Douglas Wood

From AP:

Australian hostage pleads on video for U.S.-led forces to leave Iraq

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Iraqi militants have kidnapped an Australian man who pleaded for U.S.-led coalition forces to leave Iraq to save his life, according to a videotape released Sunday.

The tape showed a man identifying himself as Douglas Wood, 63, seated between two masked militants pointing automatic weapons at him.

Wood's American wife, Pearl, told The Associated Press that she had seen the tape and that the man being held was definitely her husband. She said he had been in Iraq about a year and half, working as an engineer.

...The captive appealed to U.S. President George W. Bush, Australian Prime Minister John Howard and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to order coalition forces out of Iraq and let Iraqis look after themselves, saying he did not want to die.

Howard said Monday he will not negotiate with terrorists.

"Everybody knows the position of the Australian government in relation to hostage demands," Howard told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. "We can't have the foreign policy of this country dictated by terrorists."
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We can add Douglas Wood to the list of More than 150 foreigners that have been kidnapped in Iraq over the past year. Some have been released -- often following a payment of ransom -- but about one third have been killed.

From Reuters:

Following are two lists: of foreigners believed to be held hostage in Iraq and of those who have been killed:

HOSTAGE NATIONALITY DATE OF CAPTURE Mohammed Rifat Canada April 8, 2004 Wael Mamduh Jordan April 12 Saad Saadoun Kuwait June 5 Ali Ahmed Mousa Somalia July 29 Unidentified hostage Jordan Sept 1* Four unidentified hostages Jordan Sept 5* Two unidentified hostages East Asian Sept 13* Khalifa al-Breizat Jordan Sept 14* Two unidentified hostages Turkey Sept 14 One unidentified hostage Syria Sept 16 Unidentified hostage Turkey Oct 9 Two unidentified hostages Turkey Oct 14 Unidentified Somalia Oct 30 Noureddin Zakaria Sudan Oct 30 Roy Hallums U.S. Nov 1 Roberto Tarongoy Philippines Nov 1 Radim Sadiq U.S. Nov 2 Ghazi Abu Hamzeh Lebanon Nov 13* Two unnamed Turkey Dec 25 Two unidentified South Korea Jan 9, 2005* Unidentified Turkey Jan 13 Florence Aubenas France Jan 13* Sayed Abdel Khalek Egypt Jan 13* Joao Jose Vasconcelos Jr. Brazil Jan 19 Mohammed Haroun Hamad Sudan Mar 9* Maher Ataya Sudan Mar 9* Nabil Tawfiq Sulaiman Egypt Mar 19 Mitwali Mohammed Qassem Egypt Mar 19 Marie Jeanne Ion Romania Mar 28 Sorin Miscoci Romania Mar 28 Ovidiu Ohanesian Romania Mar 28 Mohamad Munaf U.S./Romania/Iraq Mar 28 Jeffrey Ake U.S. April 11 Douglas Wood Australia May 1 U.S. Nov 1 Roberto Tarongoy Philippines Nov 1 Radim Sadiq U.S. Nov 2 Ghazi Abu Hamzeh Lebanon Nov 13* Two unnamed Turkey Dec 25 Two unidentified South Korea Jan 9, 2005* Unidentified Turkey Jan 13 Florence Aubenas France Jan 13* Sayed Abdel Khalek Egypt Jan 13* Joao Jose Vasconcelos Jr. Brazil Jan 19 Mohammed Haroun Hamad Sudan Mar 9* Maher Ataya Sudan Mar 9* Nabil Tawfiq Sulaiman Egypt Mar 19 Mitwali Mohammed Qassem Egypt Mar 19 Marie Jeanne Ion Romania Mar 28 Sorin Miscoci Romania Mar 28 Ovidiu Ohanesian Romania Mar 28 Mohamad Munaf U.S./Romania/Iraq Mar 28 Jeffrey Ake U.S. April 11 Douglas Wood Australia May 1ar 28 Jeffrey Ake U.S. April 11 Douglas Wood Australia May 1

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - HOSTAGE NATIONALITY DATE KILLED Fabrizio Quattrocchi Italy April 14, 2004 Nick Berg U.S. May 11 Hussein Ali Alyan Lebanon June 12 Kim Sun-il South Korea June 22 Keith Matthew Maupin U.S. June 28** Georgi Lazov Bulgaria July 13 Ivailo Kepov Bulgaria July 22# Raja Azad Khan Pakistan July 28 Sajjad Naeem Pakistan July 28 Murat Yuce Turkey Aug 2*** Mohammed Mutawalli Egypt Aug 10*** Enzo Baldoni Italy Aug 26 12 unnamed hostages Nepal Aug 31*** Nasser Juma Egypt Sept 5 Durmus Kumdereli Turkey Sept 13*** Eugene Armstrong U.S. Sept 20*** Akar Besir Turkey Sept 21+ Jack Hensley U.S. Sept 21++ Iyad Anwar Wali Italy-Iraq Oct 2 Yilmaz Dabca Turkey Oct 2 Kenneth Bigley Britain Oct 7 Unidentified Turkey Oct 11*** Ramazan Elbu Turkey Oct 14++ Dalibor Lazarevski Macedonia Oct 18 Dragan Markovic Macedonia Oct 18 Zoran Naskovski Macedonia Oct 18 Shosei Koda Japan Oct 30 Unidentified hostage Jordan Nov 2 Margaret Hassan British-Iraqi Nov 16 Salvatore Santoro Italy Dec 16 Ibrahim Mohammed Ismail Egypt Jan 16, 2005 Six unidentified Sudan April 28++ Sept 20*** Akar Besir Turkey Sept 21+ Jack Hensley U.S. Sept 21++ Iyad Anwar Wali Italy-Iraq Oct 2 Yilmaz Dabca Turkey Oct 2 Kenneth Bigley Britain Oct 7 Unidentified Turkey Oct 11*** Ramazan Elbu Turkey Oct 14++ Dalibor Lazarevski Macedonia Oct 18 Dragan Markovic Macedonia Oct 18 Zoran Naskovski Macedonia Oct 18 Shosei Koda Japan Oct 30 Unidentified hostage Jordan Nov 2 Margaret Hassan British-Iraqi Nov 16 Salvatore Santoro Italy Dec 16 Ibrahim Mohammed Ismail Egypt Jan 16, 2005 Six unidentified Sudan April 28++

NOTE:

+ Turkish TRT TV named victim.

++ Web site statement claimed killing.

* Date kidnap announced.

** Al Jazeera TV showed footage of the killing of a U.S. soldier, but the U.S. military has not confirmed Maupin is dead.

*** Video of killing posted on Web site or aired on television.

# Kepov's body was found on July 22, identified on Aug. 11.
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Kidnapping civilians working on Iraq's reconstruction and taking humanitarian workers hostage shows just how weak and cowardly these terrorists are. They must prey on the unprotected and unarmed.

Pray for those captured and killed. Pray for their loved ones.

Pray for our troops.

Private Liberal Playground is Going Public!

Republican Chairman Exerts Pressure on PBS, Alleging Biases

The irony of this headline from Monday's New York Times is that it signals this article is going to be written with a liberal slant.

The article certainly delivers.

By STEPHEN LABATON, LORNE MANLY and ELIZABETH JENSEN

WASHINGTON, May 1 - The Republican chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is aggressively pressing public television to correct what he and other conservatives consider liberal bias, prompting some public broadcasting leaders - including the chief executive of PBS - to object that his actions pose a threat to editorial independence.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!

The liberals are not going quietly. They know if they lose their ideological monopoly over PBS that all is lost. It's not surprising that they are kicking and screaming about efforts to bring balance to its programming.

It's about time that some political parity be brought to public broadcasting. After all, our tax dollars do help to fund it. It must present more than one side of an issue. It shouldn't promote the agenda of one political party. It shouldn't serve as a mouthpiece for liberals and the Democrat party.

Liberals are under the impression that PBS is their turf. Although PBS has been their private playground for years, it's time for that to change.

I'm glad efforts are being made to put the "public" back in public broadcasting. It's good to see that the era of the Bill Moyers PBS mindset is taking its last breaths.

Move over elites.

Public broadcasting should reflect the public, shouldn't it?

"(Expletive) the President"

Springsteen captivates Glendale crowd with acoustic show

Larry Rodgers
The Arizona Republic
May. 1, 2005 12:00 AM

When Bruce Springsteen announced that he would perform for more than 5,000 people at Glendale Arena in the third concert of his solo acoustic tour, it raised the question: Could even a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer keep the attention of such a large crowd for a show running more than two hours?

Springsteen quelled any doubts Saturday night with a brisk, masterful performance that kept the well-mannered audience mesmerized with the best storytelling songs in rock music today.

After asking for "as much quiet as I can get" at the start of the concert, Springsteen let his catalog of American tales, including a generous sampling from his strong new "Devils & Dust" album, do most of the talking in the arena for the next few hours.

...Springsteen chose to be fairly economical with his comments between songs, although he did call for "a humane immigration policy" before playing the new "Matamoros Banks," lambaste the "dinosaur" mentality of the Bush administration (before "Part Man, Part Monkey") and talk about drifting away from the Catholic church (as a prelude to the new "Jesus Was An Only Son" ), among other ramblings. He ad-libbed a "That's right" after one audience member yelled "(Expletive) the president" at one point.
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Very nice.

Some idiot yells "(Expletive) the president" and Springsteen responds with "That's right."

I support Springsteen's right to free speech and I am not bothered by it when he expresses his political views. During the Rising Tour, when I experienced his mumblings about the Patriot Act, I just ignored it and waited for him to get into the next song.

However, endorsing "(Expletive) the president" was out of line. That is not the same as Springsteen stating his own political views in a civil manner. To give approval from the stage to such a crass statement is inappropriate.

Hey, Bruce! I could ignore you when you babbled about our civil rights being taken away. Couldn't you have ingored the imbecile that disrupted your concert?

Not cool, Bruce. Not cool.

Why is Kim Jong Il smiling?

N. Korea Fires Missile Into Sea of Japan
By SOO-JEONG LEE

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea test fired a short-range missile that plunged into the Sea of Japan Sunday, the White House chief of staff said, adding he wasn't "surprised by this," noting Pyonyang had conducted similar tests in the past.

The U.S. military told the Japanese government of the suspected missile launch, which was believed to have traveled some 65 miles off the east coast of North Korea, according to media reports in South Korea and Japan.

Card told CNN's Late Edition he had heard about the test Sunday morning."

I don't know an awful lot about it. It appears that there was a test of a short-range missile by the North Koreans and it landed in the Sea of Japan. We're not surprised by this. The North Koreans have tested their missiles before. They've had some failures."

Japanese officials expressed concern last September that North Korea was preparing for a test launch, but later backed off those assertions.

The missile launch came on the eve of a critical conference at the United Nations to reassess the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, with U.S. negotiators urging action against suspected atomic weapons programs in North Korea and Iran.

...North Korea's missile development program has spurred Japan to join the United States in putting together a joint missile-defense system. North Korea startled Tokyo in 1998 by launching a long-range ballistic missile over the Japanese archipelago and into the Pacific Ocean.

The Japanese Cabinet in February approved legislation that would allow the defense chief to order the military to shoot down incoming missiles.

From the Washington Post:

North Korea lashed out at President Bush yesterday for comments he made about the country's leader, Kim Jong Il, at a news conference Thursday, asserting that the North Korean nuclear impasse will never be resolved while Bush remains in office.

Bush is "a half-baked man in terms of morality and a philistine whom we can never deal with," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. The statement described Bush as the "world's dictator," who as president had "turned the world into a sea of blood."
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It would seem Kim Jong Il and the Democrat Bush bashers are on the same page.

President Reagan's push for a missile defense system made a lot of sense, didn't it?

On March 23, 1983, in an address to the nation on defense and national security, President Reagan said:

Let me share with you a vision of the future which offers hope. It is that we embark on a program to counter the awesome Soviet missile threat with measures that are defensive. Let us turn to the very strengths in technology that spawned our great industrial base and that have given us the quality of life we enjoy today.

What if free people could live secure in the knowledge that their security did not rest upon the threat of instant U.S. retaliation to deter a Soviet attack, that we could intercept and destroy strategic ballistic missiles before they reached our own soil or that of our allies?

I know this is a formidable, technical task, one that may not be accomplished before the end of the century. Yet, current technology has attained a level of sophistication where it's reasonable for us to begin this effort. It will take years, probably decades of efforts on many fronts. There will be failures and setbacks, just as there will be successes and breakthroughs. And as we proceed, we must remain constant in preserving the nuclear deterrent and maintaining a solid capability for flexible response. But isn't it worth every investment necessary to free the world from the threat of nuclear war? We know it is.

...I clearly recognize that defensive systems have limitations and raise certain problems and ambiguities. If paired with offensive systems, they can be viewed as fostering an aggressive policy, and no one wants that. But with these considerations firmly in mind, I call upon the scientific community in our country, those who gave us nuclear weapons, to turn their great talents now to the cause of mankind and world peace, to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete.

Tonight, consistent with our obligations of the ABM treaty and recognizing the need for closer consultation with our allies, I'm taking an important first step. I am directing a comprehensive and intensive effort to define a long-term research and development program to begin to achieve our ultimate goal of eliminating the threat posed by strategic nuclear missiles. This could pave the way for arms control measures to eliminate the weapons themselves. We seek neither military superiority nor political advantage. Our only purpose -- one all people share -- is to search for ways to reduce the danger of nuclear war.

My fellow Americans, tonight we're launching an effort which holds the promise of changing the course of human history. There will be risks, and results take time. But I believe we can do it. As we cross this threshold, I ask for your prayers and your support.
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Reagan was truly a man of vision.

Although the Soviet Union is history, the nuclear threat is as real as ever. Kim Jong Il embodies the danger.

Wouldn't a missile defense system be very comforting right now?

Hey Dems! Is Social Security in Crisis?

Democrats all seem to be agreeing with Harry Reid, that Social Security is the "most successful program in the history of the world."

Oh really?

"What should we do with this projected surplus? I have a simple four-word answer: Save Social Security first." PRESIDENT CLINTON, COINING THE FAMOUS DEMOCRATIC SLOGAN, STATE OF THE UNION, JAN. 27,1998

"[I]f you don't do anything, one of two things will happen. Either it will go broke and you won't ever get it, or if we wait too long to fix it, the burden on society...of taking care of our generation's Social Security obligations will lower your income and lower your ability to take care of your children...[It] would be horribly wrong and unfair to you and unfair to the future prospects of the United States." PRESIDENT CLINTON, GEORGETOWN, FEB. 9, 1998

"Perhaps our greatest opportunity and our greatest obligation at this moment is to save Social Security...It would be unconscionable if we failed to act, and act now..." PRESIDENT CLINTON, TOWN HALL MEETING, KANSAS CITY, APRIL 7, 1998

"Durbin said due to the increasing number of ˜baby boomers reaching retirement age, Social Security will be unable to pay out full benefits...but the sooner Congress acts to avert this crisis the easier and less painful it will be." - SEN. DICK DURBIN (D, IL), "REFORMING SOCIAL SECURITY," PRESS RELEASE, SEPT. 15, 1998

"Social Security faces a serious fiscal crisis...Save Social Security first!" - VICE PRESIDENT GORE, WITH DICK GEPHARDT, TED KENNEDY, BARBARA BOXER, AND OTHER DEMOCRATS AT SOCIAL SECURITY (AND ANTI-TAX-CUT) RALLY ON CAPITOL STEPS, SEPT. 25, 1998

"Fixing Social Security is an urgent priority." - SEN. BYRON DORGAN (D, ND), QUOTED IN ROLL CALL, DEC 6, 1999

Thanks to Rush, America's truth detector.

Laura Shines

From AP:

Laura Bush Steals Show With Surprise Comedy Routine at Dinner Honoring White House Correspondents

WASHINGTON Apr 30, 2005 — First lady Laura Bush stole the show with a surprise comedy routine that ripped President Bush and brought an audience that included much of official Washington and a dash of Hollywood to a standing ovation at a dinner honoring award-winning journalists.

The president began a speech late Saturday at the 91st annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, but was quickly "interrupted" by his wife in an obviously planned ploy.

"Not that old joke, not again," she said to the delight of the audience. "I've been attending these dinners for years and just quietly sitting there. I've got a few things I want to say for a change."

The president sat down and she proceeded to note that he is "usually in bed by now" and said she told him recently, "If you really want to end tyranny in the world, you're going to have to stay up later. "

She outlined a typical evening: "Nine o'clock, Mr. Excitement here is sound asleep and I'm watching `Desperate Housewives'." Comedic pause. "With Lynne Cheney. Ladies and gentlemen, I am a desperate housewife."

...Laura Bush added that she and her husband obviously were destined to be together as a couple because "I was the librarian who spent 12 hours a day in the library and yet somehow I met George."

The guest professional comedian, Cedric the Entertainer, next came to the microphone to deliver one-liners, but not before conceding the first lady was a hard act to follow.
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Laura Bush is a spectacular First Lady. She has an effervescence that is so refreshing. She absolutely shines.

Her willingness to deliver the type of jokes that she did shows just how comfortable she and her husband are with themselves.

It certainly indicates that they can laugh when others make similar jokes at their expense.

Her performance at the dinner only highlights their humanness, pointing out that when all is said and done they aren't really different from other married couples.

At appearances, President Bush frequently refers to how lucky he is to be married to Laura and what a wonderful woman she is. Those remarks deservedly receive bipartisan approval.

Sunday Morning Show Headache

Flipping around the channels is not a good way to start the day, unless one is accompanied by mimosas. I was not.

Observations:

1) I saw Russert grill Andy Card on Meet the Press and Chris Wallace interview him on FOX. Russert was particulary snippy, but Card remained cool.

2) On FOX, Wallace did a good job of calling Pat Leahy on his misleading verbal gymnastics regarding the filibuster matter. (I wish Vice President Cheney had been there to offer a suggestion to Leahy.)

3) Chris Dodd and George Allen appeared together on MTP, discussing a myriad of issues. Often, when Russert wasn't jumping down Allen's throat and he was given an opportunity to respond, the camera shot included Dodd shaking his head. I flashed back to the Bush/Gore debates in 2000. Dodd didn't sigh and groan the way Gore did. He just kept trying to interrupt Allen. There was so much crosstalk during the segment, I think producing a transcript will be nearly impossible.

At one point, Russert went nuts, trying to trap Allen into saying he disagrees with the President on Social Security. In spite of Dodd and Russert's boorishness, Allen held his ground reasonably well.

4) Nancy Pelosi was interviewed by George Stephanopoulos. (Obviously, the WH had no interest in sending Card to the low-rated ABC show.) She tried to depict Bush's Social Security plan as an assault on the middle class, saying, "I don't know what the middle class did to President Bush, but he sure has it in for them." That's straight from the Dem playbook. To Steph's credit, he asked her what the Dem plan was to manage Social Security. After lamely trying to sell the idea that there's nothing wrong with the current program, Pelosi said the Dems are willing to "go to the table." That's the only idea the Democrat leadership has to offer the American people--going to the table.

"Going to the table" is as meaningless Kerry's "I have a plan."

When discussing Tom DeLay, Steph let her slip out of answering for her own questionable behavior in terms of the ethics rules.

I admit I had trouble concentrating on what Pelosi was saying. Her eye-popping appearance always distracts me.

5) I didn't watch much of Chuck Hagel's appearance on Face the Nation. I did hear him say that at this point he has not given his support to John Bolton.

When asked about the two year anniversary of Bush's speech on the carrier with the "Mission Accomplished" sign as a backdrop, Hagel said Bush's comments were "not a wise and mature statement." Since Hagel seemed to be parroting what Pelosi was saying, I flipped off CBS and returned to ABC.
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I sure could use a mimosa.