COMMUNISM COLLAPSES. LENINGRAD AUGUST 19, 1991

Posted on by — 5 Comments ↓

WARNING: This has nothing to with adoption. Today is the 17th anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet Union–the failed coup. I began visiting the Soviet Union in 1988. I returned in 1989, and twice in 1990. In 1991 I had my first extended visit. That year I lived at Plekhanova, the international student hostel at the Herzen Institute, located just off Nevsky behind Kazansky Sabor Ostensibly, I was there to study Russian. Wiithin less than 24 hours of my arrival my good intentions were out the window. My time was taken up with shopping, sitting in the bar, Soier, clubbing, riding the metro, tattoos partying all night, …and as it turned out, overthrowing the government. Sort of. Below are some pictures from that time. The first batch are my Plekhonova homies: Soier, Sveta, Pasha, Dima, Viktor, Alex, Valera, Radina Yan, Vika, Mary, Karin, and Vladek. The second batch are of the Leningrad “resistance.” Let’s just say we weren’t Moscow! Following the pictures are two of my favorite Russian music videos: Zveri (Animals) by Tequillajazz and Sweet Home Alabama by The Leningrad Cowboys & The Red Army Choir. PLEKHANOVA GANG THE COUPAugust 19-23, 1991 TEQUILLAJAZZ Zveri (Animals) THE LENINGRAD COWBOYS Continue Reading →

ANN FESSLER AT PITT!

Posted on by — 18 Comments ↓

Ann Fessler, author of The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v.Wade, will be speaking and showing her film in progress on the same topic at the University of Pittsburgh at 8 pm Monday, September 22. The free event will be in the Frick Fine Arts auditorium on the University of Pittsburgh Campus. Contact Marianne Novy at [email protected] for more information. There will be rooms reserved at the Holiday Inn University Center until September 2 for people from out of town who want to be at this event. It is a 5-10 minute walk mostly across the university campus from the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium. Rooms will be available for the reduced price of $114 a night (cheaper if you share). Reservations must be made bySeptember 1 to get in the block with the reduced rate; call 412-682-6200or 1-800-HOLIDAY. Tell them it is the Ann Fessler conference (though it is just one talk and a reception afterwards).

REMEMBERING THE OHIO DEAD: MARIA BENNETT AND LIAM THOMPSON

Posted on by — 6 Comments ↓

Recently I visited the graves of my local Forever Dead adoptees: Liam Thompson and Maria Bennett. Below are some pictures. For Details on their cases go to Forever Family – Forever Dead. MARIA ANASTASIA BENNETTBIRTH NAME UNKNOWNNovember 22, 1999-October 23, 2002 Adopted from: Ussurisk. Died: Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio. Official cause of death: non-accidental head injury. In Forever Family: 9 months. Maria is buried in a family plot at St.Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Lancaster, Ohio. Her grave is kept up and flowers planted on it. LIAM DMITRY THOMPSONDMITRY SERGEYVICH ISLANKULOVOctober 16, 2000-October 16, 2003(died on 3rd birthday)Adopted from: Blagoveshensk, Died: Doctors Hospital, Columbus, Ohio. Official cause of death: thermal injuries. In Forever Family: 5 months. Liam/Dmitry is buried in Sunset Cemetery in Galloway, Ohio, just west of Columbus. I was glad to see that his grave is marked and kept up, especially since, according to his death certificate there was “no embalmer requested,” suggesting to me that he was the ultimate throwaway adoptee. Both “parents” are in prison. The objects left at the grave are a weather-worn yellow bird and a little lamp driving a blue truck.

REMEMBERING NINA; A MEMORIAL PAGE FOR NINA HILT

Posted on by — 7 Comments ↓

Chris Hilt and his daughter Natalyia have posted Remembering Nina, a lovely tribute page to their daughter and sister, Nina. Nina was beaten to death by Chris’s now ex-wife, Peggy Sue, in July 2005. The page holds dozens of pictures of Nina. They show her happy, playful, affectionate, and loved by Chris, Natalyia, extended family, and friends. I especially like the picture in the top left corner of the front page: a very determined little girl looking like she’s ready to take on corporate America or a particularly difficult math problem. I am so happy to see this page. These children are not abstractions They need to be remembered as real people with context, dignity, and lives that were worth living and were lived–not just statistics or ideological props in a grubby adoption war. Please remember Nina and light a candle for her on her page. ****** Also go to Viktor Matthey’s memorial page, Viktor’s Promise,

HOW MANY NCFANOIDS WILL FIT INTO A CLOWN CAR?

Posted on by — 11 Comments ↓

Bastardette has lately been remiss in stomping on everybody’s favorite corporate adoption shill, the National Council for Adoption. Since I’m leaving town for a few days to attend my high school class reunion (Yes, I actually graduated from high school, but in the bottom third of my class. I was too busy tending my primal wound and snooping through closets looking for my identity to tend to algebra), I thought I’d leave you with this. NCFA’s new PR flack: Rodney Huey. Yes, this picture is for real. Before joining NCFA’s crack team of baybee broker busybodies, Mr. Huey was the VP of PR for Feld Entertaiment, that is… at Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows… that is…the circus. (He is also the former VP of Communications at NPR!) Two years ago he received his doctorate in Cultural Studies from George Mason. His dissertation, “The Social Construction of the American Circus Clown,” focuses on how clowns are made and their role in society. (This is actually a great topic. I worked in theatre for 15 years. I should know!) Rodney says: I would see the audience laughing and going crazy when the clowns came on, and it made me start Continue Reading →

EMELYANTSEV UPDATE: SENTENCING DELAYED FOR MENTAL HEALTH CHECK; DETAILS OF CASE STILL NOT RELEASED!

Posted on by — 9 Comments ↓

Kimberly Emelyantsev caught a small break Friday, when 3rd District Judge Mark Kouris ordered a 60-day stay in sentencing while Emelyantsev undergoes a “diagnostic evaluation to determine appropriate punishment.” Emelyantsev, 34, faces 1-15 years in prison on a charge of second degree felony child abuse homicide in the March 7 death of 14 month old Russian Down Syndrome adoptee Nikoli Emelyantsev. She admitted dropping Kolya on his head “out of frustration” a day earlier. He died of a significant skull fracture caused by blunt force trauma to the head. Court documents indicate that Kolya also had bruising on his face, head, knee and anus. Emelyantsev was charged originally with 1st degree murder, but pled down in June.Koyla lived with his Forever Family less than a month when he was killed. Kimberly and her husband, Russian national, Fyodor Emelyantsev, were also charged with third degree felony child abuse due to the alleged malnourishment and dehydration of 4-year-old, Luka, adopted by the couple from Russia two months earlier. Those charges were dropped in June due to insufficient evidence, and F. Emelyantsev was released from jail. K. Emelyantsev has remained in jail under a $500,000 cash-only bond.Luka has Down Syndrome as does K. Continue Reading →

MORE BLOGGER PROBLEMS

Posted on by — 7 Comments ↓

It never stops! Now Blogger is disappearing comments! One of my entries yesterday had 4 comments. This morning only the first comment was there. I posted 2 comments on that entry about the problem, and they have not shown up. Strangely the original four comments are now there. If you have posted here and the comment goes away or never shows up, blame it on Blogger. Hopefully, this will be fixed soon.

MOO! EUROPEAN ADOPTION CONSULTANTS STAYS IN RUSSIA

Posted on by — 41 Comments ↓

To no one’s surprise, European Adoption Consultants beat the rap. Last night, EAC announced on its webpage : EAC is proud to announce that we have received confirmation from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation that our accreditation will remain in tact and valid. Our staff is honored to be allowed to assist you in completing your forever family. Honored? Don’t they mean “relieved”? When you invest as much time and money in the post-Soviet nomenclatura as EAC has, can there be any other outcome? In other words, the Ministry ka-chinged. The cows graze contentedly. Let the good times roll! BTW, does anyone know the provinace of “forever family?” I’ve heard it comes from dog rescue.

THE THERAPEUTIC MURDERS OF CANDACE NEWMAKER, DAVID POLREIS, VIKTOR MATTHEY, AND JESSICA ALBINA BENNETT

Posted on by — 39 Comments ↓

In her latest blog, Lainie Petersen informs us that attachment bitch…excuse me… unlicensed “attachment therapist”and murderer Connell Watkins has been released from prison to a half-way house in the metro Denver area where she will serve out her remaining term. In 2001, Watkins was convicted and sentenced to 16 years in prison for the death by therapy the year before of Candace Newmaker –born Candace Tiara Elmore, 10. The girl had been removed from her family by the State of North Carolina and adopted by connected trust fund baby Jeane Newmaker. When Candace, ungratefully remained attached to her real family and didn’t “bond” appropriately with the replacement, she was subjected to the best “alternative therapies” money can buy. When Candace refused to cooperate and continued to insist she already had a real mother (below right)– and it wasn’t Newmaker– she was taken to Watkins’ Evergreen, Colorado residential clinic for the ultimate bonding experience: “rebirthing.” After two weeks of weird therapy and abuse at a cost of $7,000, in full view of her Forever Mommie, who participated in some of the “therapy” herself, Candace was wrapped in pillows and a flannel blanket “representing” Jeane Newmaker’s’ womb, while Watkins (who weights 215 Continue Reading →

MOMS LIVING CLEAN : SCREENING OF SHEILA GANZ’S NEW DOCUMENTARY IN SAN FRANCISCO

Posted on by — 6 Comments ↓

Unlocking the Heart of Adoption filmmaker Sheila Ganz is working on a new documentary, Moms Living Clean. On August 23, there will be a free work-in-progress screening and Q&A at the San Francisco Art Institute. Below is a letter from Sheila with details. Dear Friend, I am pleased to announce the work-in-progress screening of the 90 minute documentary MOMS LIVING CLEAN and Q&A discussion with the filmmaker, Sheila Ganz. Saturday, August 23rd6:30-9:30pmSan Francisco Art Institute800 Chestnut Street(between Leavenworth and Jones)San FranciscoAdmission is Free. Seating is limited.to RSVP call: 415.564.3691, oremail: [email protected]. This feature documentary sheds light on the issues and individuals exploring opposing ways of dealing with substance abuse ~ treatment vs incarceration. The film chronicles six mothers in a women and children’s residential treatment program over three years, from entry through transition, where they learn recovery and good parenting skills, and attempt to become self-sufficient. There is Rachel, a victim of abuse, who learns to speak her truth. Lisa S was in prison for using and selling drugs feels a sense of responsibility for her daughter. Leslie forgives herself for her past prostitution and gains a feeling of pride. Intersecting with their stories is the progression of drug policies Continue Reading →