A post I wrote last week inspired comments having to do with separating the issue of poverty from any equation that might mean adoption.

Hunger and malnutrition are a huge problem all over Africa and the rest of the developing world. However, it doesn't mean these kids are not with family that care for them and love them.

In most cases, these families are attempting to keep it together. They are still sending them to school... they are trying! These kids are not in the streets or in orphanages. Their families haven’t given them up. That is why... more

Anyone in the Green Bay area of Wisconsin with an interest in possible adoption from Russian might be interested in hosting a child for 10 days. The Russian Orphan Lighthouse Project is looking for host families for 10- to 15-year-old kids in January. Check out their website for details.

I have recently come across an interesting summation of the Romanian adoption mess as it played out over the years. Check it out for a quick review up until July of last year ... the last action ... when the US Senate resolved to urge Romania to "modify its ban on international... more

Under a "better late than never" banner, here are some happenings from Cambodia ...

Thanks to a heads up from mom to a Cam-born kid and author of "Bones That Float, A Story of Adopting Cambodia, Kari Grady Grossman, there is something to share on the good works of another adoptive parent.

Ken McBain, a lovely man I had the pleasure of meeting in a restaurant in Phnom Penh while we were in the country for Cj... more

My daily trawl for blog fodder always presents something interesting, but often some of it at least consists of the make-my-teeth-hurt grating variety. That seems to be the flavor of the day on the international adoption front. Oh, goodie.

Starting out with some very iffy celebrity adoption-related stories circulating around the fringes of what might be called news, this story claiming that Angelina Jolie's daughter Zahara has a birth mother in Ethiopia... more

For breaking news on adoption from Vietnam and Guatemala, please see Rebecca's latest post and Lisa's, respectively.

The situations in both countries are volatile right now, and following their blogs will keep you up to date on present happenings. Don't forget to get involved in whatever ways you can, as protecting the option of adoption for... more

As usual for a Monday, there's loads of reading to be done on many different international adoption-related topics for anyone interesting in keeping abreast of the latest.

Starting with Vietnam, if you have not yet seen the most recent announcement put out by the US Embassy's adopted children immigrant visa unit, the link is here.

Explaining the present situation as the US sees it and going into some detail on the process of denying a petition, this is pretty gloomy material.

Continuing with countries taking hits for corruption, ... more

For some great shots of the Independence Day celebrations, check out Mongkol for a good bit of the feel of the day.

This year marks fifty-four years since gaining independence after 90 years of French rule.

Here's the message sent from the White House in... more

As expected, National Adoption Month, also known as National Adoption Awareness Month, is not only generating pages and pages of informative content, it is egging on the anti-adoption crowd and spawning the production of even more than the usual amount of tripe designed to bat all helpful and beautiful aspects of adoption into muck.

In addition to a plethora of blogs cautioning everyone to lurid attention over adoption BEWARENESS, articles dressed... more

First thing on the International Adoption agenda for today ... do not hesitate, but go immediately to Virginia's Russian Adoption Blog and read about the mess that is Russian adoption at the moment. She has information and ways to step up, including a template for a letter to legislators.

Although the immediate focus is for parents hoping to adopt from Russia specifically, everyone with an interest in intercountry adoption from anywhere should inform themselves of the recent turn... more

The Times of India is reporting s significant drop in the number of adoptions from that country, saying that both domestic and international adoptions have seen a reduction of almost 40 percent between 2001 and 2003.

A recent report is cited that researched information collected from more than twenty-two countries that have added internationally adopted children to families of citizens and found that only 0.034%... more