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Nick Berg: Michael Moore's secret cameraman?
Michael Moore, Salon.com

Posted on 05/28/2004 8:42:49 PM PDT by Objective Reality

Please pardon the vanity, but I've not seen this theory posited elsewhere in any searches I've performed.

First the admission from Michael Moore that he interviewed Nick Berg prior to his trip to Iraq. Why, in God's name, if Berg was just some foolhardy "mercenary" (as Moore calls Americans in Iraq in general)?

Then, with the slightest amount of further investigation, this post from Moore himself, on his own website. Note, very well, the date.

Quoting:

"I currently have two cameramen/reporters doing work for me in Iraq for my movie (unbeknownst to the Army). They are talking to soldiers and gathering the true sentiment about what is really going on."

Rather explains why Berg would have refused safe passage home from the military, doesn't it?

I therefore theorize that Michael Moore commissioned Nick Berg to act as his proxy / cameraman in Iraq with the stated goal of meeting and interviewing the "minutemen" of the "revolution," thereby directly leading Berg to his own murder, and making Moore himself more culpable than any member of the Bush administration in that murder.

If Moore has an interview with "pro-war-Bush-supporter" Berg, as is claimed, this should be very easy for him to deny.

Let him do so.


TOPICS: Front Page News; Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: bigcogwheelturns; nickberg
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To: Objective Reality
Michael Moore is pathological liar. I wouldn't believe anything he says until he can prove it.
61 posted on 05/28/2004 10:13:14 PM PDT by kcvl
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To: Registered

Reg--your satire hits paydirt again.


62 posted on 05/28/2004 10:13:57 PM PDT by SkyPilot
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To: al baby

ROFLMAO!!!


63 posted on 05/28/2004 10:13:57 PM PDT by Rollee (The question really is where do we find another General Black Jack Pershing????)
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To: xm177e2
Where do you suppose The Guardian got their sweet little background piece? I've read the texts from interviews with Nick Berg's friends and not one of them mentions that he was a supporter of President Bush or the war. They're all basically noncommittal and just talk about him being an adventurous nice guy. His father made the comment and then it was picked up by the media.

Why do we not hear from Nick Berg's mother, I wonder?

64 posted on 05/28/2004 10:18:10 PM PDT by arasina (So there.)
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To: arasina

She's too busy making little dolls.

http://rbcrafts.org/members/dolls/berg/artist.htm


65 posted on 05/28/2004 10:36:56 PM PDT by Registered
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To: Registered

Time to add my tagline to your no tagline. Hmmm! Wonder where I got it?

66 posted on 05/28/2004 10:38:26 PM PDT by Grampa Dave ( WHAT DID MICHAEL MOORE KNOW ABOUT NICK BERG? WHEN DID HE KNOW IT?)
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To: sd-orf
One wonders if the Nick Berg appeared in Moore's film before Michael Berg's name appeared on FreeRepublic

Moore interviewed Nick Berg last year before his first trip to Iraq, which was December 21st, 2003.

67 posted on 05/28/2004 10:45:14 PM PDT by Howlin
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To: Objective Reality

There is a live thread on FR that started last night that dealt/deals with Moore interviewing Nick Berg. It has over 1,000 replies with a lot of new data, like Berg was interviewed last December before he went to Iraq.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1143602/posts

Moore interviewed Berg for "Fahrenheit"
Salon.com ^ | May 27, 2004 | Rebecca Traister


Posted on 05/27/2004 9:26:51 PM PDT by Rennes Templar


May 27, 2004 | Filmmaker Michael Moore filmed an interview with American Nicholas Berg in the course of producing his documentary film "Fahrenheit 9/11" before Berg left for Iraq, where he was taken hostage and killed, Moore confirmed to Salon in a statement Thursday. The 20 minutes of footage does not appear in the final version of "Fahrenheit 911," according to the statement.

Word of the footage reached Salon through a source unaffiliated with Moore or his film "Fahrenheit 9/11," which is reported to feature stark images of U.S. civilians and soldiers grappling with conditions in war-torn Iraq, as well as examining the relationship between President George W. Bush and the bin Laden family. It received the Palme d'Or, the Cannes Film Festival's highest honor, on Saturday.

In a statement widely circulated by Moore's people after an initial request for comment by Salon, Moore said, "We have an interview with Nick Berg. It was approximately 20 minutes long. We are not releasing it to the media. It is not in the film. We are dealing privately with the family." Moore's camp declined to comment further on any aspect of the interview. Because the footage is not in the film, a spokeswoman for Miramax Films, the production company behind "Fahrenheit 9/11," said the company had no comment.

It was not clear from Moore's statement whether footage from the interview with Berg had ever been included in early cuts of "Fahrenheit 9/11." Reports about a film industry controversy surrounding distribution of the film first hit the news on May 5, a week before Berg's death. The film officially screened for the public and the press for the first time during the Cannes festival on May 17.

The news that Moore spoke to Berg while he was still in the United States only adds to the mystery surrounding the young man's presence in Iraq and tragic death. The interview was shot before the 26-year-old Berg left for Iraq late last year as a private contractor in the hopes of helping to rebuild the ravaged country. Though it was unclear what Berg spoke about in his interview with Moore, or how the two men met, unrelated reports following his death indicate that he headed for the Middle East with plans to work to improve the country's technological infrastructure and communication abilities. He ran his own company, Prometheus Methods Tower Service, in a suburb of Philadelphia.

Berg did not find employment in Iraq, and when he attempted to return to the United States he was detained by Iraqi police and questioned by American forces. He was released after his family complained. But shortly after, he is believed to have been kidnapped by Islamic terrorists. Video of his beheading was released on an Islamist Web site on May 11. Salon was unable to reach the Berg family for comment before publication.

Moore's film chronicles the United States' military, political and business involvement in the Middle East in the years before and after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. His previous politically charged films, including "Roger & Me" and "Bowling for Columbine," have created controversy and won him praise (including an Oscar, for "Columbine"). "Fahrenheit 9/11" has already sparked a media storm; in early May, Miramax's parent company, Disney, announced that it would not allow Miramax to distribute the film, which is highly critical of Bush and his administration.

Miramax has yet to make a deal with a distributor, though the film's warm reception at Cannes and the publicity surrounding the film have made it a hot property that is generating a lot of interest in Hollywood. "Bowling for Columbine" grossed $21 million, making it the highest-grossing non-IMAX documentary of all time.

A source close to "Fahrenheit 9/11" said that a new distributor will be announced shortly, and that the film is expected to be released in theaters during the first week of July, as originally planned.


68 posted on 05/28/2004 10:48:07 PM PDT by Grampa Dave ( WHAT DID MICHAEL MOORE KNOW ABOUT NICK BERG? WHEN DID HE KNOW IT?)
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To: xm177e2

"Berg was PRO-WAR."

Is there any proof of this?


69 posted on 05/28/2004 10:52:14 PM PDT by Gigantor (Heaven forbid ANYONE learn English because it's the language of the country you're in for 30 years!)
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To: Howlin

He interviewed Nick Berg BEFORE his first trip to Iraq?!? I'd definitely say it was a job interview. What other inside-Iraq info could he have possibly gotten from Nick Berg for the the Crapumentary!??! Has anyone done a timeline on these events. This is lunacy! LOL.


70 posted on 05/28/2004 10:54:45 PM PDT by Registered
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To: Grampa Dave

Who paid Nick Berg?


71 posted on 05/28/2004 10:55:19 PM PDT by Registered
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To: Objective Reality

What I don't understand is why Moore never told anybody about this until the article yesterday at Salon.com.

If there is nothing sinister about this, why wouldn't he have called the family and said, "I met with your son, I have video of him, quite possibly the last videos of him, would you like to see it?"


72 posted on 05/28/2004 10:56:35 PM PDT by Howlin
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To: Gigantor; xm177e2
Why bother asking that question? The answer will be the same one I got, which was also a question...along the lines of "Is there any proof that Berg wasn't pro-war?" together with the added support of a statement The Guardian says he was pro-war and a supporter of President Bush (so it must be true).
73 posted on 05/28/2004 10:58:19 PM PDT by arasina (So there.)
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To: xm177e2

That's not sourced.


74 posted on 05/28/2004 10:58:26 PM PDT by Howlin
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To: Registered

Yes, he sure did.

It was sometime last year, as I said, before Berg left for his first trip to Iraq.

And, yes, we have.......and we're still working on it.


75 posted on 05/28/2004 11:00:48 PM PDT by Howlin
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To: Registered

And didn't Nick Berg supposedly say he was losing lots of money being detained for questioning? His communications towers business wasn't bringing in the bucks, was it? His second trip to Iraq Soros/Moveon or Moore the moron funded, perhaps?


76 posted on 05/28/2004 11:01:28 PM PDT by arasina (So there.)
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To: Registered
Preliminary timeline: in the process of being edited:
Here's a timeline I found here.


Nicholas Berg Timeline and Video analysis

Timeline of Nick Berg
Please post additions and corrections.

1999:
While attending a course at a remote campus of the University of Oklahoma near an airport, Nick Berg gave his email account and password to a student on a bus who may have been an acquaintance of Moussaoui . That email account was later used by Zacarias Moussaoui, a 911 suspect who attended flight school in Oklahoma in February 2001. Mr. Berg was unaware the person had terrorist ties.
CNN

The director of the The University of Oklahoma is David L. Boren, mentor of CIA director George Tenet.
George Tenet
David Boren

April/May 2000:
Lt. Bruce Chan of the university police at the Norman, Okla., campus, said yesterday by phone that Berg was busted twice for apparently living at the student union center - after he was no longer enrolled as a student.

Chan said that, after receiving complaints from staffers at the Oklahoma Memorial Union that Berg was camped out there, police issued a warning and then twice arrested him for trespassing, a misdemeanor. He said the arrests were in April and May 2000, but Chan didn't have exact dates.
Philly.com (subscription)

2000/2001
Nick Berg is listed as a public events attendant at Lloyd Noble center at Oklahoma University
INN
http://news.globalfreepress.com/ewing/images/bergOK1.gif

2001 or 2002:
The FBI contacts Nick Berg and questions him about the incident after his computer password turned up in Moussaoui's belongings. They cleared Berg of any terrorist links.
Chron.com

March 2003
Nick Berg’s father, Michael Berg participates in an anti-war rally.
Michael Berg belonged to an organization called ANSWER, or Act Now to Stop the War and End Racism.
Timed Herald

December 21 2003
Nicholas goes to Iraq to look for work.
He also travels to Mosul to visit an Iraqi who was the brother of a man who had married his late aunt.

Jan 4 2004
He sends an email and describes working on towers near Abu Ghraib
Duluth Superior
His Email

January 18 2004
He sends another email where he mentions he was arrested and released.
Duluth Superior
He also states that his company had been announced as an approved subcontractor for a broadcast consortium awarded a contract for the U.S.-controlled Iraqi Media Network.
Guardian

February 1 2004
He leaves Iraq.

March 7 2004
The freerepublic website provides a list of persons under the heading HERE IS THE ENEMY -- they have posted their names
On that list is Michael S. Berg, Teacher, Prometheus Methods Tower Service, Inc.,
Freerepublic
BreakForNnews

March 14 2004
Nick travels back to Iraq to look for work for his company, Prometheus Methods Tower Service, Inc.

March 24 2004
He contacts his parents and tells them he will return to the States on March 30th.
That same day, he is arrested near a checkpoint in Mosul by Iraqi officials.
They find an Israeli stamp in his passport.
They also find a copy of the Koran and other literature.
Philly.com

March 26 2004
The first of three FBI questionings during his detainment.
Thestate.com

March 31 2004
FBI agents inform Nick’s parents that their son is alive but is in jail following an arrest.
Thestate.com

April 1 2004
Nick’s parents receive an email stating:
““I have confirmed that your son, Nick, is being detained by the U.S. military in Mosul. He is safe. He was picked up approximately one week ago. We will try to obtain additional information regarding his detention and a contact person you can communicate with directly,””
Thestate.com

April 5 2004
Nick’s parents file a suit demanding the release of their son.

April 6 2004.
Nicholas is released.
He goes back to his hotel and tells a United Press International photographer about his arrest.
“"Nick told me that he was held for a few hours by the police and then taken to a U.S. military base and held for almost two weeks by the U.S. military. He repeatedly said he was held in the [Coalition Provisional Authority] jail in Mosul for two weeks," Mr. Infante said.”
Washington Times

April 9 2004
He contacts his parents and says he will try to come home by way of Jordan, Turkey or Kuwait.
USA today

April 10 2004
A State Department spokeswoman said a U.S. consular official in Iraq spoke with Berg on April 10 and offered to "assist him in departing Iraq by plane" for Jordan. She said Berg declined and said he planned to travel overland to Kuwait.
Seattle Times

His father said his son e-mailed him that he didn't want to travel to the airport because he believed it was too dangerous. American soldiers refer to the airport highway as "RPG Alley" because of frequent attacks by insurgents firing rocket-propelled grenades.
Christian Science Monitor

His family and friends do not hear from him after that date.

April 19 2004
Three calls were made from his phone — to Jordan, to the United Arab Emirates and to a local number. No confirmation of whether it was him or someone who had taken his phone.
USA Today

May 7 2004
An email from his parents is posted on a yahoo news groups asking for anyone with information on their sons dissaperance to come forward.
Email on Yahho Group

May 8 2004.
His body is found on a Baghdad highway overpass.
“The body found on the overpass was identified as Nick Berg, 26, of West Chester, Pa., a self-employed civilian contractor. Berg's body, with signs of trauma, was found Saturday, the military said. “
USA today

May 10 2004
His parents are informed of his death.

May 11 2004
The news media reports the decapitation of Nicholas Berg and the posting of the video on al-ansar.biz
“The Web site said Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a top ally of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, was the man who cut off Berg's head. The statement read out before the killing was signed off with Zarqawi's name and dated May 11.”
Reuters

Iraqi police have said they did not arrest Berg.
Bloomberg
The US says they did not detain Berg but that Iraqi police did.
Washington Post


932 posted on 05/28/2004 6:40:14 PM EDT by nunya bidness (Yorktown)

77 posted on 05/28/2004 11:03:20 PM PDT by Howlin
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To: Howlin

Oh, darn. I put the unedited one up:

Between March 2003 (when Michael Berg attended the ANSWER rally on the MALL in D.C.) and December 21, 2004, Nick Berg met with Michael Moore.


78 posted on 05/28/2004 11:04:45 PM PDT by Howlin
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To: alaska-sgt

Well .. it might be "interesting", but it doesn't seem very plausible to me.

Nick Berg was known for agreeing with the war in Iraq, and generally approved of President Bush. I find it really hard to believe Nick would be associated with anyone like Moore.


79 posted on 05/28/2004 11:06:52 PM PDT by CyberAnt (The 2004 Election is for the SOUL of AMERICA)
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To: arasina

If you go to http://nickberg.org and read his emails, you can see that he only went to Iraq to try to get business -- to make contacts, etc.

In fact, in one of the emails, he tells his friends and family that he's trying to get a business manager over there and that he's not going to be coming home the first week in January as he told him he would. He came home the end of January.

The emails seem very genuine, IMO.


80 posted on 05/28/2004 11:06:54 PM PDT by Howlin
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