26 year old contractor Nick Berg got his head cut off on camera in Iraq by masked men. Just before they did it they said...
"For the mothers and wives of American soldiers, we tell you that we offered the US administration to exchange this hostage with some of the detainees in Abu Ghraib and they refused," the statement said.
"So we tell you that the dignity of the Muslim men and women in Abu Ghraib and others is not redeemed except by blood and souls. You will not receive anything from us but coffins after coffins … slaughtered in this way," the men said.
Berg was not a soldier. He was a contractor, someone sent to 'rebuild Iraq'. I think they used to call them 'carpetbaggers'. He was a supporter of the invasion of Iraq and of Bush. I wonder if he changed his mind too late! This is the sickest thing I have ever read.
I am starting to read Al Jazeera (www.aljazeera.net) for my news in addition to the American Press is just not covering shit very well.
Overall, I find Al Jazeera very fair and balanced where I find the American news very brainwashed. Maybe I am a terrorist myself. Either that or too well educated.
Today is Grisly
Today is Grisly
Last edited by Sloth on Thu May 13, 2004 3:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
are you sure you got that url right? nothing happens when i copy-and-paste.
i also tried www.aljazeera.net but only got the arab-language pages.
...talking about nick berg, i don't quite understand what the excitement is about. we all knew that al-queda were sadistic mass-murdering fascists, didn't we? it isn't like they needed an excuse to cut off somebody's head.
berg was an adventurer who, stupidly, sought his fortune in a country that had been occupied by his country's armed forces. no harm in what he did, really. the poor sod died totally in vain, and i feel immensely sad for him and his family, for what it's worth.
i also tried www.aljazeera.net but only got the arab-language pages.
...talking about nick berg, i don't quite understand what the excitement is about. we all knew that al-queda were sadistic mass-murdering fascists, didn't we? it isn't like they needed an excuse to cut off somebody's head.
berg was an adventurer who, stupidly, sought his fortune in a country that had been occupied by his country's armed forces. no harm in what he did, really. the poor sod died totally in vain, and i feel immensely sad for him and his family, for what it's worth.
I just watched half the video but had to stop it midway because I felt sick.
Then I made a donation to John Kerry's campaign.
https://contribute.johnkerry.com/contri ... ml?team=53
For those of you like Martino who want to read Al Jazeera in English (UK English BTW) its here...
http://english.aljazeera.net/HomePage
Then I made a donation to John Kerry's campaign.
https://contribute.johnkerry.com/contri ... ml?team=53
For those of you like Martino who want to read Al Jazeera in English (UK English BTW) its here...
http://english.aljazeera.net/HomePage
Congress recieves their copies of "Cell Block Gone Wild
Lawmakers said they saw disturbing images that included military dogs snarling at cowering prisoners, Iraqi women commanded to expose their breasts and photos of sex acts, including forced homosexual sex.
In addition, lawmakers said there were images of hooded Iraqi prisoners being forced to masturbate while cameras captured the scene.
Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., said she saw a clothed man hurling himself against a wall as though trying to knock himself unconscious.
"It just deepens the conclusion that this was a cellblock that had gone wild"
In addition, lawmakers said there were images of hooded Iraqi prisoners being forced to masturbate while cameras captured the scene.
Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., said she saw a clothed man hurling himself against a wall as though trying to knock himself unconscious.
"It just deepens the conclusion that this was a cellblock that had gone wild"
From CNN (Comedy NEws Network):
"Top GOP leaders said Wednesday that they oppose releasing new photos and video showing the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, saying they could compromise the prosecution of those soldiers implicated in the acts and further inflame tensions in Iraq."
Further inflame? People are chopping peoples heads off there! How much more inflamed can things get?
The Republicans who support the war deserve the same treatment that Nick Berg got.
Why is it fair for Americans to kill people in cold blood and not Iraqis?
The images will come out. Then there will be no place for scumbags like Bush to hide. The end. People in the Middle East are sick of us telling them what to do. We need to pack up and go home. Otherwise they will kill us. We had our chance to be diplomatic and we chose to be dogmatic. Let's end this thing and impeach our Executive Branch to show the world we are not a dumb or evil as our elected leaders.
"Top GOP leaders said Wednesday that they oppose releasing new photos and video showing the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, saying they could compromise the prosecution of those soldiers implicated in the acts and further inflame tensions in Iraq."
Further inflame? People are chopping peoples heads off there! How much more inflamed can things get?
The Republicans who support the war deserve the same treatment that Nick Berg got.
Why is it fair for Americans to kill people in cold blood and not Iraqis?
The images will come out. Then there will be no place for scumbags like Bush to hide. The end. People in the Middle East are sick of us telling them what to do. We need to pack up and go home. Otherwise they will kill us. We had our chance to be diplomatic and we chose to be dogmatic. Let's end this thing and impeach our Executive Branch to show the world we are not a dumb or evil as our elected leaders.
i saw the video and it reminded me of a movie that my dad took me to when i was but 7: a man for all seasons. the flick is about sir thomas more and naturally, it traumatized me to see how, in the end, they chop his head off.
nick berg had, in life, nothing in common with thomas more, of course. in the video however he had a quiet dignity that really impressed me and so, i cannot say i am shocked, or dismayed that they are showing this. i am shaken and sad though after seeing the video.
i think violence is supposed to shake you and it always makes me sad. the schwarzeneggerian concept of the loveable mass-murderer is something i find obscene. the nick berg murder was, of course, obscene but the video is not.
nick berg had, in life, nothing in common with thomas more, of course. in the video however he had a quiet dignity that really impressed me and so, i cannot say i am shocked, or dismayed that they are showing this. i am shaken and sad though after seeing the video.
i think violence is supposed to shake you and it always makes me sad. the schwarzeneggerian concept of the loveable mass-murderer is something i find obscene. the nick berg murder was, of course, obscene but the video is not.
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mccutcheon
- New York Scribbler
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They say there is an 8 hour difference on the tape from the time of the reading to the actual beheading, so he might not have known his fate just then. I haven't watched the tape and don't think I'm going to. Is there someting to learn from it? Besides the obvious, you know, don't piss of the FBI while in Iraq and stay away from the enemy, war is hell and all that.
Yeah, I can't advise you to watch the tape but at the same time I think everyone should see this tape. Americans need to better understand the enemy before they continue to support this war because, if you see the tape, you will understand there is NO CHANCE of us winning this war. This conflict is beyond politics and strategy. We have brought them the holy war they wanted. You can never tame these fanatics, and that goes for Bush, another fanatic out of control.
This video has got me thinking about the new technology and media that we are dealing with. Osama releasing tapes, prison torture photos everywhere and emailed home, and the ability to cut a guys head off, tape it, and get it to the world undetected is unprecedented. What isn't unprecedented is this kind of violence. It's been going on as long as humans have been around. We just never saw it before.
I used to be opposed to the media's ability to manipulate people and report on things they don't know the whole truth about. But now I'm convinced you've really got to see it to really fight against it. And I think we should see all this shit. soldiers raping prisoners, beheadings, 500 pound bombs falling on children... so many of us have a desensitized view of violence. I can read about a beheading and get upset and sad but when I can see it, hear the chants and the man's last scream, when I can see the chants subside because these masked men are a bit surprised that it is taking so long to saw his head off, when I can be part of that moment, that reality. I am forever changed. Now I can have some real perspective on what we are dealing with, what we are fighting against.
It's heavy and I fear Bush has started us on an inevitable course that cannot be changed.
So Mc, there is a lot you can learn from this video tape. A lot you can learn about yourself. Where you stood or where you stand, you may really begin to feel the kind of outrage you think you have inside you. because I suspect you really aren't feeling it. but this is not a challenge at all...
Have you guys thought about opening up a new section in your literature area for Political Essays? I think you should. I mean you guys are writers and it's your responsibility to literature to respond to it and comment on it. I'd be up for submitting to that.
peace
This video has got me thinking about the new technology and media that we are dealing with. Osama releasing tapes, prison torture photos everywhere and emailed home, and the ability to cut a guys head off, tape it, and get it to the world undetected is unprecedented. What isn't unprecedented is this kind of violence. It's been going on as long as humans have been around. We just never saw it before.
I used to be opposed to the media's ability to manipulate people and report on things they don't know the whole truth about. But now I'm convinced you've really got to see it to really fight against it. And I think we should see all this shit. soldiers raping prisoners, beheadings, 500 pound bombs falling on children... so many of us have a desensitized view of violence. I can read about a beheading and get upset and sad but when I can see it, hear the chants and the man's last scream, when I can see the chants subside because these masked men are a bit surprised that it is taking so long to saw his head off, when I can be part of that moment, that reality. I am forever changed. Now I can have some real perspective on what we are dealing with, what we are fighting against.
It's heavy and I fear Bush has started us on an inevitable course that cannot be changed.
So Mc, there is a lot you can learn from this video tape. A lot you can learn about yourself. Where you stood or where you stand, you may really begin to feel the kind of outrage you think you have inside you. because I suspect you really aren't feeling it. but this is not a challenge at all...
Have you guys thought about opening up a new section in your literature area for Political Essays? I think you should. I mean you guys are writers and it's your responsibility to literature to respond to it and comment on it. I'd be up for submitting to that.
peace
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mccutcheon
- New York Scribbler
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- Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2000 8:01 am
- Location: NYC
- Contact:
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The father of Nick Berg, the American beheaded in Iraq (news - web sites), directly blamed President Bush (news - web sites) and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Thursday for his son's death.
"My son died for the sins of George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld. This administration did this," Berg said in an interview with radio station KYW-AM.
In the interview from outside his home in West Chester, Pennsylvania, a seething Michael Berg also said his 26-year-old son, a civilian contractor, probably would have felt positive, even about his executioners, until the last minute.
"I am sure that he only saw the good in his captors until the last second of his life," Berg said. "They did not know what they were doing. They killed their best friend."
Two days after the publication of a video showing the execution of his son by five masked men, Berg attacked the Bush administration for its invasion of Iraq and its sponsorship of the Patriot Act, which gives sweeping powers of surveillance to the federal government.
Berg described the Patriot Act as a "coup d'etat." He added: "It's not the same America I grew up in."
The criticism came amid finger-pointing between Berg's family, U.S. military officials and Iraqi police over the young businessman's imprisonment before his execution.
Michael Berg rejected U.S. government claims that his son had never been held by American authorities in Iraq. The Iraqi police chief in the city of Mosul has also contradicted statements by the U.S.-led coalition concerning the younger Berg's detention.
"I have a written statement from the State Department in Baghdad ... saying that my son was being held by the military," Berg said. "I can also assure you that the FBI came to my house on March 31 and told me that the FBI had him in Mosul in an Iraqi prison."
Dan Senor, spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority, said this week that Nick Berg was arrested in Mosul by Iraqi police on March 24 and released on April 6.
Senor said the FBI visited Berg three times during his detention by Iraqi police and determined that he was not involved in criminal or terrorist activities.
Brig.-Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said American military police had seen Berg during his detention to make sure he was being fed and treated properly.
Berg returned to Baghdad from Mosul in April and went missing on April 9, during a chaotic period when dozens of foreigners were snatched by guerrillas west of the capital.
His body was discovered by a road near Baghdad on Saturday. The video of his decapitation was posted on the Internet on Tuesday.
Berg had been in Baghdad from late December to Feb. 1 and returned to Iraq in March. He did not find work and planned to return home at the end of March, according to his parents.
Berg's communications to his parents stopped on March 24 and he told them later he was jailed by Iraqi officials after being picked up at a checkpoint in Mosul.
On April 5, McCutcheon's birthday, the Bergs filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, naming Rumsfeld and alleging their son was being held illegally by the U.S. military in Iraq. The next day, he was released.
Remember a time when an American getting beheaded seemed like it could only happen in a Tarantino film?
"My son died for the sins of George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld. This administration did this," Berg said in an interview with radio station KYW-AM.
In the interview from outside his home in West Chester, Pennsylvania, a seething Michael Berg also said his 26-year-old son, a civilian contractor, probably would have felt positive, even about his executioners, until the last minute.
"I am sure that he only saw the good in his captors until the last second of his life," Berg said. "They did not know what they were doing. They killed their best friend."
Two days after the publication of a video showing the execution of his son by five masked men, Berg attacked the Bush administration for its invasion of Iraq and its sponsorship of the Patriot Act, which gives sweeping powers of surveillance to the federal government.
Berg described the Patriot Act as a "coup d'etat." He added: "It's not the same America I grew up in."
The criticism came amid finger-pointing between Berg's family, U.S. military officials and Iraqi police over the young businessman's imprisonment before his execution.
Michael Berg rejected U.S. government claims that his son had never been held by American authorities in Iraq. The Iraqi police chief in the city of Mosul has also contradicted statements by the U.S.-led coalition concerning the younger Berg's detention.
"I have a written statement from the State Department in Baghdad ... saying that my son was being held by the military," Berg said. "I can also assure you that the FBI came to my house on March 31 and told me that the FBI had him in Mosul in an Iraqi prison."
Dan Senor, spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority, said this week that Nick Berg was arrested in Mosul by Iraqi police on March 24 and released on April 6.
Senor said the FBI visited Berg three times during his detention by Iraqi police and determined that he was not involved in criminal or terrorist activities.
Brig.-Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said American military police had seen Berg during his detention to make sure he was being fed and treated properly.
Berg returned to Baghdad from Mosul in April and went missing on April 9, during a chaotic period when dozens of foreigners were snatched by guerrillas west of the capital.
His body was discovered by a road near Baghdad on Saturday. The video of his decapitation was posted on the Internet on Tuesday.
Berg had been in Baghdad from late December to Feb. 1 and returned to Iraq in March. He did not find work and planned to return home at the end of March, according to his parents.
Berg's communications to his parents stopped on March 24 and he told them later he was jailed by Iraqi officials after being picked up at a checkpoint in Mosul.
On April 5, McCutcheon's birthday, the Bergs filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, naming Rumsfeld and alleging their son was being held illegally by the U.S. military in Iraq. The next day, he was released.
Remember a time when an American getting beheaded seemed like it could only happen in a Tarantino film?
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Nick Carraway
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- Contact:
okay, the carpetbagger comment in the initial post...
you sorta used it right, but pretty much not. see the Civil War caused a lot of distruction and it was mainly faught in the south of North America. There were men in the north sent to the south after the southern defeat in the civil war to reconstruct southern North America. This period in time was called the Reconstruction Era. This lasted for a long time. The south after a defeat of course is in bad economic health because of the war and their desolated lands. So these men that come down to the South after the war to help rebuild know that because they have money and the southerners don't have anything they can take advantage of the southerners. That's why it has a bad connotation. Which is not the case exactly in Iraq. SUPPOSEDLY, and i repeat because Bush and our government is fucking annoying and won't tell us a god damn objective in Iraq since 9/11, SUPPOSEDLY we are there not to take advantage but to solely help.
well, there is your nugget of knowledge from me for the day!
Okay, if you just read this and are like dude, this kid is a lame ass nerd, i'm in highschool and i just studied this stuff last semester, i bet by freshman year in college i won't even remember how to spell carpetbagger
! (it's a joke, i don't forget how to spell) <-- it's sad that jokes have to be explained now'a'days
you sorta used it right, but pretty much not. see the Civil War caused a lot of distruction and it was mainly faught in the south of North America. There were men in the north sent to the south after the southern defeat in the civil war to reconstruct southern North America. This period in time was called the Reconstruction Era. This lasted for a long time. The south after a defeat of course is in bad economic health because of the war and their desolated lands. So these men that come down to the South after the war to help rebuild know that because they have money and the southerners don't have anything they can take advantage of the southerners. That's why it has a bad connotation. Which is not the case exactly in Iraq. SUPPOSEDLY, and i repeat because Bush and our government is fucking annoying and won't tell us a god damn objective in Iraq since 9/11, SUPPOSEDLY we are there not to take advantage but to solely help.
well, there is your nugget of knowledge from me for the day!
Okay, if you just read this and are like dude, this kid is a lame ass nerd, i'm in highschool and i just studied this stuff last semester, i bet by freshman year in college i won't even remember how to spell carpetbagger
! (it's a joke, i don't forget how to spell) <-- it's sad that jokes have to be explained now'a'daysEmail: Nick999@alltlel.net
AIM: pedroisthelion
AIM: pedroisthelion