I came across a story this morning from Guyana, that South American country that gained far too much notoriety from the People's Temple mass suicide years back but is little heard from now. The article is typical UNspeak gobbledegook ... teaching officials in developing nations to talk the talk ... that doesn't add up to anything of substance, no matter how many times it's read.

The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security in collaboration with the United Nations International... more

Continued from here where we've been underwhelmed by "facts" and UNICEF ....

Okay. I am NOT saying there have never been any corrupt dealings in any Nepali adoptions. Nepal, like most of our kids' birth countries functions on a level that is much less transparent than most would like ... as do all countries, for that matter. But when stories appear under headlines that shout, ... more

Continued from here where we were about to add two to two ...

Could it be that here is where the rubber meets the road?

As an international conference on adoption of children began in Kathmandu on Sunday, the U.N. children's wing UNICEF deplored what it called an ''unfortunate growth'' of an industry centering on adoption.

Profit,... more

Continued from here ...

Now, some of the questions that pop into my mind when reading the stories about Nepali adoption that are cropping up just about the time a conference on international adoption is to begin ... How does someone "pose as British parents wishing to adopt a Nepali child"? Did they show up at the "Child NGO Federation" complete with dossier, including a homestudy, police clearance and all other other documents... more

Is there anything suspect in the timing of a story coming out of Nepal that casts international adoption in a negative light coinciding with the first International Conference of Inter-Country Adoption in Kathmandu? Pardon my cynicism, but I can't help but notice the potential for not-so-hidden agendas in them thar Himalayas.

Was it coincidence that had reporter Thomas Bell writing a story for the Nepali Times that that starts out like this:

In... more

A new online organization has come into being that may have great interest for many with children adopted from China. Like a modern-day version of pen pals, Chinese Adoption Links was formed by a formidable group of adult adoptees ... a list of founders and their bios is on the site ... for the purpose of honoring, "the diversity of our experiences, the richness of our identities, and the importance of our stories."

Their stated goal is to, "create a supportive global... more

A while back, I won a $150 gift certificate from Adoptionshop.com for coming up with some greeting card copy. I don't think the cards are ready, but they did send me the virtual gift cert, so I did what anyone would do ... I went shopping.

Cruising around the adoptionshop was fun, but being out of the ritual of regular shopping has me thinking that there's not much I can't live without, so I didn't find anything I needed to have.

What I did find, however, was an idea.

Those colored wristbands the rest of the world has been wearing for a while to tout various causes are just beginning to appear here in Seychelles,... more

I'm suffering from some serious Internet problems at the moment, so my blogging time is stressful and limited. Here are some bits of news you can use, though.

Ethica: An Independent Voice for Ethical Adoptions had appointed a new executive director.

The board of directors of Ethica, Inc., a national organization committed to ethical adoptions, is pleased to announce the appointment of Linh Song, MSW, as the organization's new executive director.

"We searched... more

This came though from IAAP along with their latest listing of special needs kids from China, and I thought I should share it:

We know the desire of all families to get updated information on their children and to know where their dossier is in the approval process. We share that desire with you and pass along any information we receive to you as soon as we have it. However the CCAA is making it more difficult to receive any updates or other information about a specific case.

The CCAA recently stated the following:

1. They will not give any family an update on their child if the child's medical... more

Continued from here

Cambodia's also not into playing ball over military aid.

"We need assistance without strings attached. If it had strings attached, we would not accept it," Chum Sambath, undersecretary of state for Cambodian Ministry of Defense, was quoted as saying.

Does the US dole out... more