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DNA proof that adopted Guatemalan baby was stolen
DNA tests in Guatemala have proven for the first time that a child put up for adoption through the state system was stolen from her mother, officials say.
Ana Escobar reported her daughter Esther Sulamita stolen last year and during her search saw the baby with a US woman who was adopting her.
The baby had a false birth certificate but DNA tests proved the parentage and Esther is now back with Ms Escobar.
Baby thefts have long been suspected and Guatemala froze adoptions in May.
Guatemala is second only to China as the source of babies adopted by US parents and the adoption process is worth tens of millions of dollars a year.
Last year, more than 4,700 Guatemalan children were adopted by Americans.
Dozens of Guatemalan mothers have reported stolen babies.
Ana Escobar said armed men had locked her in a storage closet at the family's shoe shop north of Guatemala City and abducted six-month-old Esther in March last year.
Ms Escobar searched hospitals and orphanages and while at the National Adoption Council's offices in May saw a toddler she was convinced was Esther.
Jaime Tecu, director of a team of experts reviewing all pending Guatemalan adoptions, said: "She was so sure that the child was hers that we agreed to search the house where the baby was kept."
Ms Escobar told Associated Press news agency on Wednesday: "I can't explain how excited and happy I am. It's a miracle."
Mr Tecu said: "This is the first time that we've been able to show, with irrefutable evidence, that a stolen child was put up for adoption."
He said officials would investigate the lawyers who handled the adoption, the doctor who signed earlier, falsified DNA tests and anyone else associated with the process.
"This was run by a mafia, and we are going after them," he said.
In May the authorities suspended the adoption of some 2,300 children by foreigners and are reviewing each case to check if the babies were genuinely being offered for adoption by their birth mothers.
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Is this shocking evidence that some people will do anything for a baby, or anything for money? Will all of Guatemala's adopted babies now have to be tested to see if they were stolen instead of legally given up for adoption? If you were a child who had been stolen from your birth parents but had grown up in a new family what would you do?
DNA tests in Guatemala have proven for the first time that a child put up for adoption through the state system was stolen from her mo... more -
British tourist strangles secret baby
A student from London has been charged with choking her third child to death seconds after giving birth to him. Leah Andrews, 20, (pictured above) was on holiday in Crete with two friends from whom she had kept her pregnancy secret. After a night out in Malia, the pair found Ms Andrews in her hotel room with the baby's body. Malia's police chief said her friends found "blood everywhere, and the woman cleaning the floor and tables with a towel with the baby's body in it".
A hotel receptionist described scenes of "utter panic", telling reporters that Andrews' sister "rushed down screaming. She was in a state of shock. She had no idea her sister was even pregnant."
Officers searched the room and found the dead baby with sheets wrapped around his neck and covering his face. Andrews told the police the baby had been stillborn, but coroners refuted the claim, saying, "the baby was alive. There was air in his lungs and his stomach. The child met a violent death."
Andrews was taken to a medical centre yesterday morning after her sister phoned the police, and is now being treated for "a great loss of blood". She was put under police guard at the hospital in nearby Iraklio. The maximum sentence for child murder in Greece is 20 years.
The question remains, should Andrews be imprisoned for this crime, or treated for what is clearly a mental illness? A student from London has been charged with choking her third child to death seconds after giving birth to him. Leah Andrews, 20, (pi... more -
Women with business sense are staying at home
Women who earned Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degrees were more likely to become stay-at-home mums than those with medical or law degrees, according to a business school study, Reuters reports today.
The University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business study of nearly 1,000 Harvard undergraduates found that 15 years after graduation, business school graduates were more likely than doctors or lawyers to leave the workforce.
"Within a field, we find that women who are in family-friendly environments are more likely to stay working," Associate Professor Catherine Wolfram said in a statement.
Wolfram and her colleague Jane Leber Herr of UC Berkeley's economics department speculated that the business world was less female-friendly than the fields of medicine and law.
The workplace environment played a significant role in determining career longevity, said Wolfram.
Doctors, for example, often work in private practices and may be able to work part-time more easily than women in other fields. On the other hand, businesswomen more commonly adhere to the corporate dictate of long hours and heavy travel.
Should business fields be more responsive to women's needs to take career breaks to have children? In this day and age should women really be relegated to professions that are so-called 'woman-friendly'? Or in the modern digital age, should all employers offer flexible working for all their staff, men and women, to improve everyone's lives?
Women who earned Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degrees were more likely to become stay-at-home mums than those with medical... more -
Credit crunch keeping couples together?
If reports are to be believed, divorces and career breaks are both being put on the backburner as a result of the credit crunch. According to one law firm, separating couples are being forced to stay living together because the housing market slowdown is making it impossible for them to sell up.
And with mortgage providers tightening their lending criteria it is becoming increasingly difficult for partners to buy each other out of their properties.
Meanwhile, a story in the Times suggests mothers who had planned to stay home to look after their children are returning to work as the rising cost of raising a family begins to bite.
Are you changing your relationship or career plans because of changes in the economy? Have you ever made decisions about being with (or without) your partner because of money? Go on, own up...
If reports are to be believed, divorces and career breaks are both being put on the backburner as a result of the credit crunch. Accor... more -
Kick the cocaine habit: Mothers get high on baby smiles
MOTHERS get a high similar to taking cocaine when they look at their own smiling baby, which may explain why those with drug addictions can neglect their own infants, a study has found.
A former student from the University of Queensland studied brain scans of 28 new mothers taken as they looked at photographs of their own happy babies and found that parts of the brain, such as the substantia nigra, the striatum and the frontal lobe - which are involved in processing emotion, cognition and behaviour - all lit up.
Those same areas, known as the key dopamine-associated reward-processing regions of the brain, were stimulated when people saw their lovers, beautiful faces or sexual scenes or consumed drugs such as cocaine or amphetamines, said Lane Strathearn, now an associate professor of pediatrics at the Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.
Dr Strathearn said cocaine, which activated dopamine receptors, seemed to compete with natural infant-related reward signals "which may relate to relatively high rates of child neglect in cocaine-exposed mothers".
"These are areas that have been activated in other experiments associated with drug addiction [so] it may be that seeing your own baby's face is like a 'natural high," he said. The findings, published in the journal Pediatrics, could help scientists explain the special mother-infant bond, and how it sometimes goes wrong.
"The relationship between mothers and infants is critical for child development, but for whatever reason, in some cases, that relationship doesn't develop normally. Neglect and abuse can result, with devastating effects on a child's development," he said. MOTHERS get a high similar to taking cocaine when they look at their own smiling baby, which may explain why those with drug addiction... more -
World's oldest mother gives birth to twins at 70
Grandmother Omkari Panwar has given birth to twins at the age of 70
She was utterly determined to have a son.
The fact that to do so would make 70-year-old Omkari Panwar the world's oldest mother didn't even cross her mind.
Her resolve was matched by her husband Charan Singh Panwar, 77.
To pay for the IVF treatment vital to producing a male heir to the family's smallholdings, the retired farmer sold his buffalos, mortgaged his land, spent his life savings and took out a credit card loan.
And it all paid off when Mrs Panwar gave birth to twins - a boy and girl - by emergency Caesarean section in hospital in Muzaffarnagar, seven hours drive north of the Indian capital New Delhi.
The twins, born a month premature and weighing 2lb each, are healthy, according to doctors.
The Panwars already have two adult daughters, and five grandchildren, but the latest arrivals are what they have been waiting for - not least because a son will benefit from a dowry when he marries and will be able to work their land.
Mrs Panwar said: 'For eight months the pregnancy was hectic and painful. But I have given birth before, so I knew what to expect. Sometimes, you have to face the pain if you want something good.' Grandmother Omkari Panwar has given birth to twins at the age of 70 She was utterly determined to have a son. ... more -
Hot baseball mom has sex with son's teammate
Denise H. Harvey, 37 years old mother of a teenage baseball player, was found guilty of having sex with her son's 16-year-old team mate multiple times in 2006. The youth took the stand testifying he had five sexual encounters with Harvey — in a relationship that he said started with flirting and then a long kiss after school outside the school. He said all except one of the encounters were at his father’s home in the afternoon, between school and baseball practices and games. One, he said, was after hours at her office in Vero Beach. He also testified she left condoms in his truck during practice. Denise H. Harvey, 37 years old mother of a teenage baseball player, was found guilty of having sex with her son's 16-year-old team mat... more
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Naughty Teacher Gets Jail
Stephanie Ann Stein 32 years old mother of two, a former teacher at Plymouth Christian Academy, in Canton, Michigan was sentenced today in Wayne County Circuit Court to three to fifteen years in prison on two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Craig Strong also sentenced Stein to 30 to 48 months on the using the Internet to communicate with a minor to commit a crime count and 16 to 24 months on the count of distributing obscene material of a sexual nature to a minor. These latter two sentences are to run concurrent with the sentence on criminal sexual conduct. Stephanie Ann Stein 32 years old mother of two, a former teacher at Plymouth Christian Academy, in Canton, Michigan was sentenced toda... more -
Mom Accused of Denying Son Medicine
This Massachusetts mom withholds cancer meds from Jeremy Fraser, her 8-year-old autistic son, after a good prognosis. Now the cancer has returned and there's nothing they can do, his likelihood to overcome dropping from 85-90% to 10%. What drives these parents to do such things, when "in all likelihood, Jeremy Fraser will not see his ninth birthday?" This Massachusetts mom withholds cancer meds from Jeremy Fraser, her 8-year-old autistic son, after a good prognosis. Now the cancer... more
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The best sex life in my dreams
Interesting read about women experiencing the best sex life of their life
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Woman sentenced to 3 years in prison for sexual abuse of a teen boy
Amy Farrel, 40 years old mother, got 3 years prison probation for five years after her release. In accordance with a plea agreement, Farrell pleaded guilty today to three counts of unauthorized sexual conduct with a minor in return for seven related charges being dropped.
Farrel molested a teen boy for years, starting when the victim was 13 years old and was moved to live with Farrel and her family. The boy’s mother allowed her son to live with Farrell who served as the boy’s guardian, and her husband and children. Farrell admitted having sex with the boy – who was 24½ years younger than her -- while her husband and children were in the West Price Hill home they all shared. She filed for legal custody of the child in January 2007, five months after she started having sex with him. Amy Farrel, 40 years old mother, got 3 years prison probation for five years after her release. In accordance with a plea agreement, F... more -
Am I the only One?
funny audio commentary about a mom wondering if she is the only one
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Father's Day cards were banned in Scottish schools
Thousands of primary pupils were prevented from making Father's day cards at school for fear of embarrasing classmates with single mothers and lesbians.
Telling those kids:" forget about your DAD on father's day "is very much in line with years of feminism, no fault divorces and same sex life style.
This must be comprehensive education !!!!
.
Thousands of primary pupils were prevented from making Father's day cards at school for fear of embarrasing classmates with single mot... more -
Budget Family Vacations by Exploring Your Own Backyard
great idea for budget family travel this summer
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Should Children HaveThe Right To Divorce Their Non Biological Parent ?
The 2 biological-parent family is slowly being dismantled by the spread of no fault divorces and now the imposition of same sex marriage
By separating the parental biological relationships from marriage, it will become over time more like another legal contract.
Non biological "parents" (Party A and Party B) will become more like glorified legal guardians.
Children, now unrelated by blood to one or both of these "parents" and that feel robbed for not having a father or a mother can demand and be given the right to divorce them.
Don't children have the same rights as children of natural marriage ? The right to their own father and mother.
The 2 biological-parent family is slowly being dismantled by the spread of no fault divorces and now the imposition of same sex marri... more -
Pip Squeak A-Go-Go
A wave of rock 'n' roll toddlers are being raised by a new generation of parents.The Devil-Ettes, San Francisco's premier 60s style go-go dance group, Host "Pip Squeak A-Go-Go," a kiddie go-go party with entertainment for the kids and cocktails for the parents. A wave of rock 'n' roll toddlers are being raised by a new generation of parents.The Devil-Ettes, San Francisco's premier 60s style go... more
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Beauty Secrets from my Mother-n-law‘s Vault
everyone's favorite crazy mother-n-law and her beauty secrets
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I'll breastfeed till they're EIGHT!
Stella is proud that her children are acknowledged to be among the eldest to be breastfed. Indeed, she is campaigning for other women to follow her example.
'As a mother, you are totally responsible for the health of your baby, and I consider part of that duty to be breastfeeding - it might not be best for every woman, but it is best for every baby. My children don't strictly need breast milk now, but they are still getting benefits,' says Stella, from Ludlow in Shropshire.
'Of course, some people are squeamish - they don't like three-month- olds feeding in public, let alone three-year-olds sitting on your knee - but you wouldn't throw a blanket over a sheep feeding a lamb in a field, would you? It's what nature intended.
-- I wonder how the children will feel about this when they are older. Breast feeding is totally natural, but until they are 8? Hmmmm, not convinced myself. Stella is proud that her children are acknowledged to be among the eldest to be breastfed. Indeed, she is campaigning for other women ... more -
"Lesbian Fathers ! " and "Homosexual Mothers !" Does America Have A Choice ?
Based on the May 15th decision of 4 judges in California, if you do not like same sex 'marriages', you are a bigot and a racist. Same sex attraction has the same status as race in the law.according to them.
The vote of millions of Californians (61%) was made unconstitutional.
They will need Re-education, starting from kindergarten.
Sound familiar ?
Keep your homophobic hate-thoughts to yourself !!! Please.
Or you will be in trouble.
The link above is an example of a debate on the issue at the House of Commons in England.
This is a test of what is coming to America.
Based on the May 15th decision of 4 judges in California, if you do not like same sex 'marriages', you are a bigot and a racist. Same ... more -
Adventures in Equal Parenting
Excerpts:
That message was one the Vachons had agreed on from the evening they met, though they were clearly still tinkering with the details. They would not be the kind of parents their parents had been — the mother-knows-best mold. Nor the kind their friends were — the “involved” dad married to the stressed-out working mom. Nor even, as Marc put it, “the stay-at-home dad, who is cooed at for his sensitivity but who is as isolated and financially vulnerable as the stay-at-home-mom.”
Instead, they would create their own model, one in which they were parenting partners. Equals and peers. They would work equal hours, spend equal time with their children, take equal responsibility for their home. Neither would be the keeper of the mental to-do lists; neither of their careers would take precedence. Both would be equally likely to plan a birthday party or know that the car needs oil or miss work for a sick child or remember (without prompting) to stop at the store for diapers and milk. They understood that this would mean recalibrating their career ambitions, and probably their income, but what they gained, they believed, would be more valuable than what they lost.
Other couples might have resigned themselves to inequity, redefining it as choice, but Marc and Amy fought back. If they were to avoid skirmishes over their parenting standards and if they were to avoid defaulting to Amy as the expert, they would have to decide what those parenting standards were. Marc explains: “Did we want to work toward a set nap schedule? Yes. Did our daughter’s outfits have to match perfectly? No. Did we need to take the diaper bag when our daughter came with us to the grocery store? Not necessarily.”
There is one pocket of American parenting in which equality is the norm or, at least, the mutually-agreed-upon goal. Same-sex couples cannot default to gender when deciding who does what at home. How these parents make their decisions, therefore, sheds some light on why married men and women act the way they do. They are the exceptions that both prove and challenge the rules.
“Heterosexual couples can learn from gay couples about sharing housework and child care,” says Esther D. Rothblum, a professor in the women’s studies department of San Diego State University whose comparative study of the relationships of 342 couples — lesbian, gay, heterosexual — was published in the journal Developmental Psychology in January. “They are good role models."
Excerpts: ... more
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