together, his family is the most hurt here, I know if I came here and read this, I wouldn't know how to react. My son is dead, and all these people are arguing and making rude comments about it. State you input and let it go. Bleh.

Man whats wrong with you people...this guy isn't saying that he found the answers hes merely makign a statment of something that COULD be true and theres all these arseholes commin in here and badmouthing him for thinking diffrently....i laugh at those that are close minded on the issue rather than the one that thinks diffrently even if it does seem like a stretch....hes even stated that its a theroy not a fact! just like darwin stated that he only had a theroy that it wasn't factual yet its being taught in our school as if it were fact! lighten up eh? good job sir to your making people think diffrent....remember kids according to alot of people on here if you dont think mainstream you are stupid! ::rolls his eyes::

As soon as I heard that Myers had verified the identity of the murderer, I knew this was bollocks. This was the guy who sat in his Pentagon office while the WTC towers were falling AND the Pentagon was being hit by a 'missle' (not my words, Rumsfeld's).

The timing of this video is too convenient. Who does this video serve the best? The Muslims, who finally are getting some respect - and all it took was some nasty torture photos of their Arab brothers, all at the hands of the Americans? OR the Bush Administration, who can now stop these photos from being made public 'cos Americans will be beheaded if they are shown?

Hmmm - I know what my common sense tells me - and it ain't serving the Muslims, that's for sure.

As for the gold ring - a definite no-no for Muslim men. Why would a Muslim leader of Al-Quaeda risk alienating his followers by committing a heinous sin for the sake of looking all bling bling? Same can be said for Atta - if he really was going to be a 'martyr' by crashing a plane into the WTC, would he really shame his family, and his status as a 'martyr' by hitting strip joints and leaving his ID for all to see the night before his entry into 'paradise'?

Maybe the CIA thinks we're all stupid, but we ain't.

ps-Who's to say he wrote all the e-mails his family believed they received from him? I mean, he DID allow someone (a person with terrorist ties at that) to use his computer. He was generous. Do you think that was an isolated incident?

People in power, no matter the country, will sometimes do anything to retain that power. My heart bleeds to think that this smart, generous man was sacrificed for political gain. Whether he was or wasn't, what have we become??

I notice that all these *scared of the truth people are not questioning the things that are beyond the shadow of a doubt.

the government says the man wasn't in jail
his parents say he was
his parents filed a federal lawsuit to get him released
the man is clearly wearing a prison jumpsuit
you don't have to go any further than that to know that something stinks to high heaven about this story
but wait there is more
the chairs ARE the same
the walls ARE the same
the supposed killer HAS a prostetic leg
the person who did the killing does NOT

when did right become whatever your party says it is?

there are some vicious people in this community who care nothing for truth. you keep on doing what you're doing. put it out there.