Nick Berg Killing - Kas' take
Posts: 7745
  • Posted On: Jun 9 2004 9:11pm
I just downloaded and watched the video of Nick Berg being beheaded. I'd heard about it prior to this, but I never had time to do much beyond read a few articles.

I watched it, watched it again, and again, did some freeze-frame viewing, zoomed in on some shots... I came to these conclusions.


~1 There's not enough blood. They cut the fellow's head off, there's a pool of blood under the body, but there's no blood (that I can see) squirting everywhere. I'm not talking about Kill Bill style power-washer expulsions of blood, but the gallon+ of blood in the human body is under pressure. I've butchered my fair share of pigs in my day, and I can say with authority that there are many little arteries that are only too happy to send streams of blood out all over your face and hands if you're not careful. And these are pigs that have been shot before being cut.

Also, when the executor held up Berg's head, there wasn't much dripping. They just ripped his head off his body, a body which would have squirted blood all over the head, yet it looks like someone wiped it with a sponge before bringing it up.

~2 This is also this suspiciously small file. I mean, come on! The thing is so small you can't tell what's what. Jeez, if I killed someone, and wanted to make a statement, I would upload the biggest file I could. At least something bigger than this dinky 150px wide video.

But then, it could be that I found a compressed version, not the full thing.

~3 Don't terrorists in general have a tendency to want to be known as 'The One Who Done It?' All these guys are covered up in swaths of cloth. All the videos I've seen on general TV for people claiming responsibility, etc, have had everyone uncovered, close-ups of people, bla bla bla, etc etc etc. They want you to know they did it, and they want you to know that they'll do it again.

~4 What's with all that infernal screaming right before they grabbed the guy, and started slicing? It's like some idiot dubbed in fake movie screams, but didn't check to make sure that they were sequenced correctly.

~5 The film is obviously very heavily edited. There's a lot of zooming right after the killers grab Berg, and throw him to the ground, then there are a few jumps in the video, and then there's Burg, laying like a sleeping angel getting his head sawed off. The jumps, and the amateurish (too amateurish, really) zooming action, and then the camera angle jump as the camera zooms out again is very suspicious. All that zooming was unnecessary, all the cameraman has to do is walk forward, or tap the zoom button a bit. It conveniently provides cover for some very poorly done edits, though.

~6 And lastly but not least, the guy who starts cutting the head is wearing a black mask. The guy who completes the decapitation is wearing a white mask. Hmm... The amazing switcharoo? Did it get too hot in the building for black?


~7 So, I'm convinced it's a fake.

In short, whoever filmed and edited this thing was only didn't know what he was doing. I could have done better, and I'm not bragging.

If you haven't downloaded the video, you can get a copy here: www.thememoryhole.org/war..._video.htm
Posts: 7745
  • Posted On: Jun 9 2004 10:25pm
Apparantly I'm not the first one to spot these mistakes. Link.
Posts: 2377
  • Posted On: Jun 9 2004 10:48pm
IT MUST BE THE COMMUNISTS.
Posts: 7745
  • Posted On: Jun 9 2004 11:43pm
Naw, probably the CIA.
Posts: 2011
  • Posted On: Jun 9 2004 11:59pm
It was the Illuminati, and you all know it.
  • Posted On: Jun 10 2004 1:00am
It was Gash.
Posts: 4025
  • Posted On: Jun 10 2004 1:02am
It must be the Jews
Posts: 5387
  • Posted On: Jun 10 2004 2:06am
To say that I am shocked that you don't believe it would be a gigantic understatement.

Hell, I didn't even think you'd ever watch it (I know I won't).
  • Posted On: Jun 10 2004 3:17am
I haven't watched it, and I don't see why others have. I don't see the gain of watching a man die.
Posts: 7745
  • Posted On: Jun 10 2004 3:40am
To say that I am shocked that you don't believe it would be a gigantic understatement.

Hell, I didn't even think you'd ever watch it (I know I won't)


I can understand you being grossed out by it, it is a rather revolting action. Saying that I wasn't feeling slightly sick after reviewing it would be a lie.

I do believe they really did cut the fellow's head off, I just don't think he was alive when they did it. After reading some papers, and watching the video again, I agree with those that say Berg (if it was indeed Berg, there appear to be questions as to whether or not it was him) was dead before they decapitated him.

Maybe the killers were squeamish.

I haven't watched it, and I don't see why others have. I don't see the gain of watching a man die.


As Vincent Flanders said in his book, Web Pages That Suck, there are two types of images that people will wait to download. Porno and pictures of Dead People. Morbid curiosity, you could say.