and another great site about adoption corruption:

http://www.fleasbiting.blogspot.com/

Stolen babies and adoption mafias...

I wrote about this in earlier posts, and I meant to document but never quite got to it... Here's the latest, from CNN and Prensa Libre:

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) -- Adoption officials said DNA tests indicate a Guatemalan baby reported stolen from her mother was being adopted by a U.S. couple, the first strong sign that the Central American nation's troubled adoption system relied in part on abducted children.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/07/23/guatemala.babies.ap/index.html

http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2008/julio/23/252603.html

and a great website about international adoption:

http://harlowmonkey.typepad.com/harlows_monkey/bio-cv.html

Alliteration

I recently got this announcement from Continental Airlines about the new U.S. "trusted traveler" program. I'm absolutely fascinated by the language. I wonder who worded it, because it sounds like a new McDonald's meal. The (apparently trademarked) Global Entry program, the clever acronym (GOES) and the very amenable sounding "kiosk process" all entice me to enroll. I've pasted below, in case anyone else is interested...

New International Trusted Traveler Program

Apply for the Global Entry™ pilot program U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently launched the Global Entry™ pilot program designed to expedite the screening and processing of low-risk, frequent international "trusted" travelers entering the United States. The pilot program will be conducted at Houston (IAH-Intercontinental); New York (JFK); Washington, DC (IAD - Dulles).

Upon returning from international travel, Global Entry™-enrolled travelers may bypass the regular passport control line and proceed directly to the Global Entry™ kiosk. At the kiosk, the Global Entry™ traveler will activate the system by inserting his or her passport or U.S. permanent resident card into the document reader. Once the Global Entry™ kiosk process is successfully completed, the traveler will be issued a transaction receipt.

Applications for enrollment in the Global Entry™ program are available at the Global On-Line Enrollment System (GOES). The Global Entry™ application process consists of three steps.

• Applicants must complete and submit an on-line application through GOES and pay a $100 fee.
• CBP officers will review the applicant's information and a background investigation will be conducted.
• Applicants will undergo an interview with CBP officers at an Enrollment Center at one of the three pilot airports.

For detailed information visit the U.S. Customs and Border Protection site.