MARLEY’S MEME

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OK this little game of Memes is running around the blogosphere, so I decided to have at it All you do is type your name into in to Google followed by the word “needs.” Since it didn’t work too well with Bastardette, I used Marley. So… Marley needs: (1) a Forever Home (Please contact EAC, Tree of Life, Focus on Adoption (Utah), The Open Door, or your favorite adoption agency for details) (2) needs an owner that can provide a balanced and stable home environment (Please contact A Child’s Waiting for re-homing details). (3) a great home ( Is there a pattern here? Hint: I still prefer The Hamptons despite the current invasion of riff-raffan bad archecture. I will also consider Gstadd.) (4) Vicky’s help (Good help is so hard to find nowadays I’m willing to take on Vicky as my new servant on a trial basis. Does she do weeds and Mai Tais? Every other Sunday off. ) (5) donations (YES!) (6) more leisure time (with the donations I can do it!) (7) to stop working ( ditto! Please states! Unseal all adoption records, repeal baby dumps! I won’t even apply for unemployment. Promise. And send more donations!) (8) Continue Reading →

KAK DELA? WHAT’S UP WITH EUROPEAN ADOPTIION CONSULTANTS?

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First the press says they’re out of Russia; then it says they’re in. AdoptionLand wants to know what’s going on, but EAC isn’t talking. As of 10:00 pm August 1, EAC hasn’t posted a word on its webpage about the investigation that the Russian Ministry of Education and Science is running it through over the agency’s alleged failure to inform timely, officials of the death of Dmitry Yakolev/Chase Harrison as required by Russian law. All we find is a gratuitous we-feel-your-pain-cover-your ass note on Dima’s death at the top of its webpage which ends with: We are currently assessing the situation and continuing to work with the Russian Federation in this matter. Shouldn’t that read: the Russian Federation is currently assessing us?SILENCE IS GOLDEN…AND SO IS THE EGGAs far as the public face of EAC is concerned, everything is snug as a bug in Strongsville, According to the EAC– friendly blogger at Russian Adoption Journey, who finds herself a tad frustrated at the agency’s lack of communication, EAC isn’t sharing much information with anxious paps who ask. From “Mixed Media Message,”July 21, 2008 (emphasis mine):Despite internet articles and blogs to the contrary, our adoption agency told me this afternoon that Continue Reading →

LORRAINE DUSKY: VETERAN FIRST MOTHER TROUBLEMAKER LAUNCHS BLOG

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This just in! Long-time rights activist and writer Lorraine Dusky has started a new blog, First Mother Forum. Lorainne is the author of the groundbreaking memoir, Birthmark. Although an established writer when it was published in 1979, mainstream media ignored this very important book: How dare you! Now it’s a classic! How dare they! I had the pleasure of meeting Lorraine at the ASAIK conference at Pitt last year. Lorraine is a powerful voice for first mothers and reform, and I heartily welcome her to the the Adopta-blogosphere. From Lorraine: Yo, ye friends of adoption reform– Ok, I did it, and though I know I am a late-comer (very), I still found that I was pouring out my feelings to friends in emails and so… I decided…First Mother Forum, a name given to me by my friend, Linda Bolton of New Jersey. I hope you will visit http://firstmotherforum.blogspot.com/ Add it to your bookmarks and check in, post comments–please. Okay, yes, I am trying to get a little traffic going. And right now I feel like I am swimming upstream against a current of other bloggers and people trying to get your attention, but well, you can’t be a part of Continue Reading →

SCREEN CAREFULLY – CHOOSE WISELY: WHAT KITTY ADOPTION AND CHILD ADOPTION DON’T HAVE IN COMMON

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My latest CatAge Companion newsletter gives the following tips for people who need to find a new home for their kitty: Need to find a new home for your cat? Screen a potential pet parent carefully. Inspect his or her home, verify landlord approval, and get a referral from the adopter’s veterinarian, if possible. Also, help keep your kitty safe from dangers and irresponsible owners by asking about issues like these: • Experience: Has the person looking to adopt ever had a cat? If the cat is no longer in the home, what happened to him? • Safety: Was the cat indoors or outdoors? Ever had a cat declawed? Does the prospective owner live on a busy street or in an area with coyotes or other predators? If they hedge, or your gut feels funny, keep looking. Too bad children can’t be placed under the same conditions in the US. Photo model: Abbie-Gale Sondergaard Greiner

RUSSIAN NEWS VIDEOS ON KOLYA EMELYATSEV AND DMITRY YAKOLEV/CHASE HARRISON

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Last week I found a great Russian blog: Russian Videos from Russia hosted by Svet and Kyle Keeton in Moscow. For an expat in need of a daily dose of real life Russia, this is an ideal site. Documentaries, cartoons, liturgy, Soviet pop, ducks–they’ve got it all. I added Svet and Kyle to my Blog Catalog as a “friend” and linked their blog to this page. Over the weekend, much to my surprise Svet and Kyle posted some Russian news videos about the Kolya Emelyantsev and Dmitry Yakolev/Chase Harrison cases as well as a story on Russian domestic adoption. If you look quick you’ll see a possibly heretofore unpublished picture of Viktoria Bezhenova/Nina Hilt in the video (1/1). The videos are in English or with an English voice over. There is also a link to a new Russian advertising campaign encouraging domestic adoption. There’s no separate URL for the videos, just scroll down to July 27, 2008. большое спасибо

ADOPTIONLAND LOSES ANOTHER: LIBBI CAMPBELL

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We sadly mark the loss of another long-time activist, Libbi Campbell. Libbi died July 4 of complications from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. I knew about her passing, but that’s about it. Today’s Boston Globe features an article on Libbi and her work Elizabeth Campbell; counselor fought to change adoption laws. I met Libbi only a couple times, the last time at the 2007 ACONE conference, where she staffed a CUB table, though I was familiar with her for years through CUB. Here is an excerpt from the Globe article: When she was not helping teens deal with curveballs that life threw their way, she was often working on a political issue she held dear: changing adoption laws. Since the late 1970s, she was the regional coordinator for Concerned United Birthparents, a support group for birth parents. More recently, she successfully lobbied for the passage of state legislation that increases access to birth records by adoptees. “It didn’t get reduced to something that was just words on paper,” herdaughter Kiera of Arlington said. “She was thrilled to see that.” Her work over the years to promote awareness of the issues facing birth parents earned her several awards. In April, her doctor let her Continue Reading →

EUROPEAN ADOPTION CONSULTANTS: LIVING LARGE OFF THE MISERY OF OTHERS

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Curious minds wonder. Just how much does European Adoption Consultants, the placing agency of two Russian children who ended up dead at the hands of their Forever Families,* rake in each year? Since I’m not an accountant, I’m not going to pretend to interpret their IRS 990s, available on Guidestar (free registration required). There’s a lot more than these figures: salaries, expenses, inventory. Perhaps somebody else can elaborate. In the meantime, here’s a sample: GROSS 2004: $7,568,621 2005: $8,197,469 (adjusted to $8,257,994 on 2006 990 form)2006: $ 7,809,150TOTAL: $23,565,240 (adjusted to $23,635,765) NET ASSETS AND DEFERRED BALANCES2004: $890,593 2005: $1,044,505 2006: $890,141TOTAL: $2,835,229 EAC Director Margaret Cole-Hughes’ salary:2004: $194,000 + $70,000 in benefits and deferred compensation2005: $194,0002006: $194,000TOTAL: $582,000+70,000 I guess the day of the kindly but poor social worker played by Beulah Bondi has gone the way of…well…Beulah Bondi. EAC is a Hague Accredited by the Council for Accreditation, It is a member of The Joint Council on International Children’s Services and the National Council for Adoption. *Logan Higginbotham, November 25, 1998Dmitry Yakolev/Chase Harrison, July 8, 2008

OMENS: A MASHA ALLEN COMPENDIUM OF ABUSE

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James Marsh from ChildLaw has created a new blog: Omens. The Omens that appear there are of Masha Allen, the Russian girl sold into sex slavery by the American adoption industry, now abandoned once more, and disappeared into the child welfare system under highly mysterious circumstances. Marsh was Masha’s attorney and advocate until he was no longer allowed to be. These entries are taken from court documents and transcripts, correspondence, news articles and other in-their-own-words publicly available primary sources. They are called Omens because they were harbingers, red flags, warnings of what was to happen to Masha after her rescue from pedophile Matthew Mancuso. Marsh writes in his introduction: Starting today I will begin posting noteworthy harbingers with the hope that readers will consider this from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: “we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” I will refer to these tidbits as omens; something either good or evil that is believed to foretell the future. For those unfamiliar with Masha’s case look at my entries on this site under her name (labels) at Nikto Ne Zabyt–Nichto Ne ZabytoFor a update on what has happened to Masha–as far as anyone Continue Reading →

CHASE HARRISON/DMITRY YAKOLEV BURIED–EAC PROFITS

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Services for Chase Harrison/Dmitry Yakolev were held last Wednesday (July 16) at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Purcellville. The Tuesday edition of Leesburg Today published a full account, “Purcellville Toddler Remembered.” Miles Harrison remained hospitalized, but a letter from him to Chase was read at the service: “I want you to know how much I love you and how much I will always love you,” Miles Harrison wrote, saying Chase would “always be our perfect gift.” He wrote of how he and Chase would sing together and how he would put Chase on his shoulders and march along to the Ohio State marching band…Chase was buried in Ebenezer Cemetery in Round Hill. So far, so good. I really don’t have much more to say about this incredibly sad event… Except… Memorial donations may be sent to Project Sunshine, c/o European Adoption Consultants Inc., 12608 Alameda Drive, Strongsville, OH 44149. Excuse me while I get sick. There now, I’m back Just when I thought the adoption industry couldn’t get any lower… Chase/Dima is the second EAC Russian child to die at the hands of Forever Families. In November 1998, Logan Higginbotham died of massive head injuries. Her adoptive mother Continue Reading →

MILES HARRISON INDICTED IN DEATH OF SON CHASE HARRISON/DMITRY YAKOLEV

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Miles Harrison was indicted Monday on a charge of manslaughter in the July 8 death of his son Chase Harrison/Dmitry Yakolev. According to the Washington Post and other metro media, Harrison, came to the courthouse directly from the private psychiatric hospital he’s been holed up in since Dima’s death. At the brief arraignment Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Ian M. Rodway asked Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Marcus D. Williams to set bond at $10,000. The court refused defense attorney Peter Greenspun’s request for signature bond, but agreed to reduce bond to $5,000. Harrison was immediately arrested and cuffed. He bonded out in the afternoon. Harrison declined comments to the press. Greenspun, speaking of Harrison said, “”He’s doing okay, but he’s still pretty fragile.” One new piece of information was revealed in court documents: Harrison arrived at Project Solutions Group at about 6:45 AM which means that Chase/Dmitry was left in the hot sealed- up SUV for approximately nine hours. Temperature inside the Yukon could have reached as high as 180 degrees. According to Leesburg today, Harrison’s next court appearance is scheduled for August 27. I have other news on the case, which I will post separately in a little while.