amateur hour at the CPA

What's surprising me about the Nick Berg story, and the Jessica Lynch story, and god knows how many other stories that turn out to be somewhat more quixotic than they first appeared, is that if they're stitch-up jobs, someone's being a really crappy seamstress. I honestly don't believe that "the truth will out" even remotely approximates reality, yet here you have people trotting out some pretty serious questions on Nick Berg's murder mere days after the video of same appeared in circulation. How can that be? You'd imagine it's a fairly straightforward deal to prove that either he was or wasn't in CPA custody before being kidnapped, etc. And yet it's all stonewalling and null answers from the people in whose best interests it is to dispel these wild-ass conspiracy theories.

The other thing that bothers me about the murder - and previous events - is this: if I did something heinous in the morning, while wearing a US Army uniform and claiming affiliation with same, would you immediately describe my actions as those of the US Army? Or would you perhaps investigate, and consider the plausibility of it all, and then make an informed pronouncement? Why then the rush to believe everyone who says, "oh, by the way, we're also affiliated with Al Qaeda"?

And before you ask, yes, this cuts both ways, particularly in light of the fact that the UK photos were, it seems, faked. I have to say, I had personal difficulty with the fact that the guy in the UK photos was so conveniently wearing an Iraqi Flag tshirt.

unrelated tonsorial posting

I will have to do me a new lj usericon. Or switch the default back to this: Right now, though, it's Mullet Country. Fly me to New Jersey and give me a bleach job.

going to hell, part n in a series of x

So if the Nick Berg video is "obviously dubbed", how come they didn't use the Wilhelm Scream?