The 21st of February has been, since a UNESCO declaration in 1999, International Mother Languages Day. Unfortunately, UNESCO hasn't bothered to get their logo for this year's commemoration out and about, so I've posted an old one. If you're wondering what this is all about here's some explanation in typical UN-speak:

The General Conference,

Recognizing the need to improve understanding and communication among peoples,

Also recognizing... more

In what appears to be reaction to focus on female infanticide in India, the government has announced that it will be building orphanages for the excess of unwanted baby girls.

Dubbed the "cradle scheme," the plan is an attempt to slow the practice that international groups say has killed more than 10 million female fetuses in the last two decades, leading to an alarming imbalance in the ratio between males and females... more

I love stories about people taking action ... seeing problems, then setting their minds, hearts, brains and pocketbooks toward fixing situations that are not working, or not working as well as they could ... for the greater good. With little motivation other than helping out, paying back ... and forward ... and possibly being selfish enough to want to feel good about personal accomplishments that have a positive impact on others, true heroes are made.

... more

There's adoption-related news from all over today ...

I must start out with what was breaking news this week, but doesn't square at all with other reports we've seen. Do you recall this post from the 17th ... UNICEF's big PR spin on "Signs of Progress and Momentum in Global Response to Children and AIDS," that I published with hopes that you'd read with an eye toward digging through the fluff?

Well, a case of the right hand not knowing... more

This just in from UNICEF's PR machine:

Signs of Progress and Momentum in Global Response to Children and AIDS A report from UNICEF's Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS campaign TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - Jan. 16, 2007) - In Children and AIDS: A Stocktaking, released today, UNICEF reports that there are positive signs of progress and momentum in the global response to children and AIDS and indicates that some countries have achieved breakthroughs, particularly in preventing HIV transmission from mothers... more

I am constantly amazed by the way politics moves through the arena of children's issues and needs, and the craft with which spin tweaks dire circumstances toward a shiny, smiley-face projection of the situation. Case in point, this report from Pakistan titled, "Government planning model orphanages across country."

Sources said the Social Welfare Ministry was planning to introduce model orphanages in almost... more

I am angry, and more than a little disgusted.

This story about the UN has me spitting nails and wanting an explanation other than the weak-kneed, slimy-lame excuse given by an overpaid UN big shot that for sure is driven around in a brand new, white SUV whenever "work" takes her into dirty places where poor people might be encountered. An article in the UK's Daily Telegraph had it that UN personnel in southern Sudan have been... more

Continued from here, where I've been posting bits and pieces of news that have been cluttering my desktop ... Mel comes into it down the page a bit ...

From Lisa, a report from Guatemala about life there for many children.

Guatemala has the highest rate of malnourished children in the Western Hemisphere, even higher than... more

Continued from here ...

Adoption continues as a non-option for tsunami kids, by the way. Many thousands of children lost parents the day after Christmas, 2004, and many thousand more have been left behind by mothers and fathers who suddenly had nothing left to give. Some have been taken in by relatives, and we can hope that has worked out to be a good thing for most of them, but reality dictates that we acknowledge that this circumstance does not always work out to be for the benefit of the child. Kids have fallen through huge gaps in systems that were less than adequate... more

Continued from here ...

Two years later, and how is it going? That depends on who you ask. UNICEF has just published their report on the two year anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami, called, "Much Done, More to Do".

They're proud of accomplishments, or at least their very effective PR machine is cranking out the 'good... more