North Korea Trades Nukes for Food

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The U. S.  State Department surprised the world Wednesday when it announced progress in its negotiations with North Korea about its nuclear program. North Korea agreed to suspend uranium enrichment, nuclear testing, and long-range missile development in exchange for close to a quarter of a million tons of food from the U.S. to alleviate the critical shortage of food for the country's inhabitants.


Viewing the breakthrough with cautious optimism, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said it was a modest step forward and indicated that the country will be closely watched to ensure it follows through with its promises. Kim Jong-un is still new to the role of leader and little is known about how he intends to run the country; thus, it is difficult to gauge his sincerity.

North Korea also agreed to another important step toward nuclear disarmament. It will allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to enter the Yongbyon nuclear complex for the first time since 2009.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said North Korea’s latest commitments “are very welcome, but obviously they need to be followed up by action.” North Korea has a history of reneging on its promises, so, while this announcement raises hopes for a positive outcome, the Obama administration has adopted a "wait and see' attitude.

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Suspect Confesses to Shooting Students in Ohio

T.J. Lane, a 17-year-old student who attended Lake Academy, a school for at-risk students with academic or behavioral problems, shot and killed three students and wounded two others Tuesday at Chardon High School. Located outside of Cleveland, Ohio, the mall town of Chardon is reeling from the early morning tragedy and mourning the loss of Russell King, Jr., Demetrius Hewlin and Daniel Parmertor, the three boys who died from their wounds. 


Prosecutors said Lane, 17, has admitted taking a .22-caliber Ruger semiautomatic pistol to Chardon High School on Monday and firing 10 rounds at four students sitting at a cafeteria table. Although they have not formerly charged Lane yet, prosecutors stated that he would probably be tried an adult court. 


Chardon Schools Superintendent Joseph Bergant canceled classes for the district Tuesday. He made the decision so that school staff could "stay home and spend some time reflecting on family. And to every parent, if you haven't hugged or kissed your kids in the last couple of days, take that time. We're not just any old place, Chardon,. This is every place. As you've seen in the past, this can happen anywhere, proof of what we had yesterday."

Ham on Wry wonders when this country will face the issue of gun control squarely and recognize the depth of the problem. People claim their right to bear arms, but more guns are used to commit crimes than to protect victims As happened today, the students who were shot had no idea that someone would shoot them. The same truth applies to every shooting that has occurred at high schools and colleges in this nation. Protecting the innocent means enacting measure that will make it difficult to own guns for anything but legitimate reasons. Thorough investigations should occur before anyone can purchase a gun. We can't stop all shootings, but we can reduce their numbers.

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Attention American Women! Unite and Change Political Status Quo!

The photo at left depicts woman marching against the Vietnam War.  For those who were too young to remember that period of American history, women protesters turned the tide by marching in a united front against the war, eventually forcing its end.  I'm not implying that men didn't demonstrate and make a difference. My point is that women escalated the protest, and many of them were mothers who had lost their children and/or their spouses in that abomination, which never should have happened in the first place.

I'm fed up with men sending young people to the front lines of war under the auspices of "helping" the nation in question and failing to accomplish that aim. We have but to consider the Gulf War started under George H. W. Bush. The Untied States certainly helped Kuwait, but did not kill or capture Saddam Hussein. So, in 2003, Bush's son started the Iraq War, ostensibly because Iraq had WMD's, which never really existed. Hussein was captured and executed, but the country has devolved into chaos.



The war in Afghanistan started the October following 9/11 with the goal of dismantling Al Qaeda and freeing the Afghans from the terror that dominate that country under Taliban rule. Now, protesters want us to leave for a variety of reasons, so let's go. They can determine their own destiny.

I haven't tallied the total number of lives lost in those four wars, nor have I documented how many wounded men and women returned from the wars with permanent physical and mental impairments. However, I can state that whatever the number, it was not worth the cost to humanity or to our country, and it is far past time to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan permanently. They don't want us there, and I don't want us there either.

So, women of America, it's time for us to unite in an effort to elect a qualified, intellectually curious, talented woman as President of the United States, and I do not mean Sarah Palin. I shudder at the thought of her at a G8 conference, sitting next to Angela Merkel. In a time of global economic, cultural, and governmental strife, we must have someone with the experience and ability to handle complex issues that faces anyone who occupies the office. Men have had well over 200 years to "get it", and they haven't done so. Sorry, President Obama. You have tried and certainly gained ground, but we need a woman as President after you.

Since the election process started several months ago, it's clear that we must wait until 2016 to find the right woman for the job. She's out there somewhere, so let's start organizing locally, regionally, and nationally to elect a woman in four years. No more discussion about birth control. Florida Representative. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Davie) recently stated,"Contraception is an important part of women's preventive health care. It not only prevents unwanted pregnancies, but also allows couples to limit family size, increase the interval between pregnancies, and reduces infant, child and maternal deaths in women whom, either because of age or health, should not become pregnant." That statement sums up the important of keeping contraceptives in health plans.


Take that, Rick Santorum and anyone else who thinks insurance companies shouldn't provide birth control. No one forces women to use it. They do it for the reasons Representative Wasserman listed. Santorum and his supporters call themselves conservatives, but they fail to comprehend that unwanted children often wind up as a drain on society because they don't receive proper care at best, and are neglected, abused, or killed at worst. We don't care for these children now and would only add to the burden by eliminating birth control. If birth control goes, so should Viagra, Cialis, and all the similar drugs used for ED! 


Let's take action, instead of just talking about it. If you're tired of men who use social issues as a political platform and lack the wisdom to understand governing priorities, gather some of your friends and write to Congress about something that adversely affects those you love. Do it now, before we engage in battle yet again. 

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Two Americans Murdered in Kabul

A gunman killed two US Army officers inside the Afghan Interior Ministry building in Kabul Saturday on the  fifth day of violent protests against what officials claim was the accidental burning of.Qurans. Many questions exist about how this could have happened inside the heavily guarded compound.



General John Allen,commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said he recalled all NATO personnel from the ministries "for obvious force protection reasons, at the same time reassuring Afghanistan that the alliance remains committed to its partnership with the Afghan government.

Mohammed Mailir/Reuters

General Allen also announced that he has launched a thorough investigation of the crime and will follow all leads. He added, “The perpetrator of this attack is a coward whose actions will not go unanswered.”










The murders occurred within one of the most tightly secured areas of the ministry, raising concerns about how the killer gained access to the area. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the murders and said the killer has escaped.

As a safety precaution, The United Kingdom Foreign Office announced that it has withdrawn British officials working in Afghan ministries in Kabul. Ham on Wry urges President Obama to withdraw all U.S. civilian and military personnel immediately. Our presence there is no longer sought, nor is it helping the country to establish an effective government. The entire region must determine its own fate and countries in that region must help their neighbors. The U.S. and NATO can't solve all of the world's problems.

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Newt Gingrich Needs a Gag

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 President Barack Obama apologized Thursday morning for the accidental burning of Qurans by U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Today marked the third straight day of protests, which have increased in number with each successive day. Newt Gingrich slammed Obama for writing the letter to Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the same day that two US soldiers were killed by a protester dressed as an Afghan soldier.








Ham on Wry has two words for Newt, "Shut up!" Obama's apology was sent to give emphasis to the those already issued by other U.S. officials over the incident.

Gingrich is politicizing something that has enraged Afghan citizens, and his criticism could serve to escalate the violence further. Now is the time to pull together in a united front rather than making it a stage for political battles. Any smart person would have kept silent with so much riding in the balance.

Despite the presence of Afghan security forces deployed to quell the unrest, hundreds of demonstrators defied the order for calm. Reportedly, some members of the Afghan Parliament have encouraged the violence and call for death to American soldiers. Taliban leaders have joined the chorus, and fear mounts that protesters will follow the calls to beat Americans as well as kill U.S. soldiers.

So. put a sock in it, Newt! Allow President Obama and the Joint Chiefs to handle this without your interference. Personally, I think it's long past time to remove our soldiers and allow Afghanistan to determine its own future without interference from other countries.

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Journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik Killed In Syria

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Intrepid American war correspondent Marie Colvin, 55, and French photojournalist Remi Ochlik, 29, were killed Wednesday in the Homs opposition stronghold. President Bashar Assad's regime escalated its attacks on rebel bases , and the incessant shelling claimed the lives of at least 13 people. The opposition continues its efforts to rid Syria of the ruler who has heaped a mountain of atrocities on its citizens, despite its lack of sophisticated weaponry available to Assad's forces.

Colvin and Ochlik died when the house in which they and other journalists were staying was hit by a rocket as they tried to escape. Both had won awards for their reporting from countries bombarded by violence. The day before she died, Colvin  appeared in a videotape shot in a makeshift hospital on BBC and lamented the lack of medical facilities for the wounded and the terror that dominates life in Homs. Colvin reported for the London Sunday Times for 25 years and focused on the plight of women and children in wartime.

Ochlik was just beginning his career when his friend Lucas Dolego, a French photographer, was killed by a police teargas canister on the streets of Tunis during the revolution there last January. Witnessing the death of Dolego deeply affected Ochlik, who understood the risks of his work in Homs.

Colvin lost her eye in Sri Lanka during a 2001 government attack, and opted to wear a black eye patch rather than using a prosthetic eye. It symbolized her courage under fire and made her instantly recognizable.
Their deaths are more than just casualties of war. The world has lost two journalists through whose lens and words we saw the truth of Assad's assault on his own people

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Santorum Shows His Ignorance Again

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Is there no end to the blatant misstatements Santorum makes in his bid for the Republican nomination? He stated that government shouldn't make health care providers fully cover prenatal tests like amniocentesis on Face the Nation Sunday, because amniocentesis "more often than not" results in abortion. This attack on Obama followed a campaign stop in Ohio where he sounded the same theme, suggesting that the president wants more disabled babies aborted in order to save money on health care expenditures.

Santorum added that people have the right to have prenatal testing, "but to have the government force people to provide it free, to me, is a bit loaded." The show's host Bob Shieffer's then inquired about whether he thought Obama "looks down" on people with disabilities, "Well, the president supported partial-birth abortion, and partial-birth abortion is a procedure used almost exclusively to kill children late in pregnancy when they've been found out to be disabled," Santorum responded.

Ham on Wry can't believe Santorum thinks that way, especially considering his views on abortion rights. This society can't protect the children who are born from child abuse and sexual predators, some of whom are priests in the Catholic Church.  Yes, that's right, Mr. Santorum. Those well-publicized, heinous abuses occurred worldwide, and the Catholic hierarchy hid the crimes and protected the perpetrators. The children that suffered the abuse have a different kind of disability. What did you do when that occurred, Mr. Santorum? Somehow I missed your public outcry about those abhorrent acts.

If you want to lead this country, you don't show it. We have bigger problems than the social issues you harangue us about. Could it be because you really don't comprehend the many crises that are occurring globally?  Couple your stand on prenatal testing with your ridiculous comments on education, and I conclude Rick Santorum is not fit for office.

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