North Georgia Dogma

Statement from Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks

March 14, 2003

"As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect. We are
currently in Europe and witnessing a huge anti-American sentiment as a result of the perceived rush to war. While war may remain a viable option, as a mother, I just want to see every possible alternative exhausted before children
and American soldiers’ lives are lost. I love my country. I am a proud American."

Wow, that backlash made it all the way across the Atlantic. So much for the big push to support the Chicks from the usual suspects.

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Go read this

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Toys in the attic

Posted by — RW @ 7:28 pm Edit This

Steve Verdon takes a look at the constitution, Bush, the welfare clause and other items in a very informative post.

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Question of the day

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Apolitical blues

Posted by — RW @ 7:25 pm Edit This

Which is more strident, the zeal that many of the doves possess in wishing that the government get Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction away from him or the zeal with which they wish the government to go after legal guns
in America?

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Even more interesting

Filed under

Runnin' with the devil

Posted by — RW @ 6:43 pm Edit This

From PBS, an intervew with Sabah Khodada

After your service in the army, you worked for a secret part of the Iraqi government?
Some of it is not very secretive. But there’s another part, which has a lot to do with international terrorism and this kind of operation—this is very secretive.

Maybe you could tell me what this section is called, and who runs it. And what did it do?
It’s called the Division of Special Operations. ... This whole camp where their training is run by the Iraqi [security service]... The government organization [that] basically possesses or have control of the camp is the Iraqi intelligence. But different training people who come, they are headed or sent by different people in the Iraqi government.

You say that this is a secret camp. But what was it like? Was it something you drove by and could see on the highway? Did you need special clearance to go there? How would you describe this place, this location?
If you’re driving on those farm roads, you could probably see the edges of the camp, but you wouldn’t realize this is a special camp. The camp is huge. And the locations for the training are far from anybody can see them from the outside. But even when we have visitors, even at the level of a minister, or even higher than a minister in the Iraqi government, they will have to drive around the camp or be driven in the camp inside very specific type of a vehicle. They will sit on the back seat, for example, of this vehicle and they would have … in addition to the shaded windows, they will have to pull down curtains and they snap those curtains on the bottom, to make sure nobody can see anything outside this vehicle while they’re driven around.

This is even government officials [who] are not allowed to see this kind of training?
Yes. At the very highest level, they cannot see this training.

What kind of training went on, and who was being trained?
Training is majorly on terrorism. They would be trained on assassinations, kidnapping, hijacking of airplanes, hijacking of buses, public buses, hijacking of trains and all other kinds of operations related to terrorism.

The people being trained were Iraqis in one group, and non-Iraqis, or foreign nationals, in another?
Non-Iraqis were trained separately from us. There were strict orders not to meet with them and not to talk to them. And even when they conduct their training, their training has to occur at times different from the times when we conduct the Iraqis our own training.

So you were training Iraqis, Saddam’s fedayeen, members of the militia in Iraq. And someone else, other groups, were training the non-Iraqis?
They were special trainers or teachers from the Iraqi intelligence and al-Mukhabarat. And those same trainers or teachers will train the fedayeen, the Iraqi fedayeen, and also the same group of those teachers will train the non-Iraqis, foreigners who are in the camp. Personally, my profession is not this kind of training. My profession is to train people on infantry, typical infantry training, such as training on machine guns, pistols, hand grenades, rocket launchers on the shoulder and this kind of training. The special training that I’m talking about, such as the kidnapping and so, is conducted by those trainers who are not from the army; they are from … al-Mukhabarat.And there was a person who is very famous. They call him Al-Shaba. [ph]. This is Arabic word means "The Ghost," who was responsible for all the training, and those trainers or the teachers.

*Sabah Khodada was a captain in the Iraqi army from 1982 to 1992. He worked at what he describes as a highly secret terrorist training camp at Salman Pak (see Khodada’s hand-drawn map of the camp), an area south of Baghdad. In this
translated interview, conducted in association with The New York Times on Oct. 14, 2001, Khodada describes what went on at Salman Pak, including details on training hijackers. He emigrated to the U.S. in May 2001. (Editor’s Note:
Although U.S. officials acknowledge terrorists were trained at Salman Pak, they say it is unlikely that these activities were related to the Sept. 11 attacks. It should also be noted that the two defectors interviewed for this report
have been brought to FRONTLINE’s attention by members of the Iraqi National Congress (INC), a dissident organization seeking to overthrow Saddam Hussein.)

Via El Rushbo

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Interesting

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Runnin' with the devil

Posted by — RW @ 6:37 pm Edit This

From El Rushbo:

From: Aviation Week &
Space Technology

Headline: Satellite Photos Believed To Show Airliner for Training Hijackers

Byline: Michael A. Dornheim

Dateline: Los Angeles, January 7, 2002

Satellite images of a facility near Baghdad show an airliner that Iraqi defectors say is used to train terrorists in the art of hijacking.Space Imaging, which operates the Ikonos civilian surveillance satellite, was prompted to
look for the aircraft in existing photos after a ‘’Frontline’’ television show interviewed two Iraqi defectors who described the hijacker training and the aircraft used for the mock attacks.

One of them drew a map of the Salman Pak training area, and Space Imaging was able to find the facility and the aircraft in photographs taken on Apr. 25, 2000, of an area about 15 mi. southeast of Baghdad on the Tigris River. The
zoomed-in photograph is a close match to the hand-drawn map, lending credence to the defector’s story. He is Sabah Khodada, and said he worked at the secret Salman Pak complex for about six months as an administrator. The facility
is run by the Iraqi secret service, and is used to teach assassination, kidnapping, hijacking of airplanes, buses and trains and other terrorist operations, Khodada said. ‘’This camp is specialized in exporting terrorism to the
whole world.’’

Foreigners were trained separately from Iraqis, both Khodada and the other defector said.The aircraft is sitting by itself far from an airport. ‘’In this camp, I saw [people] getting trained [in] situations where security will not
allow you to get weapons into the plane – then what you need to do is to use…very advanced terrorizing methods,’’ Khodada said on the television show.’‘They are even trained how to use utensils for food, like forks and knives
provided in the plane….

They are trained how to plant horror within the passengers by doing such actions. Even pens and pencils can be used for that purpose. They can do it, and they can overcome any plane because they are very well physically trained,
and they are very strong. They can overtake a plane in a very efficient manner. ‘’Training will include the way they would sit in the plane, how they enter the plane…. They will, for example, sit in twos, and they will assign who
will sit to the right of the other guy, and who will sit to the other side. Two will sit in the front, two will sit in the back and two will sit, for example, in the middle. They are trained to jump all at one time, and make a
declaration that ‘We are going to take over the plane. And nobody [move], don’t move, don’t make any moves.’‘’

They will probably use a pencil or a pen, or even sunglasses or prescription glasses. Somebody will hold the crew members of the plane from their chins upward tightly, and you will pull it on his neck. He will think you are going
to slaughter him and kill him. Including in this training is terrorizing by making very, very loud noises and screaming all over the plane. That will [create] the planned horror, and will terrorize the plane, including the crew.’

"The aircraft was also used to practice fighting a hijacking, Khodada said. He called it a Boeing 707, but the position of the wing on the fuselage better fits an aft-engined aircraft.The camp was visited by United Nations
inspectors on a holiday in January 1995. The inspectors ‘’went all the way inside the camp,’’ Khodada said. ‘’They saw the plane, they saw the train, and they didn’t care anything about it, because [the commanders] told the United
Nations, ‘This is a camp to train police, antiriot police.’‘’

Khodada said he was sure the Sept. 11 attacks involved Iraqi training because Osama bin Laden was not capable of such a high-level operation. ‘’These kind of attacks must be, and have to be, organized by a capable state, such as
Iraq,’’ he said. ‘’Even the grouping; those groups were divided into 5-6 people in the group. How about the training on planes? Some of these groups were taken and trained to drive airplanes at the School of Aviation, north of
Baghdad…. Everything coincides with what’s happening.’‘

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What was that about shutting down the voices of dissent?

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A little south of sanity

Posted by — RW @ 6:30 pm Edit This

On the way home from work the other day, I heard about a "Rally for America" to be held at Centennial Park in downtown Atlanta (for those who are unaware of the area, that’s where the Olympic
bombing took place). It’s being hosted by a local radio station & there are various speakers/singers slated to be present. So, being curious about the particulars (like most folks who
aren’t professional protesters, I have a life & thus don’t know who to contact at my local chapter of ‘bitchers-r-us’ to find out where to gather in order to get the best view) I thought I’d crack
open my printed version of the local paper, known ‘round here as the Atlanta Urinal & Constipation.

A side note: the old catch-phrase of the paper – one that for many years appeared under the banner – was the pithy "covers dixie like the dew". Well, it seems that many folks were offended
by the ‘dixie’ part of the phrase (the south, slavery, the confederacy, hurt feelings & all) so they canned it for the most part. No word yet on the ire at the anti-Bush group Dixie Chicks
from those outraged folks. I’ll keep you informed, but don’t hold your breath waiting in anticipation.

Back to the story…I checked out the front page of the paper & the fine folks at the AJC decided to illustrate their objectivity by displaying the headline in huge font:

Bush may cry ‘enough’

followed by "Vote by U.N. ‘no matter what’ gets second look". The verb to label the President of the United States announcing a decision is "cry"? What liberal media, indeed.
Anyway, the only mention of any gathering on the front page was a snipped pertaining to a hip-hop festival being called off (first item on the left side of the paper….this is what we deal with in
Georgia, folks). So, I peruse the ‘A’ section of the AJC and there’s nary a mention of the event.

Thinking that the paper had reserved the ‘A’ section for the last minute AP stories & the like, I went to section ‘B’, which is the NEWS section of the paper. Well, there are two stories
about malpractice & Christopher Reeve and various other things, but no mention of the upcoming event to happen TOMORROW.

On to section ‘C’, the METRO section. Ah, yes, this is the local news, which goes into detail about the happenings around the city. I see the aforementioned hip-hop festival update,
several items about the local legislature (it’s not the AJC without the daily flag story), one on federal busing and then we have glibs on local art, a woman who throws parties for victims of
atrocities, plenty of advertisements and then the obituaries.

On to section ‘D’. Wait, that’s the sports section. Other than Jim Harrick embarrassing UGA, the scores and coverage into the most boring team in the NBA - the Hawks – there wasn’t any
cause to mention there…so it wasn’t.

Section ‘E’ is the LIVING section, which is for comics/television/horoscopes and the like. Nothing to be found.

Section ‘F’ is the BUSINESS section, and since local business would be affected by crowds, maaaaaaybe it’d be there. Argh, plenty on fears that the markets would be shaky were war to break
out (gee, ya think?) and some insurance stuff, but other than fluff, the local businesses must not have anything to look forward to, tomorrow. They must not anticipate much by way of attendance,
since the food vendors would probably make a killing, so to speak, with impromptu crowds around mid-day.

‘P’ is the WEEKEND PREVIEW section, which is plays, movies, festivals, events, etc. Waitaminute….that’s where it SHOULD BE. A quick check gives the concerts on Saturday, a Brazilian
Carnival of Atlanta listing and the Fiddler’s Green Concert ticket info. No mention of the weekend rally in the weekend preview section? I’m getting the distinct impression that I’m
searching in vain.

‘’Q’ is pt. 2 of the WEEKEND PREVIEW section and it’s 100% local dining. If I want to know how many stars various restaurants around the city that I can’t afford to dine in rates, I’m in
luck. But, alas, I’m wanting news. I must be in the wrong place (my local newspaper).

‘S’ is the wheels section, which is nothing but articles about autos and many pages of classifieds.

‘T’ is the SPRING DINING GUIDE (special edition) which is more info on various restaurants that I can’t afford and dishes that I’d never eat.

Wait….that’s it. There’s no more paper to check out!

What happened to sections G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, and R, you may ask? They are non-existent. Did they accidentally omit them from my delivery and I’m overreacting? Well, a
quick check of the front page for the menu shows a rundown of the primary sections and the notation that my delivery is slated for 10 sections and 118 pages. And I just gave you a rundown of the
10 sections.

Thus, readers of the Atlanta Urinal & Constipation have no idea what is happening in Centennial Park tomorrow afternoon. Who’ll know? Well, the folks who listen to talk radio…...you know, those biased souls who foment
fascist propaganda and only give you the side of the story that they want you to hear.

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Small blessings

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Falling in love is hard on the knees

Posted by — RW @ 5:57 pm Edit This

As some people know, Rep. Barney Frank (D-CCCP) rang the opening bell on the floor of the NYSE this morning. Thank heavens it finished in the positive today, or else you guys would be suffering all sorts of double entendrs from yours truly, if you catch my drift.

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Ricky-lov’s test?

Filed under

Humans being

Posted by — RW @ 6:21 am Edit This

Hoping that this week Maher’s show won’t end up being as bad as last week’s train wreck, HBO is hyping:

"Monica Crowley, Arianna Huffington and HBO fave Dennis Miller pull up to Bill’s [roundtable] on this week’s new episode premiering Friday, March 14 at 11:30pm ET"

Crowley will recite the party line, but watching Arianna & Maher do likewise while trying to match wits with the D-man oughtta be interesting.

I’m thinking of trying an experiment…usually, I have my "free day" on Saturdays (meaning I eat/drink as much as I want of whatever I want all day long) but I could swing it back a few hours to
prepare for this. Sooooo, I’m pondering the notion of pulling out a case of beer (I drink water. No soft drinks, no milk, no juice, no coffee, no tea, no ‘-ades’....water, with a beer
every week or so) and doing a live rundown of the show, a-la an awards show. Hey, I can’t stand awards shows, so watching Miller dissect two talking-points parrots should be a lot more
entertaining to me than wondering what Calista Flockhart’s going to wear or who’ll get the ‘best kiss’ award from some sappy video channel.

Heck, it’s only a 50 minute show, so I’d have to have several in me before it started, and maybe pledge to take a huge swig every time the f-word was thrown out. Well, with Miller there, I
would then have to worry about alcohol poisoning…

Don’t hold me to this, guys…..for all I know, my little girl or little boy may get scared or have a bad dream & want daddy to come sleep with them and I could be ‘out’ by 11:00. If I’m gonna do it, I’ll have posted
something by 11 saying I will.

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Digital Brownshirts

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North . . Dogma

3/14/2003