The BBC makes me think about what my kids may have missed out on with their recent report on the unexpected benefits of breastfeeding (which is something I've written about before on here).

The University of Bristol team looked at 1,400 babies born from 1937-1939 and followed their progress for 60 years.

Those... more

In the Texas area? Interested in actually talking to officials with the CCAA? Or just anyone who knows stuff about adopting from China?

I've just been forwarded an email about The East Meets West Conference.

It's something that happens twice every year in a different American city each time, when One Of The Big Agencies brings Chinese officials, adoption... more

Xinhua News Agency reports on a new tightening of One-Child Policy enforcement, in the form of a campaign to publicly shame people who pay extra to have more children.

"The public is very much aware that some celebrities simply pay money to have two or more children. This kind of behavior must be stopped," said Zhang Wenbiao, head of the provincial family planning commission, at a press conference.

As public figures, these people should be an example of compliance with the law, instead of circumventing the one-child family policy by simply paying fines, Zhang said.

Zhang... more

There's an interesting discussion going on at Brian Stuy's Research-China.org blog about the fairly recent Beth Russell New York Times piece about the "missing orphans" of China.

Stuy thinks her math is all messed up.

Her essay is filled with intellectual "leaps". One of the most... more

I haven't actually read this book, so I can't officially call this a "review," but if you're reading this blog, you may or may not be interested in The Chinese Adoption Handbook: How to Adopt from China and Korea, by John Maclean.

It's supposed to be an exhaustive, easy-to-use guide to the daunting process of adopting... more

For one thing, The Rumor Queen site has a fine list of blogs of people who've just gotten referrals.

So if you want to see pictures of babies, babies, babies, you now have lots of places to go.

On the other hand, I'm curious where people who read this come from, so I want to see if this little gizmo will work:

Create your own visitor map!

Hmmm. The stats showing actual visitor locations should be up here: http://www.maploco.com/view.php?id=204996... more

Tsingtao Beer, at the Qingdao Beer Museum. Yes, they have a museum for beer.

Fear: Oh, nobody will speak English!

Rebuttal: This latest entry on the Laowai Chinese language blog. No, I'm not saying you can learn Chinese. It's an English teacher in China complaining about how hard it is to actually... more

The Onion produces a cautionary tale. Or an uncomfortable laugh.

Or, well, effective satire. This story originally came out when were were packing for the trip to meet son (son!) last April, but if anything, I think it embodies a social current that has gotten even more prominent.

What with Brad Pitt on the covers... more

Interesting news out of New York state: the gov't agency over background checks is speeding the process for China adopters.

Weird how all these effects ripple outward from a change made so far away.

For those of you new to the process, this also serves to illustrate the way state and federal regulations relate to Chinese requirements for adoptive parents... more

I suppose this should go in the (notional) "business of adoption" category:

A Seattle no-fee adoption agency gets boost from Xerox efficiency expert.

Antioch Adoptions will open its Wenatchee office by March and bring services to Vancouver and Spokane by early to mid-2008, Executive Director Tammie Snyder said. Plans also are under way to expand by that time to Moscow, Idaho, and Salt Lake City.

Helping to speed the expansion will be Seattle resident Cyndi Quan-Trotter, a Xerox manager who teaches the corporation's employees across the country how to work more efficiently... more