Freepers target beheaded man's father!!!

From indie paper: http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/05/288339.shtml

"An Internet hate group called "Free Republic" targeted Nick Berg's father and company on an enemies list two weeks before the son was detained by Iraqi police. The son was subsequently kidnapped and beheaded, allegedly by Islamic terrorists.
Two weeks before Nicolaus Berg, the American beheaded in Iraq, was picked up by Iraqi police, a right-wing hate group calling itself Free Republic link published an internet hit list of "enemies" with the avowed purpose of harassing and harming individuals on the list. The list was copied from an online petition supporting a March 20, 2004 demonstration sponsored by the anti-war group ANSWER. It included the name of Michael S. Berg and listed his affiliation as Prometheus Methods Tower Services, Inc.

Tactics discussed by the right-wingers included circulating the names to employers, the FBI and the military in anticipation of causing them "serious grief." One participant stated, "I sure do hope to see a round of hangings soon." The larger Free Republic site abounds with apocalyptic imagery, frequent calls for genocide against Muslims and Arabs and expressions of adoration for US President George W. Bush.

"Here you are, FReepers." wrote 'doug from upland,' the instigator of the enemies list, , "Here is the enemy. Working in conjunction with A.N.S.W.E.R., they have given us their names. How about this one --- Jameel Rashid, U.S. Coast Guard, Portsmouth, VA. Well, sailor. I guess it is time for me to call your commanding officer and see what he thinks about this."
The discussion topic is identified on the site by the "keywords": APPEASENIKS; DAMNCOMMIES; ENEMYWITHIN; LEFTISTS; PEACENIKS; RATS; SCUMBAGS; TRAITORS; TREASONOUSSCUM; USEFULIDIOTS; WARONTERROR

"Less we forget," replied 'bmwcycle,' "Everyone send this to Rush, Sean, Fox, and everyone you can e-mail this list. Don't stop until everyone has a copy."

The tone of discussion on the topic, which initially continued from March 7 to March 12 2004, may be summarized by the following comments:

"The poor moron is not going to know what hit him."

"2000 piles of puke on the floor, representing the who's who of the world of stench."

"Ah, too bad we don't have some pictures so we could make up a rogues gallery of some of the individuals."


"Turn on the full volume idiot alert with red strob light. This is priceless ---"

"I only wish this putz worked for me. I can assure you, he would rue the day his mother delivered him."

Discussion on the list had played itself out by March 12, totalling 269 messages. Then on May 11 it resumed with the message, "The guy who was beheaded was on this list. He was also arrested by Iraqi police and held in an Iraqi prison for a few weeks before he was kidnapped. I think they treated him better in the prison than the kidnappers did." This was followed by a correction, "Michael S. Berg, Teacher, Prometheus Methods Tower Service, Inc.," I believe this is the father of Nick Berg - I wonder what he thinks about his Muslim buddies now..."

One respondent to the message, "'He won't blame the Islamofascist bastards. He will blame the president'... and he has," expressed a desire to "spit in the face" of Michael Berg. It was deleted by the list moderator, (comment #275).

Another relayed the information that the FReeper enemies list was being mentioned in connection with Nick Berg's murder.

"Did you know FreeRepublic is being partially blamed for Nick Bergs beheading?" Asked one participant.

A subsequent message sought to disown any possible culpability, "FR just copied a list. Whoever put the list together in the first place is in the mix too." Two messages, their senders apparently struck by conscience or public relations savvy, quickly offered obligatory, if mixed, expressions of magnanimity: "My heart and prayers go out to the Berg family, and Mr. Berg's friends. My prayers also go, daily, to our fightig men and women, and that God will strike our enemies senseless." "My prayers are for the Berg family and friends also. Regardless of their politics they are parents and I have sympathy for what they must be going through. It has to be heart wrenching.

The last comment on the list, as of 4:10 am on May 13 complained, "Now we at Freerepublic are responsible for Berg's death-because of this thread?" But perhaps the answer to that had already appeared, two messages earlier with presumably unintentional irony: "When is the last time you saw someone on the political right do property damage or deliberately injure someone? When do we call for the death of anyone other than our enemies?"

No, maybe not for any culpability in the Berg death. Threatening and Harassing are clearly against the law, and jail-able offenses.

I had known about this before, but I still think its hilarious. All their jingoism and hate has blown up on them.

And, with that last line there: Yes, they do call for the death of their enemies. Constantly. And, it just so happens that Nick Berg was one of their enemies. So is anyone who votes Democratic.

And the funniest part? They don't want to take the blame for the list!
"It wasn't us who wrote the list. It was someone else! We just posted the list and said that the people on it were our enemies and enemies of America, and wished terrible things to happen to them."

That just strikes me as being funny and appropriate. The fact is, they never have their own ideas or beliefs. They just parrot what Limbaugh and Hannity and Bush say. Now that their inability to think on their own has busted them, they want it to be clear that they don't think for themselves. Its like saying "Don't blame me for hating these people! I was told to hate them!"


Ahh... Its funny how FReepers, right wingers, and Nazis all get so caught up in the fun of scapegoating, hatred, intolerance, and nationalistic rhetoric that they can forget how such attitudes can come back and bite them in the ass.

It is very heartening to me that others see them for what they really are, haters.

I am glad they are being called out AGAIN (if you don't remember, MSNBC called them out for interfering with a poll they were trying to conduct and listed a link to their website) for being hateful.

Everytime somebody posts a link to what the freepers are up to, I always feel sick after reading what they are saying.

I am also happy to see the article point out the link between freepers, Rush, Hannity and Faux news.

...I support their right to freedom of speech, even if I vehemently disagree with what they are saying but this is too much. They want to encroach on everybody elses rights. And I agree, the people doing this should be thrown in jail for it.

. . . when they picked him up for questioning about something that they already knew?

You know, harassing the leftie contractor kind of thing?

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1092851/posts

Within the replies are also various other links to sites that list the names of "America Haters".

These people are sick, disgusting assholes. They would be right at home in 1938 Germany.

What would it take for them to start killing liberals? I mean, really?

All that would need to happen would be for Bush to release these names, and then say "These people are threats to 'merika, and must be dealt with" and then the FReepers would be out hunting liberals and muslims in the streets faster than you can say "megadittoes"!

These groups who want to down play the torture of those in our custody are the same ones who will be out there torturing their own neighbor

Hate crime laws are made to handle people like this..... whether anyone enforces them is another thing.......

I am sure the connections in name and father and his name being out their did not help their son......the freepers ......are really evil.

They can change their name, but their hateful game is still very much the same.

just one of their little pranks....that got someone killed.... but they will blame the liberal media instead.......which is really right leaning and owned by Repubs....

Remind me again why I use a screen name at DU.

'Freeper, a member of a well known hate group' ...

The world knows this: every good american should know this:

FreeRepublic.com is a hate group ....

The MEMBERS of Freerepublic.com are members of a well known hate group ....

Poor jimrob: whatever shall he do ? .... put some flowers in the lobby ? ... Sing Kumbaya ? ...

Chuckles ..... sociopathic dweebs ...

One of the funny things about this is that these are the absolutely classic folks who support those who take advantage of them all of the way to their being completely expendable.

Some of the enlisted folks, who will go down for their crimes in Iraq while officers, civilian contractors and Republican bureaucrats retire with fat pensions, are blood-brothers to freepers.