I began a comment on Lisa's Guatemalan Blog for today that ended up growing out of that box and begging for its own, so I'm giving in and making a comment a post in its own right.

Lisa's post was a response to an article in Mother Jones by a woman who adopted from Guatemala and now wonders out loud and publicly, "Did I steal my daughter?".

Reaction... more

Since confusion is the thought for today, I might as well go the whole hog on it and take my befuddlement all the way to China.

As we all know, unless the past year has been spent as the unhappy guest of aliens intent on learning how humans tick ... we don't ... China revamped their adoption regulations and put new restrictions on international adoptive parents into place... more

I'm way confused this evening as I try to catch up with my blog commitments after spending so much of my day running around like a headless chicken in attempts to track down the cause of a fever and stomach pain in my son.

I started out responding to a follow to the inspiration for Monday's post, an unapologetic dressing-down of those leaving comments lodging complaints against what the writer refers to as an article "heartless, disgusting, stupid and paid".

Not... more

In the mood to read about something offensive? If so, I can recommend the blog I just posted over on the Adoption News which might have you spitting nails at UNICEF ... again.

If giant organizations with huge PR budgets and teflon coating don't set off a full round of tintinnabulation for you today, perhaps you will be more comfortable with a bit of pique for the one lone person who wrote ... more

Thursday of last week, the 18th of October, saw the first European Union Anti-Trafficking Day. There seems to have been very little prep for this 'event' ... the press release coming out only three days before ... and it looks like much of the to do was centered around a Kevin Kline movie called "Trade" and "an experts meeting will be held in Brussels".

Whatever... more

The list of impractical impossible solutions offered by those opposed to international adoption to the world's children is short ... support for families in developing countries that would make relinquishment unnecessary, world peace, a global end to hunger and disease ... usually includes not only a confusing contradiction about money -- it's too expensive, but must remain exclusive -- but also the idea that children that are surrendered should be adopted by families in their country of birth.

Local adoption rates offer proof that the option is severely limited,... more

The disgusting piece of less-than-human rubbish Interpol has been looking for was captured in Thailand this morning, and now we can all sit back and hope there is a punishment that will do him justice.

Canadian pedophile Christopher Neil has been preying on children ... okay, in a nod to my journalistic training, I'll add the word 'allegedly' here, but he's guilty as sin, and this is a blog, not the NY Times ... for years.

Scenes of him sexually abusing very young Cambodian... more

I've been reading the comments on Mary's Ethiopia blog about "true orphans", and although I have posted one there myself, I, like Erin, feel something blog-length would be appropriate.

Before addressing the issue face-on, I'd like to recount a story, a true story, of an event that took place in Mexico some years back ...

A group of women put together an adventure travel... more

For months now we have been following the case of an American couple trying to adopt a South African baby who had been abandoned at birth upside-down in a bucket, and looking at the state of orphans and international adoption in South Africa.

For... more

Sophiline Cheam Shapiro of the Khmer Arts Academy is getting well deserved accolades this week. First, in the New York Times with a glowing review of her latest work: “Pamina Devi: A Cambodian Magic Flute".

She was also featured in an American Public Radio production "The Story" that can be accessed as a podcast here.

In case you're not already... more