I wrote about a Ukrainian citizen throwing a rock at Marines in the Crimean. NATO (the reason why the US Marines are there) and Ukraine are running a military exercise together.

Many Crimean city councils have passed "NATO free" city resolutions. Crimea is very pro-Russian. And some folks in the Crimean see NATO as the same thing as the US.

Being Pro-Russian almost always translates to Anti-American... But Anti-American on a government level. Typically this doesn't... more

Joe Sharkey works for the New York Times. He recently flew from New York to Kyiv on Delta and really liked it. He traveled just to try out the business class service.

YOU'RE where?" my friend asked.

"Kiev"

"What are you doing in Kiev?"

"Trying out a new business-class service on Delta. I left New York last night, got to Kiev this afternoon, and fly back home tomorrow morning."

My friend replied, "You have very bizarre travel habits."

True. But lots of business travelers put in this kind of grind — and, unlike me, many do it routinely, as business increasingly becomes global, and the time to get it done shrinks.

................

My... more

Part 1 is here. In part 1 I was looking for unbiased sources of adoption information that would help me decide what country to adopt from. By this point in my research I had already decided against foster care adoption and private adoption within the US.

After I discovered the NAIC, I found the US State Department's adoption site. They have fact... more

For some time now I have gotten The Action Ukraine Report. It is only sent via email and is free. The newsletter focuses on current Ukrainian news stories. It has original content not found elsewhere. Sometimes it is an excerpt of other news organization's stories.

I searched for it, but The Action Ukraine Report seemed to be the only organization that covered Ambassador Taylor's swearing in ceremony.

WASHINGTON - William B. Taylor, Jr. was... more

Picture: Natasha at 2 years of age. This is her NAC photo from 1999.

Recently on FRUA (Families for Russian and Ukrainian Adoption) a family posted the following questions.

Why are you adopting from Ukraine? What made you choose this country over all of the others?

From: Why Ukraine? Thread

I started to answer the question and then realized I was getting... more

Here are some Ukrainian Adoption books of interest. I haven't read all of them. But reading does help the time pass.

Finding Yasha : An Adoption Journey To Ukraine by Mickey & Len Sirowitz is Spiral-bound. Amazon.com is selling the book for $25.99. It was published May 11, 2006.

Yasha was adopted from Cherkassy.

FINDING YASHA is a very personal account of a shared family experience. It all began with a son's... more

Here is a more detailed story on the Bush Leg (chicken legs) contraband. People are smuggling (not paying duty taxes) on the chicken and selling it in Moldova and Ukraine.

After years of impasse, officials in Ukraine and Moldova, at the encouragement of the United States and Europe, are pressing for a solution to the conflict in Transnistria. And they are doing so at the risk of inflaming Transnistria's separatist sentiment and worsening relations with the region's patron, Russia.

The goal, a senior U.S. official said, is to "effect a change in... more

Several people have emailed me (adoptukraineblog@adoptionmail.com) and asked if I have heard any more rumors. Or when will the SDA accept dossiers? Or will the restrictions on Americans who are filing new dossiers (only allowed to adopt child 10 years or older) be removed?

My last post on this subject was May 22, 2006.

I have heard the SDA is moving forward at a good pace. The new employees need to finish their training. The SDA building's security needs to be... more

Picture: Green Forest Orphanage: Main Building

Since I last wrote about Life2Orphans, I have become a volunteer coordinator for my daughter's orphanage. It is known as Green Forest Orphanage or Zeleny Gai or Zeleny Guy or Zeleniy Gay.

I really had to think about this...

Did I have the energy to put into this? Was the organization trust worthy? Would working with the organization allow me to help orphan's lives? In other words would my efforts... more

I adopted my darling daughter Natasha in 2000. Prior to adopting I researched the many medical, emotional issues that are commonly found in orphanage children.

(If you have decided to adopt from Ukraine, I would suggest your next step is to investigate the various medical issues.)

I decided to be open to Hepatitis along with items like crossed eyes, developmental delay (everyone has to be open to this one), cleft palette. I had a longer list that I will have to hunt up.

Anyway, this blog is about why I was willing to be open to a Hepatitis diagnosis. Here is a 2002 email that I exchanged.

Here are my thoughts. I am not a doctor.

Yes I... more