[BBC] "mass exportation of children" by private agencies that were driven by profit, and found examples of fraud, falsified records and coercion.
South Korean governments committed numerous human rights violations over decades in a controversial programme that sent at least 170,000 children and babies abroad for adoption, a landmark inquiry has found.
It said the government's lack of oversight enabled the "mass exportation of children" by private agencies that were driven by profit, and found examples of fraud, falsified records and coercion.
Since the 1950s, South Korea has sent more children abroad for adoption than any other country, with most sent to Western countries.
South Korea has sinced moved to tighten its adoption processes, but some adoptees and their biological parents say they are still haunted by what they went through. The BBC spoke to one woman who claimed her adoptive parents "took better care of the dog than they ever did of me".
The report was released on Wednesday by the independent Truth and Reconciliation Commission following an investigation that began in 2022.
Since then, 367 adoptees - all of which were sent overseas between 1964 and 1999 - had filed petitions alleging fradulent practices in their adoption process.
Some 100 petitions have been analysed so far, of whom 56 adoptees were recognised as victims of human rights violations. The commission is still investigating other cases, with the inquiry set to end in May.
In the aftermath of the Korean war, South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world and few families were keen on adopting children.
South Korea's government then began a transnational adoption programme handled by private agencies, which were given significant powers through special adoption laws.
But there was a "systemic failure in oversight and management", which led to numerous lapses committed by these agencies, according to the report.
The report noted that foreign agencies had demanded a set number of children every month and Korean agencies complied, "facilitating large-scale intercountry adoptions with minimal procedural oversight".
With no government regulation on fees, the Korean agencies charged large amounts and demanded "donations", which turned adoptions into "a profit-driven industry", according to the report.
Other lapses include adoptions conducted without proper consent from birth mothers and inadequate screening of adoptive parents.
The agencies also fabricated reports that made children appear as if they were abandoned and put up for adoption; and intentionally gave children wrong identities.
Because many adoptees had false identities listed in their paperwork, they now struggle to obtain information about their birth families and are left with inadequate legal protection, the report noted.
The commission has recommended the government deliver an official apology, and to comply with international standards on transnational adoptions.
South Korea has moved to tighten its adoption processes in recent years. In 2023, it passed a law ensuring that all overseas adoptions would be handled by a government ministry instead of private agencies, which is due to come into effect by July.
The South Korean government has yet to respond to Wednesday's report.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
03/27/2025 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11131 views]
Top|| File under: Human Trafficking
#1
I know we're supposed to treat them as an ally, but have no conviction about any Asian countries. They have no real conviction about right and wrong, good or evil, God or other. They do what they wish to do.
#2
...few families were keen on adopting children.
Koreans wouldn't adopt 'out of blood' (aka kin) children. A long cultural tradition. If Koreans wouldn't adopt them, someone else would. There is also the racial stigma with a lot of GI babies.
I know we're supposed to treat them as an ally, but have no conviction about any Asian countries. They have no real conviction about right and wrong, good or evil, God or other. They do what they wish to do.
Applies across the board. We may have shared common interest, that's about it. Witness the UK, Canada, Australia throwing out hundreds of years of English laws and rights happening right now.
ISTANBUL (AP) ; Turkey's president on Wednesday accused the political opposition of "sinking the economy" during the country's largest protests in more than a decade over the arrest of Istanbul's mayor, the biggest challenger to Recep Tayyip Erdogan's 22-year rule.
The opposition has called for a boycott of companies that it says support Erdogan's government. The Turkish president accused the opposition of being "so desperate that they would throw the country and the nation into the fire."
In his address to lawmakers with his Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Erdogan added that "sabotage targeting the Turkish economy will be held accountable before the courts."
------------- Unemployment about 9%, inflation about 40%, deteriorating currency and that was before the protests
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
03/27/2025 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11141 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Practicing Islam hurts the economy, but that seems to be the outcome either way.
[BBC] Thousands of people in Turkey have turned out for a seventh night of protests which have so far seen more than 1,400 people detained, including students, journalists and lawyers.
The nightly unrest began last Wednesday when the city's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu - who is seen as the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival - was arrested on corruption charges.
Rights groups and the UN have condemned the arrests and the use of force by police on the protesters.
Imamoglu said the allegations against him were politically motivated, a claim the Turkish president has denied.
Speaking to a group of young people at a Ramadan fast-breaking meal in Ankara on Tuesday, President Erdogan urged patience and common sense amid what he described as "very sensitive days."
He added that people who want "to turn this country into a place of chaos have nowhere to go", and the path protesters have taken is "a dead end".
On Tuesday evening, thousands of students from many universities in Istanbul met in Maçka Park and then marched towards Şişli.
Turkey's main opposition party said Tuesday would be the last nightly vigil in Istanbul but called for a mass rally on Saturday to demand early elections
Authorities in Istanbul banned protests and closed some roads "in order to maintain public order" and "prevent any provocative actions that may occur".
As students marched through the Nisantasi district they chanted "government, resign!" and waved flags and banners as they were watched by a large deployment of riot police.
Many students had their faces covered with scarves or masks, and acknowledged they feared being identified by the police.
Turkey's main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), said that Tuesday's rally outside Istanbul's City Hall would be its last in a run of nightly gatherings - and that it is planning a rally in the city on Saturday.
"Are you ready for a big rally in a large square in Istanbul on Saturday?" Ozgur Ozel told crowds.
"To support Imamoglu, to object to his arrest, to object to the detention of each of our mayors. To demand transparent, open, live broadcast trials, to say that we have had enough and we want early elections."
Since last Wednesday, Turkey's interior minister said 1,418 protesters have been detained following the days of demonstrations that the government has deemed "illegal."
Posting on social media Ali Yerlikaya wrote: "While there are currently 979 suspects in custody, 478 people will be brought to court today.
"No concessions will be made to those who attempt to terrorise the streets, to attack our national and moral values, and to our police officers."
Elsewhere on Tuesday, seven journalists appeared in court including AFP news agency photographer Yasin Akgül who had been covering the demonstrations.
AFP chairman Fabrice Fries has written a letter addressed to the Turkish presidency urging Erdogan to "intervene" in Akgul's imprisonment which he described as "unacceptable".
"Yasin Akgül was not part of the protest," Fries said. "As a journalist, he was covering one of the many demonstrations that have been organized in the country since Wednesday 19 March.
"He has taken exactly 187 photographs since the start of the protests, each one a witness to his work as a journalist."
In Washington, Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced "concerns" following a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, the US State Department said in a statement.
Imamoglu was one of more than 100 people detained last week as part of an investigation. Others arrested included politicians, journalists and businessmen.
His arrest does not prevent his candidacy or election as president, but he will not be able to run if he is convicted of any of the charges against him.
The opposition mayor is seen as one of the most formidable rivals of Erdogan, who has held office in Turkey for 22 years as both prime minister and president.
Erdogan's term in office is due to expire in 2028, and under the current rules, he cannot stand again – but he could call an early election or try to change the constitution to allow him to remain in power for longer.
Turkey's Ministry of Justice has criticised those connecting Erdogan to the arrests, and insisted on its judicial independence.
[JustTheNews] Republicans in Congress have zeroed in on federal judges unilaterally blocking key Trump executive orders on immigration and government reform. The Constitution gives Congress the right to delineate the authority of district courts.
That's great, and no doubt it’ll all get passed in the House. But will any of it get through the Senate?
As President Donald Trump faces stiff challenges from federal judges across the country, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is laying out a sweeping agenda for judicial reform to rein in judges that he says are being overtly political.
In just under 65 days of President Trump’s second term, federal judges have issued at least 15 nationwide injunctions, where single judges on the district court level have attempted to block certain administration policies nationwide. Republicans have roundly decried the injunctions because of their sweeping nature and have accused some of the judges of being motivated by politics instead of sound legal arguments.
“[When] you have a judge whose behavior is so politically, so political against President Trump, you kind of got to start asking the question, really, is this just a bad judicial decision, or is this based on politics?” Jordan told the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show on Tuesday.
THREE REFORMS BEING PROPOSED
Jordan, who leads the House committee responsible for overseeing the federal law enforcement and court system, told Just the News that he is planning to address reforms to the judicial system in three ways: passing legislation to limit nationwide injunctions by individual federal judges; wielding Congress’s appropriations power to curtail judicial activism; and conducting hearings on judicial conduct.
“[There’s] three avenues that Congress has to deal with this situation. One is legislative, and we're already working on that. We've passed the bill out of committee two and a half weeks ago that the Speaker has indicated they're gonna put on the floor next week. But that bill says, when you have one of these federal district judges who issues an injunction, you know, some some judge in Timbuktu California issues an injunction, it should only apply to parties in the case and in that respective jurisdiction, it shouldn't have nationwide application. So we think that makes sense,” Jordan said.
The Judiciary Committee last week approved the “No Rogue Rulings Act of 2025” sponsored by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. That legislation would curtail federal judges from making nationwide injunctions in the cases before them, “except in the case of such an order that is applicable only to limit the actions of a party to the case before such district court with respect to the party seeking injunctive relief from such district court and non-parties represented by such a party acting in a representative capacity.”
The bill would provide a new pathway for injunctive relief in cases where three or more states challenge a federal law. In such a case, the challenge would be referred to a three-judge panel selected randomly which would be given the authority to issue the types of nationwide injunctions currently being used by individual federal judges.
The administration has so far faced dozens of lawsuits, mostly over Trump’s executive orders and the actions of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, resulting in injunctions—known as Temporary Restraining Orders—that freeze administration policies as the case is adjudicated. Most of the injunctions have come from the Democratic-friendly Maryland or DC courts, though their rulings currently apply nationwide, frustrating efforts by Trump to enact his agenda.
[FoxNews] US District Judge Ana Reyes denied the DOD's motion to dismiss her order
A federal judge denied President Donald Trump’s administration’s efforts to ban transgender people from joining the military, which was set to go into effect Friday.
The Department of Justice has since filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeal for the District of Columbia.
Washington, D.C.-based U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, a Biden appointee, on Wednesday, denied the government’s motion to dissolve her order that prevents the military from denying transgender people the ability to enlist in the military.
Reyes presided over a hearing on March 21, when she requested the Department of Defense (DOD) delay its original March 26 deadline to enact the policy.
On March 21, the defendants in the suit, who include Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, filed a motion to dissolve the injunction blocking the Pentagon's ban. The filing argued that the policy is not an overarching ban but instead "turns on gender dysphoria – a medical condition – and does not discriminate against trans-identifying persons as a class."
The Trump administration further requested that, if the motion to dissolve is denied, the court should stay the preliminary injunction pending appeal.
The government cited new guidance issued March 21 that it expected to enact the policy if not for the ongoing litigation. The guidance clarified that "the phrase ‘exhibit symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria’" solely applies to "'individuals who exhibit such symptoms as would be sufficient to constitute a diagnosis.'"
Reyes said she wanted to allow more time for the appeals process. She also said she had previously allowed plenty of time to appeal her earlier opinion blocking the ban from going into effect.
On Saturday, Hegseth said Reyes should report to military bases since she is "now a top military planner."
"Since 'Judge' Reyes is now a top military planner, she/they can report to Fort Benning at 0600 to instruct our Army Rangers on how to execute High Value Target Raids…after that, Commander Reyes can dispatch to Fort Bragg to train our Green Berets on counterinsurgency warfare," Hegseth wrote on X.
#1
"Gender dysphoria is not like other medical conditions, something Defendants well know," Reyes continued. "It affects only one group of people: all persons with gender dysphoria are transgender and only transgender persons experience gender dysphoria."
What vision requirements for service?
Only the blind cannot see.
Are they a excluded class?
#3
Since any human is physically & genetically what they are, NOT what they wish, want and or think.
Then just require them:
* to pass a mental test,
* pass a background check for a clearance,
* dress and wear an assigned uniform,
* pass all 365/200 and annual PT tests,
* and be placed in proper troop quarters.
All according to their physical genitalia and XY or XX Chromosome.
#6
Place every one in the same unit. Give them BS duties and no clearances. A window seat if you will. Not as punishment but keep them together and safe, and keep our trust away from them.
[FoxNews] 'Can you imagine if a school district had a program only open to White teachers?' William A. Jacobson of Legal Insurrection Foundation asked
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched an investigation into a Rhode Island school district to determine whether its student loan forgiveness program for teachers discriminates against White applicants.
In a March 21 letter sent to Providence Public School District (PPSD) and the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), the Justice Department's Civil Rights Office announced an investigation into whether the district and education office's employment practices — specifically a student loan forgiveness program — have engaged in racial discrimination against White teachers.
"It is important to note that we have not reached any conclusions about the subject matter of the investigation. We intend to consider all relevant information, and we welcome your assistance in helping to identify what that might be," the letter states, as first reported by The Boston Globe.
PPSD's "Educator of Color Loan Forgiveness Program" offers student loan forgiveness for educators of color through a grant from a nonprofit, the Rhode Island Foundation.
Recipients can receive up to $25,000 of college loans forgiven once the teacher completes three consecutive years of teaching in the district. The eligibility requirements indicate recipients must "identify as Asian, Black, Indigenous, Latino, biracial, or multi-racial" and must have at least $5,000 in student loans to repay.
Legal Insurrection Foundation (LIF), a Rhode Island-based, nonprofit investigative and research group that fights discrimination in education, filed a complaint with the Department of Education in 2022, claiming that the district was engaged in an ongoing "practice of discrimination" by making this program only available to non-White applicants.
The group was unsuccessful in getting the Biden administration to take up the case, but was "thrilled" upon learning the Trump administration's Justice Department would be investigating.
"It's been almost two and almost two and a half years since we filed it," Cornell Law School professor and LIF President William A. Jacobson told Fox News Digital.
"We followed up. It got transferred to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. We followed up with them repeatedly. We couldn't get the Biden administration to do anything to stop this. And finally, the new Trump administration under the Department of Justice Civil Rights Office has brought an action. So we're very pleased with that," he added.
Jacobson said they were "extremely thankful" that the DOJ was taking action because the case had "no other place to go."
"The Rhode Island attorney general could have brought suit here. There are Rhode Island laws that are being violated. But nothing was done. The political infrastructure in the state of Rhode Island unfortunately insulates powerful political and economic players from the rules that everyone else has to abide by," he said.
"If this was just a private company doing this, probably the regulators would have gotten involved. Probably somebody would have been willing to sue. But because it's the largest school district in the state, being run by the state Department of Education, funded by the largest charity in the state, I think they felt immunity from the rules everyone else has to abide by," he continued.
Jacobson called the program an "outrageous" example of racial discrimination that would have caused a national uproar if it had favored White applicants.
"Can you imagine if a school district had a program only open to White teachers? It would be a national uproar," he said. "But there seems to be an attitude that as long as the discrimination is against Whites, it's lawful. But it's not. The civil rights laws protect everybody equally. And that's what we're seeking here. "
Jacobson said his group launched its Equal Protection Project, which focuses on combating racism and other equal protection violations, because of how "egregious" the PPSD program was.
The LIF is also calling on the Justice Department to investigate the nonprofit charity which funds the PPSD loan forgiveness program, the Rhode Island Foundation, alleging the nonprofit has been a "major funder of discrimination" in Rhode Island schools.
The Rhode Island Foundation did not respond to a request for comment.
PPSD confirmed to Fox News Digital that the DOJ notified the district and the Rhode Island Department of Education on Friday that an investigation into their student loan forgiveness program had been launched.
"It is important to understand that this is an investigation, and no conclusions have been reached at this time," a spokesperson for PPSD told Fox News Digital. "PPSD is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, national origin or other protected status. We remain committed in our efforts to recruit and retain a teaching population that reflects the diverse community we serve."
PPSD also shared with Fox News Digital a letter that Providence Schools' Superintendent Javier Montañez sent to the school board on Sunday, reiterating that PPSD was "an equal opportunity employer" that does not "discriminate on the basis of race."
Montañez said the legal counsel for PPSD and the Rhode Island Department of Education would collaborate with the DOJ on the investigation.
The superintendent said the loan forgiveness program had been created in 2021 to help the district attract more diverse educators, at a time when non-White students represented approximately 80% of the student population, but less than 20% of educators in the district identified as teachers of color.
"Increasing the diversity of our teaching force is not only aligned with the core values of the District, but also has a direct, positive impact on student outcomes as demonstrated by years of educational research," he wrote.
"This loan forgiveness program was created with the best interest of students in mind to ensure that our students are taught by individuals to whom they can both identify and relate as well as those who are talented and skilled in their academic craft," he added.
[WashingtonExaminer] Georgia is planning to eliminate approximately half a million voters from its registration rolls in one of the largest registration removals in U.S. history.
Around 455,000 inactive voter registrations will be removed from the state’s registration list this summer, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. More than half of the registrations that are set to be canceled were identified by the Electronic Registration Information Center, which involves 24 states that identify when a voter moves out of state and is no longer eligible to vote, in this case, in Georgia.
"We want to do everything we can within the law to have the cleanest voter list possible," State Elections Director Blake Evans said.
Under Georgia law, voters become "inactive" when they appear to have moved, such as by filling out change-of-address forms. Their registrations can be canceled if they miss the next two general elections.
This is the first year since ERIC began operations in 2021 that voters who have been designated as "inactive" will be removed.
"ERIC is the best tool out there right now, and it gives us valuable information you can’t get anywhere else," Evans said.
Of those whose registration will be canceled, ERIC identified 255,000 voters who moved out of state and are therefore ineligible to vote in Georgia elections, according to the outlet.
As we have said since 2020.
The GA Election is corrupt and should have been voided.
Numerous Independent investigations clearly showed 1000's of people living in same vacant lots, Voters dead for years, but voted twice in 2020, people registered to vote in more than 1 county/Metro area, Democrat Poll Workers caught with 1000's of illegally printed Absentee ballots, videos of people stuffing ballots in remote ballot boxes with 100's of fake votes, US Postal employees trashing ballots from certain districts. Vans showing up, after the Poll Monitors were forced to leave, voting machines shown to be internet connected and the SW hacked ..... and on and on.
YET! Gov. Kemp and GS SOS Raffensperger found no problems with that election and certified it. Did keeping their jobs helped their decisions?
[FoxNews] Elevating the task force would undoubtedly give it more resources, but it would also require significant coordination with existing panels already overseeing border security.
Tensions are flaring in the House GOP as Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, continues to push Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to open the gates for a select committee to crack down on Mexican drug cartels.
Crenshaw has hit the airwaves in recent days to push Johnson to hold a vote on his resolution to create such a panel, and a source close to the Texas congressman accused the House speaker of slow-walking the effort due to budgetary reasons.
"Back in early February, the speaker gave Crenshaw a roadmap to introduce his resolution creating a Select Committee to Defeat the Mexican Drug Cartels – and to bring it to a vote on the House floor, just like the Select Committee on China," the source familiar with Crenshaw's thinking told Fox News Digital.
"Dan has done all of the heavy lifting: securing support from House chairs, coordinating with the White House to ensure alignment, and even speaking directly with President Trump, who made it clear he wants to take down the cartels."
'We will give a nod of approval to what you are already doing, so long as everything comes through this committee for us to approve according to our "judgement".'
[RedState] According to a Wall Street Journal report Tuesday, the Trump administration is looking into turning off the federal funding pipeline to one of its most controversial recipients, the euphemistically named Planned Parenthood, as they investigate where the money is actually going.
The WSJ wrote:
The Trump administration is moving to freeze tens of millions of dollars in federal family-planning grants to certain organizations while it investigates whether the money was used for diversity efforts, people familiar with the matter said.
The groups that would be subject to the freeze, which include Planned Parenthood affiliates, were set to get about $120 million this year.
Founder and President of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk weighed in on social media:
🚨BREAKING: The Trump Administration is about to cut off federal funding to Planned Parenthood.
Between 2019-2021, Planned Parenthood performed 1.11 million abortions while receiving approximately $1.78 billion in federal funding. This is an average of $592 million every year or… pic.twitter.com/TG98fhqTtj
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 25, 2025
Kirk’s tweet continues:
Between 2019-2021, Planned Parenthood performed 1.11 million abortions while receiving approximately $1.78 billion in federal funding. This is an average of $592 million every year or over 40% of their revenue. Nobody is fooled: For Planned Parenthood, money is fungible. Federal funds help prop up the murder mills they operate all across America.
American taxpayer dollars must NOT be used to kill innocent unborn babies.
Republicans in Congress spent decades promising to do this, without delivering. Once again, Trump is getting it done.
Trump wants to make sure all the taxpayer money we give them isn’t going to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, the poisonous ideology he has vowed to rid the federal government of. Conservatives have always been against funding abortion, however:
Planned Parenthood clinics in about a dozen states were set to receive roughly $20 million in family-planning grants this year.
During the freeze, the department plans to examine whether the funds were used for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, the people said.
Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office directing his administration to scrub DEI efforts from all corners of the federal government.
HHS could later decide to fully rescind the grants or reallocate the money to other organizations.
The freeze would partially fulfill a longtime conservative goal of defunding Planned Parenthood because it provides abortions and advocates for abortion rights. In 2019, the first Trump administration moved to bar organizations that refer patients for abortions from receiving family planning grants. The Biden administration rescinded the rule.
Huge win!
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) March 25, 2025
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
