It appears the sanctions the world has placed on North Korea have fallen short.  It’s now suspected the country is preparing to launch another “test” missile that has Hawaii in its crosshairs.  It’s believed if it is fired, it will be done in the first week of July.  With Independence Day such an important part of the American way, many military officials believe it will be North Korea’s ideal opportunity.  These same military officials still believe the missile hasn’t been perfected and will fall a solid five hundred miles short of the islands; however, it’s difficult to say this with any sense of certainty.  And now it gets worse:

There’s a North Korean ship, the Kang Nam that the U.S. is tracking via satellite that left its port on Wednesday.  It’s supposed to be carrying weapons material, which of course is in direct violation of these latest global sanctions.  The military is calling the ship a “repeat offender” since it’s been used in the past to transport nuclear and other damaging materials that can be used should North Korea decide to take on the world.  Other countries are tracking this vessel as well.

What’s so disturbing is the promise made by North Korean leaders that any attempts to thwart its vessels’ missions will be met with a “1000 fold” retaliation effort.  You have to ask yourself, “Do we really know for sure what North Korea is up to and what it has at the ready to back up these threats?”  It could be all talk, then again….

Bottom line is that it took less than one week for North Korea to thumb its nose at these latest sanctions.  As many believed, these threats are falling as short as its current nuclear missile reach.  This small country simply isn’t intimidated.  Hopefully, there won’t be so much time wasted on sanctions that serve no purpose and a more definitive solution can be found that will eliminate the threat this country continues to be.  Although this might leave only one solution, hopefully, it won’t come to a full-scale war, despite North Korea’s apparent insistence that it’s acceptable as far as it’s concerned.

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Is it a full moon?  Two women serving on their respective city’s board of supervisors have found themselves in less than ideal positions this week. 

Barbara Wagner, a Glastonbury, CN councilwoman was arrested for driving while intoxicated a few days ago.  She’s recorded on video as threatening the arresting officers and warning them that she’s the one who approves their salary increases.  She accused one officer who attempted to interview her as being rude, even though the video might indicate otherwise.  After she sobered up, she penned a letter to the city’s Police Chief.  In her letter, she expressed deep regret for her behavior and conduct and said she was embarrassed.  She assured Chief Thomas Sweeney of her intent to redeem herself.  She’s requested admittance into a state alcohol rehabilitation program that’s made available to first time offenders.  If she is granted access to the program and successfully completes treatment, the charges will be dropped.

Meanwhile, in Michigan, another city councilwoman is having her own problems with accusations of illegal activities.  Monica Conyers, whose husband John has been a U.S. representative since 1964, is doing her best to avoid the media and its questions regarding pay-offs from an out of state contractor.  She’s supposedly “Council Member A” in documents that accuse her of taking more than $6,000 for a vote in 2007 that gave a $47 million dollar contract to a company in Houston.  The company, Synagro Technologies, recycles sludge from a wastewater treatment plant.  One Synagro contractor has already pleaded guilty to bribery.  Ray Jackson testified that he gave the money to Conyers.  He will be sentenced later this month. 

There have been no charges for Conyers, although she fully expects to be charged.  This will be a high price for a mere $6,000 pay-off, especially for a contract that was worth close to $50 million.  Hardly worth it, no doubt.  Her husband, who’s nearly forty years her senior, is certainly wondering why she would take such a risk that jeopardized not only her career, but his too.

A new study released earlier this month revealed that 60% of bankruptcies are filed due to overwhelming medical bills.  What’s incredible is that of those bankruptcies 75% of the filers have health insurance!  This revelation speaks volumes to those who insist the insurance industry needs no overhaul.   Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School and Ohio University participated in this report and the results were published in the American Journal of Medicine.  Dr. David Himmelstein, an advocate of a U.S. insurance overhaul and a member of the Harvard Medical School staff says that those of us without a bank account to rival Warren Buffet are only “a serious illness away from bankruptcy”.  He goes so far to say that health insurance offers little, if any, protection for middle-class America.

Other findings in this study include:

• The proposals that are now being considered by the Obama White House will not likely help a vast majority of Americans.
• Expanding private insurance won’t prevent financial catastrophe for hundreds of thousands of Americans.
• Of the 170 million Americans who have health insurance through their employers, many will find themselves with none by year’s end due to employers cutting their own costs.
• 25% of all insurance companies cancel coverage immediately after a disabling illness occurs and is filed, another 25% do so within the twelve months following the claim.

No one is immune from bankruptcy, either.  The study found that most were educated, owned their homes and had successful careers.  Further, the numbers reflect a 50% increase from bankruptcies filed in 2001. 

For many who were asked to pay thousands of dollars after the insurance paid, such as those with injuries or who were diagnosed with Diabetes or other illnesses, the payments were just too much.  Many hospitals and physicians asked patients to make payments that rivaled their automobile or in some instances, those that surpassed even the patient’s mortgage payments.

President Obama continues to work on solutions to the ever-deepening concerns and fears for health care in this country.  Until these problems are met head on and with a consistent solution across the board that will address insurance, bankruptcies and job losses, these numbers won’t be declining.

So much for the promised sanctions within “a day or two” by the U.N. in response to North Korea’s latest nuclear testing missions.  It’s now been over two weeks and a draft proposal has just now been announced.  In the meantime, North Korea has now had all this time to do whatever it is that’s making it so confident in their declaration of war should the sanctions be applied. 

For some reason, the White House is calling this threat “rhetoric “.  I’m not so sure.  It sounds as though the communist country means business, especially since any response to the imminent sanctions has been non-plussed.  The threats haven’t worked and now, it’s culminated to today’s promise by North Korea of a “merciless offensive” should these sanctions be passed. 

So what does the Security Council promise these sanctions will do?  They’ll bite.  Oh, wait…they’ll bite in a “meaningful way”.  The truth is, sanctions imposed in the past have done nothing to slow the development of these nuclear weapons.  North Korea simply isn’t intimidated.  The new sanctions promise to freeze North Korea’s business assets, expand the current arms embargo and North Korea will no longer be allowed any

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financial dealings with any other country on the planet.  These sanctions sound severe enough, but still, the most troubling aspect is the fact leaders in Pyongyang have yet to flinch.  In fact, the country as a whole seems no more concerned than Google is over its new competition, Bing.

The probability of these nuclear testing operations coming to a halt seems to be non-existent.  The country has adamantly refused to cease the tests.  Still, the five permanent nations believe this new resolution will pass on Thursday and are in hopes the sanctions will be enough to thwart North Korea’s plans for further testing. 

The draft includes language that suggests it’s no stronger than the one passed in 2006.  Countries will be prohibited from providing supplies or fuel to the country’s vessels only if reasonable doubts exist over what the vessel is carrying, such as weapons.  Force will not be authorized to ensure these vessels agree to on-board inspections. 

Only time will tell if the latest threats of war will come full circle.  Somehow, this just has a feeling of there being no need for too much time to pass.

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A recent report compiled and released by joint efforts of the AARP and the federal government reveal alarming statistics regarding long term care for the disabled in this country.  Perhaps the first figure to stand out is the fact nearly 55 million Americans have some level of disability and of those, nearly one-third will require long term care due to their disabilities.  And if you think disability is reserved only for the elderly, think again.  22%, or 12 million, of those who are considered legally disabled are under the age of 65.  The need for solid solutions in long term care has long since been on the governmental backburner.  This is no doubt one of the most neglected of societal issues. 

Further, those family members who bear the brunt of the financial obligations of those who are disabled continues to rise, both in the numbers as well as the money that’s applied toward their loved ones’ needs.  Consider $375 billion dollars that was contributed in 2007 by family members who provide for their disabled loved ones versus the $97 billion spent by Medicaid, and the reality begins to emerge of just how important this issue is.

Long term care disability is defined as any chronic disease or serious accident that inhibits the ability to work or severely inhibits one’s quality of life.   With the vast majority of earmarked Medicare funds going to nursing home facilities or other assisted living facilities and due to the guidelines that many simply don’t qualify for, it’s a “fend for yourself” attitude that seems to rule the day. 

Disabilities strike all racial or ethnic groups and isn’t partial to any age group, either.  With today’s bankruptcy filings of General Motors along with every other story that seems to announce yet another big company’s demise, this issue, important as it is, won’t be addressed anytime soon.

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This countdown might or might not be effective in getting a five year old to brush his teeth or do his homework; but one thing’s for sure, North Korea is most likely not threatened by the UN’s promise to consider stronger sanctions as a way to thwart this country’s insistence on firing nukes.  North Korea seems to have drawn its line in the sand, much like the five year old who plants himself in the middle of the candy

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aisle and refuses to move until Mommy buys that bag of Reese’s miniatures.  Unfortunately, North Korea knows it hasn’t pushed the envelope far enough yet and can still do as it pleases with few worries about empty threats.

With its latest nuclear test on Monday, the UN announced that it was a clear violation of a resolution that banned these tests and is now beginning to work on a new resolution.  Seems to many of us all the resolutions in the world won’t hamper this country’s resolve.  After all, North Korea has already broken two previous resolutions.  Just because both China and Russia are backing away from supporting this country means nothing to North Korea. 

The only thing that’s being done is a lot of talk about a meeting on Tuesday that will address the need for stronger resolutions.  There’s talk of who will be attending this meeting, there’s talk of why the meeting’s been scheduled and there’s talk of sanctions.  But it’s all just talk.

One U.S. Ambassador, Susan Rice, said, “What we heard today was swift, clear, unequivocal condemnation and opposition to what occurred…therefore, the United States will seek a strong resolution with strong measures.”

Russia’s Ambassador, Vitaly Churkin said, “We are one of the founding fathers, Russia is, of those documents, so we think they’re extremely important in current international relations…anything that undermines the regimes is very serious and needs to have a strong response”.

Japan’s U.N. Ambassador said, “…we need a really, really clear and firm message from this, preferably a resolution”.

And finally, President Obama’s comments today:

“Such provocations will only serve to deepen North Korea’s isolation.  It will not find international acceptance unless it abandons its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery”.

How much talk will be too much before the international community steps up and really makes life hard on a North Korea that finds it amusing so much talk is being generated due to its actions?  All the meetings in the world aren’t going to change a thing.  This country is, and will remain, a threat until we collectively remove that threat.  Each test North Korea conducts is only allowing it to improve its goal and mission.  Are we waiting for these people to perfect their missions?  The fact it’s not hampered in the least, even knowing it stands alone, is alarming and makes many wonder what it is they have that backs up the arrogant attitude they’re flaunting.

In the meantime, talks are scheduled for later this week.

Imagine tossing a credit card offer, bank statement or even a phone bill into your trash can, only to have it stolen before it’s picked up on trash day.  That’s probably not something any of us willingly do.  We shred those documents before tossing them, right?  Turns out the IRS doesn’t value our privacy as much we’d hope they would.

The U.S. Treasury investigated procedures the Internal Revenue Service uses in destroying hard copies of our sensitive information and as it turns out, they do little more than toss reams of paper into dumpsters, leaving all of us vulnerable to identity theft and other crimes.  Each IRS office that was audited had identifying information found in its trash bins.  With over $44 billion dollars lost in identity theft each year in this country (in 2003, the dollar figure was $5 billion), it seems the government would be more diligent with taxpayer information.

Unfortunately, these discoveries weren’t isolated.  The offices that were audited are scattered across the country, leading many to believe it’s standard operating procedure for the IRS.  Now though, as a result of this report, measures are finally being put into place, including background checks for subcontractors who are responsible for trash removal.  It’s a start.  Still, with news this week of the FBI’s network being hacked, judgment’s being reserved on whether or not these new measures are enough.

Consumers aren’t the only ones who suffer the consequences of having their identities stolen.  Businesses also lose billions each year when these thieves purchase their products with stolen credit cards or checks, not to mention the banks and credit card companies that forgive charges not made by card holders.

So what does the IRS believe will happen when it’s so careless with our information?  More importantly, has this lax procedure resulted in wreaking havoc in anyone’s life?  Those are questions that most likely will never be answered.  For now, maybe light shed on this policy will result in changes in the way personal information is handled.

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We knew it was only a matter of time; and now, that time has come.  It looks as though a long-awaited paternity test for Rielle Hunter’s child might finally be conducted.  Who knew Elizabeth Edwards, wife of John Edwards, would be the catalyst for making it happen?  And she was so clever about it too.  She was calculating in her efforts and chose to quietly go about her business and then pounce only when the timing was right and the opportunities were presented.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, she was nonchalant in her answers to Winfrey’s questions regarding her husband’s possible paternity.  She said she supposed it would be easy to determine and that it really had

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nothing to do with her.  She went on to say that the child would be a part of her husband’s life, but not part of hers.  There are ribbons of truth between the lines of that statement; it’s just a matter of deciphering them.  No one’s quite sure how the inclusion of another child in their family wouldn’t be part of her own life, unless, of course, she was contemplating divorce.

Many have insisted the child is Edwards’, even though he still denies it and says the affair didn’t coincide with conception.  That’s always amazing; men who are faced with a pregnant mistress always claim the timing couldn’t be right and there’s no chance they could actually be responsible for procreating with anyone other than their wives.

Aside from her interview with Oprah Winfrey, Elizabeth Edwards will be releasing an autobiography next week and in it, she refers to the little girl whose paternity is in question as “it” and says learning of her husband’s affair caused her to become physically ill, which is understandable.

So now the lines have been drawn.  She’s basically dared both her husband and his former mistress to complete the paternity test.  John Edwards has already said he’d be more than willing to submit to such a test, but that was when Hunter adamantly insisted no such test would ever take place and that she had nothing to prove to anyone.  Now the recent publicity with the imminent book release as well as the attitude of Elizabeth Edwards, she’s behaving like a woman scorned who now indeed has something to prove.  I think we already know where that proof lies.

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The latest products being targeted for tax increases are soft drinks, energy drinks and those little packets of fruit powders that you can mix into your bottled water.  This is being considered as a way to pay for President Obama’s $1.2 trillion dollar health insurance cure-all.  With less than half of the funds readily

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available, industry leaders, politicians and countless committees are expected to present different ways to raise the remaining money.

My first thought was, “Say it ain’t so!”  Diet Coke’s are my vice in this life.  I’m sure I could learn to live without them, but I just don’t want to.  Turns out, diet drinks aren’t included in this proposed tax increase.  Only those with sugar that can lead to dental problems, obesity, diabetes and a multitude of other illnesses are at risk.  The fact is, if this new medical insurance overhaul is indeed the answer, I doubt anyone will complain about an extra three cents added to the cost of each 12 ounce drink.

This three cent increase will provide $6 billion dollars annually, with all of it going toward funding the new insurance programs.   There are currently a dozen states that already have taxes on soft drinks and this new federal tax will add to that.  If this is the only suggestion being made to finance this new insurance overhaul, lawmakers will be forced to dig deeper and find other solutions to work in tandem with this tax since this will only cover a portion of what’s going to be needed each year.

If they’ve run out of ideas, they can always contact the endless number of watchdog groups who decide what’s best for the American public.  They’re the ones who make across-the-board statements regarding our lifestyle and products we consume.  If they’re suggesting tax increases or tighter guidelines (such as gun control), it’s always followed by, “it’s in the best interest of the citizens”.   In fact, some of these groups insist the tax increase will put a dent in the soft drink industry and are adamant in their declarations of this being what’s best for the public.  Maybe their representatives would like to witness many of us in the mornings before we’ve had our caffeine.  Perhaps they’d reconsider their definitions of what’s best for the public.

In the meantime, this new tax proposal is being fast tracked since President Obama intends to bring the new program to life by the end of this year.

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This is another one of those stories that has so much wrong with it, I’m not sure where to start.  During a closed session last week, the Orange County, CA Board of Supervisors chose to award an illegal immigrant over $4 million dollars because of a beating he received while in prison.  Oh, and Fernando Ramirez was serving time in prison because he’d been accused of molesting a five year old girl, yet pleaded guilty to non-sexual battery. He sued, they settled.

How does a bankrupt state justify such a decision?  This wasn’t anything that doesn’t happen across this country on a daily basis and it’s no secret child molesters are targets.  To be sure, this beating was brutal.

Fernando Ramirez

Ramirez suffered brain damage, can’t walk without assistance and now has the mental capacity of a four year old.  There’s a tragic irony in his mental capacity since the little girl was only five when she was abused by Ramirez.

Another infuriating aspect is the fact the Board of Supervisors chose to make this decision that will affect its constituents behind closed doors and now refuses to comment on their decision.  Just where exactly where will this four million dollars come from?  Taxpayers, certainly.  One thing’s for sure, we know where it is:  the prisoner’s family who may or may not even reside in this country.  The OC Register reports this is the largest settlement ever paid by Orange County.  The second largest payout was for just over $600,000 to a prisoner’s family.  The prisoner died after a scuffle with prison guards.

Ramirez’s lawyer says the settlement will ensure his client’s medical needs will be covered the rest of his life, says the settlement was fair and credits the Board for doing the right thing.  There are few who agree this was the right thing to do.  The little girl’s family didn’t sue the county, yet she’ll carry this with her as she grows into an adult.  My guess is her family thinks it couldn’t be any further from the right thing to do.