China Has 37 Million More Males Than Females

China has 37 million more males than females

China has become the most imbalanced country in gender ratio of newborn babies in the world. This period of imbalance is also the longest time in the world. In 2005, the ratio between newborn girls and boys was 100:118.88, far from the average ratio of 100 to 104-107. In Jiangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, Anhui and Hunan provinces, the ratio is even higher- 100:130. Experts said, on Wednesday at a seminar in Beijing, that China should deal with this problem immediately.Since the 1980s, China's birth ratio between newborn girls and boys has been increasing:

1982: 100 to 108.5

1987: 100 to 110.9

1990: 100 to 111.3

1995: 100 to 115.6

2000: 100 to 116.9

In 2000, average ratio was 100:116.9. Except for areas such as the Xinjiang Uygor Autonomous and Tibet Autonomous regions; all the provinces were above the average ratio of 100 to 104-107. Some provinces had a ratio of 100:138.

As a result, there are 37 million more males than females now in China. Within the 0- 15 year age group, there are 18 million more boys than girls.

According to State Family Planning Commission, a social consequence of the gender imbalance is smuggling of women and children. In provinces highly imbalanced in gender, women and children become the victims of human trafficking. Illegal and forced marriages, as well as forced prostitution, have run rampant in some areas.

Li Huiying, deputy director of the women's research center in the central party's school, cited three major reasons for such a phenomenon: a long period of paying more attention to men than women, an incomplete social security system, and the abuse of ultra sound technology.Liang Jun, director of the community education center in Henan Province, said China's social security system is incomplete; the rural security system is even more backward. Parents have a son to guarantee care when they are older. He said that if social security existed for everyone, it would effectively encourage their desire to have a baby- especially a boy.

The participants of the seminar assert that the gender ratio imbalance has something to do with the family planning policy; but that it is not the only reason for it. They directly blame the abuse of ultra sound technology. In many areas, due to lack of effective supervision of ultra sound use, many people choose the sex of their baby.

In order to solve this problem, China has implemented the following: Population and Family Planning Law, A Regulation on Banning Non-medical Need of Identifying the Gender of a Fetus, and Sexually Discriminative Artificial Suspension of Pregnancy. The Care for Girls Activity was also launched to advocate the idea that men and women are equal, in order to deal with the gender imbalance.

Participants from the seminar also hold that people should understand the significance and urgency of dealing with such a problem. To solve the problem, people must be creative in their thoughts; and utilize methods to monitor and prevent sexual discrimination. There should be gender education in the whole of society, and the idea that boys and girls are equal should be advocated. People should follow the family planning policy and be guided to change the traditional idea that women must follow men. Experts suggest that in order to shake the traditional idea, people should advocate the new idea that after marriage, men follow women. This will be an effective way of changing people's traditional ideas, and promoting equality between women and men.

By People's Daily Online

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6212115.html

Thank You .....

.......to our blogland buddies who e-mailed us and left comments for us when Daddy-O got his promotion to heaven. The road to eternity was paved with many obstacles for him in his last days and we are grateful that we were surrounded with many caring friends, family, caregivers and internetters (some of whom we don't even know) offering their prayers, support and encouragement through the process. Kudos to VITAS Hospice who guided us through an incredibly difficult month - helping us make decisions, offering medical counsel and ultimately, supporting Daddy-O when he passed on. We are grateful beyond words.Albert was buried in Whiting NJ, next to his beloved wife, my mother, of 55 years, Frances, last Thursday, July 5, 2007. The following sequence of pictures was taken when, spontaneously, a part of the family stopped at Asbury Park NJ on the way home from the funeral service ........

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Be and I detoured to Ocean Grove, NJ, (on our way home from the funeral) a square mile town established in the late 1800s by the Methodist Church for the purpose of offering retreat as well as training for missionaries. Many of them were housed in tents around the Great Auditorium, the center of the church’s operations in the town, and some of the tents still survive as vacation rentals (the waiting list is quite long). The streets are lined with Victorian homes and getaways as well as B & Bs. Until a few years ago, Ocean Grove prohibited vehicular traffic on Sundays, however the evangelical presence is felt just about everywhere you look. It was a refreshing step back in time to a place where the right things really mattered and God was lifted up……..

The Great Auditorium at the center of Ocean Grove

Tents which once housed missionaries are now 'vacation' rentals.

Be explores the tent city - over 100 of them are still in use during the summer.
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We walked a mile or so up the boardwalk to Asbury Park. My sister, brother and nephews called us as we walked trying to locate us. They decided to join us for our detour........


When I was a child (did I really progress from that time in my life? Perhaps that’s why I’m adopting) we frequented Asbury Park as a quick and easy getaway. I remember the Casino, the kiddie rides and later on, the concerts at Asbury Park Convention Hall where I saw The Who, Herman’s Hermits (in the 60s) and The Doors (in the 70s). The city went to ruin (take a look at the film "City by the Sea"), due to racial riots and the financial strains of the 70s, the place lapsed into a state of decay and ultimately died.
Two natives, Bruce Springsteen & Jon Bon Jovi, sang of their city’s finer points in their music and eventually, Asbury Park became a part of the culture of the 80s. Several years ago, a developer with a vision for the seaside town began restoring the boardwalk and the surrounding area with the hope of raising it from it’s state of ruin – and he could succeed if NJ residents and those who held the city dear respond to his plan.

Glass Works - A sign of recovery on the boardwalk.

The Stone Pony - Bruce & Jon Bon Jovi got their starts here.

Quite the dive.....

Faded Glory - Asbury Park Convention Hall

Waiting for some paint......

North boardwalk with Convention Hall

Restoration has begun.

"Tillie"

The manical grin of this clown on the former Palace Amusements building, was immortalized in Springsteen's recording of "Born to Run" and his "Tunnel of Love" music video. A nonprofit group saved the nearly 50-year-old face when the building was demolished last month for the sake of revitalization efforts, but it will remain out of sight for the time being.

Local lore has it that a 3D version of the likeness was offered to the Smithsonian -

they didn't want it.

"Well the cops finally busted Madame Marie for tellin' fortunes better than they do."

---Bruce Springsteen - 4th of July, Asbury Park---

The interior of the Casino - it housed the Merry-Go-Round

and other amusements as well as Ripley's Beleive It or Not.

On the beach - my brother Paul with sons Jason & Dale

Nephews Jason & Dale

Bizzare behavior staged by their Uncle Don

Albert Edward 'Daddy-O' Schafhauser

October 14, 1912 - June 29, 2007

with Diva & Be - March, 2007

Wedding Day - December 1, 1945 - Albert & Frances

15 Months

15Months

since

3/24/06

LID

Congratulations to fellow blogsters who made it out of the Review Room.

CCAA has posted that it has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with their office before April 30, 2006. Placements remain stalled at

November 7, 2005

........

Daddy-O update: Unchanged since last post. Many thanks for your prayers and kind words.

Not Much Blogging.....

....... as Daddy-O's condition is deteriorating and we are counting down the hours/days/weeks.
Please pray that God takes him quickly and without further pain. My wish is that he gets to know his grand daughter, Joanna Mei, but it does not look like that will happen.
He is back at the Assisted Living Residence (one mile from our home) surrounded with a bunch of caregivers who love him dearly ...... he's in the best place he can be at this time. Times like these make me thankful that God is God and I am not.
My brother, Paul from North Carolina, & sister, Maryann from New Jersey will arrive tomorrow and over the weekend, we will have some painful discussions ..... but it will be great to have them here.
Blessings,
Don

Daddy-O Update

Daddy-0 with 2 of his friends & caregivers.

Get this ..... they are not related and their names are Lerlene & Merlene. No kidding.

We are blessed with their presence in our lives.

My father, Albert, has been admitted to a Hospice Facility near our home for treatment of a few medical items which cannot be taken care of at the assisted living residence. One problem was pain from advanced spinal stenosis (a condition for which we have investigated multiple treatments) so he is on morphine based drug which causes him to be pretty much out of it. We visit daily, but they are short visits as we are not confident that he'll remember we were even in the room, however his memory has been on the decline for quite some time. So, if there are prayer worriors out there in blogland, please pray that he'll be out of pain. He's sprung back from some 'episodes' multiple times. He is 94.
Also pray that he pulls through this as we want him to know his grand-daughter, Joanna Mei.

Mt. Dora Getaway

June 8 - retired 4 days, although today was the official beginning of this new chapter in my life.

Tomorrow is Be's birthday along with a get together with friends & future parents of a daughter from China, Alyson & Ford.

This could be one of the last times Be & I can get away before Joanna arrives, so ......

we ventured to Mt Dora, a beautiful town about 1 hour away -

citrus trees, turn of the century architecture, beautiful Lake Dora, old town ambiance and several good restaurants.

We decided to stay at the Lakeside Inn, a Mt Dora landmark since 1883. Our room was definately a 'one night room' as it overlooked a maintenance area, but if you looked out the window, closed one eye and pressed your face against the glass, it became a 'lake view room'.

Didn't matter (although we were now 170 bucks poorer) - we were out on the town after a swim.

Be (looking so fine) on the porch of the Lakeside Inn

Street scenes in Mt Dora (with the help of PhotoShop)

A sightseeing train runs through Mt Dora.

Lunch at the Goblin Market Restaurant

Dinner at The Frosty Mug - we enjoyed having a streetside table where we benefited from the air conditioning inside while feeling like we were dining on the sidewalk.

The space shuttle took to the skies from Kennedy Space Center, 40 or so miles away.

About 75 minutes later, the winds aloft had carried the vapor trails west to Mt Dora

leaving eerie designs in the evening sky.

Too bad we didn't have the camera for the launch.

As the sun went down, we sat in rocking chairs on the porch of the Lakeside Inn

with a glass of wine while listening to a live jazz trio.

Although it was quite hot, the porch was cool with the help of fans and a good breeze from the lake.

6 AM Saturday, June 9 (Be's Birthday) - we left our hotel for a brisk walk to Palm Island Park about 1/2 mile away to find the gate locked and sign posted indicating that the park opened at 9 AM. Bummer - maybe not - breakfast seemed like a reasonable 2nd choice. We soon discovered that the laid back town of Mt Dora had a sort of 'manana' attitude on the weekends. All of the eateries opened for lunch at about 11 AM - except for one which posted a 7:30 AM opening time. OK - a speed walk was the 3rd choice, so for the next hour, we zigzagged around the streets of this quaint town, taking many of the above pics along the way. When our breakfast eatery opened, the owner was both the cook and waiter - the wait staff showed up about 7:55 to find the place already bustling with diners - manana.

Speed walk back to the hotel, a quick run to the drug store and it was 9 AM - time for the walk to Palm Island. By 9:15, the place was still locked up - we found a not-quite-official entrance around the front gate and disappeared along the walkway into the park. The pictures below reflect our morning walk - a beautiful place!

At 9:45, as we left the park, the park personnel still had not arroved to open the gate - manana.

A boardwalk leads you over the water for access to Palm Island Park.
Alligators, egrets, herons, racoons & turtles inhabit the island & surrounding waters.

Another view of the walkway through Palm Island Park @ Mt Dora

Bald Cypress mostly inhabit the zone between the land and the deeper lake water.

Palm Island Park is an urban park that provides benefits for both the urban population and the environment. A stroll down the board walk is a relaxing and healthy way to explore this forest ecosystem. Many of the trees are identified and interpertive information is available, so it's an educational experience as well. This park provides homes and food for a diverse range of animals - birds, mamals & reptiles.

Don, Be, Alyson & Ford

We 're from Central Florida, Alyson & Ford from NE Florida.

Mt Dora was a great meeting place.

After a quick morning swim (no pictures - you'll think you're on the Greenpeace site) it was off to visit with Alyson & Ford. We had pre-arranged Mt. Dora as our meeting place a few weeks back. Take a look at our post from several months ago when we met this great couple for the first time ........

http://donandbe1.blogspot.com/2007/03/bloggers-in-paradise-or-is-there-aarp.html

By 11:00 AM, it was hotter than fish grease, so we searched out a cyber cafe with air conditioning - we had our own private room where we were able to talk about the adoption highway we've been on for what seems like forever. For a quick recap: Ford and I met through the blogging process about 2 years ago and discovered that we were the same age and both would retire and be stay at home dads. And our wives are the same age and would continue to work to boot. Our LIDs are 2 months apart, so considering our unique circumstances in the adoption arena, it was only right that we should get together and discuss our journeys in person. We did it in March and this was our second meet up. Some points: when both families began the adoption process, the CCAA was at 6-9 months between LID and referral. Neither of our families have reached that point yet - Ford & Alyson are now at 16+ months and Be & myself are at 14+. All of our fingerprints & INS applications have expired so that process is on the horizon for both families as well.

We discussed some of the correct terminology and gentle ways to steer people in the right direction when speaking of our adoptions, especially in the presence of our daughters. Considering our unique life timelines, we also talked of the reactions of friends with the whole process and getting around the inevitable question "So, what's the latest with the adoption?" Our common Christian faith came up often as well.

Lunch followed and the conversation continued. We were lifted up by our 4 1/2 hours together with this wonderful couple. We knew that they were brought into our lives as traveling partners on the adoption highway not by chance, and that our daughters will become fast friends like their parents.

Support in the adoption process is an essential and we wish all on the journey a

Ford & Alyson in their lives.

---------------------------

Alyson & Ford's Blog "Imagine Alyzabeth An"

http://alyzabethan.blogspot.com

The Lakeside Inn

www.lakeside-inn.com

Wikipedia "Mount Dora" Information

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Dora,_Florida

Call Me Retired

21 years with US Airways have come to an end .... no more overbooked flights .... weather or maintenance delays .... personnel shortages .... whining/crying/shouting customers ........... life is good. I don't know how I did it that long!

My coworkers gave me a send off complete with "Miss You" cake, cold cuts, veggies, fried chicken and mylar "Happy Retirement" balloon. I will miss them at work. About 10 of us met for a performance of Cirque du Soleil's "La Nouba" later that evening at Disney's West End.

My first 2 days of retirement included work on prepping our privacy fence for painting, attending to some of the needs of my 94 year old dad and first attempts at cooking real meals. Amazingly, they came out rather well. I just may post the recipes as there was much experimentation with great results.

For Friday ...... a monthly brunch with Orlando US Airways retirees and a trip to Mt Dora for a night at the Lakeside Inn and lunch with friends on Saturday.

More time for blogging .......

.......and so we skip merrily on our way to adoption ......

CCAA Celebrates "The Year of the Snail"

Crawling along at the pace of a purple wartyback, the CCAA announced the following today to the many prospcetive parents with their eyes glued to the little gray box on their web page......

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before March 31, 2006.
The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before November 7, 2005.

>

We congratulate all our blogsters who made the cut ........ especially our new blogger friends Lisa & Doug. They received the referral items for their daughter, Briana. Congratulations! You must be walking on sunshine.

>

http://waitingforbriana.blogspot.com/

The Painted Veil

For the first time in quite a while, we were able to sit down for an evening and watch a film in it's entirety. Don has the TV on Mondays for "24" and Tues & Wed for "American Idol" - both series had their finalies last week. Tonight's selection ..... "The Painted Veil". A love story set in the 1920s about a young English couple (a doctor and a society girl) who marry hastily, relocate to Hong Kong where they betray each other easily, and find an unexpected chance at redemption and happiness while on a deadly journey into the heart of ancient China.

For a synopsis of the film ......

http://wip.warnerbros.com/paintedveil/site/site.html

This film did not do particularly well in the theatrers, probably due to the fact that it offers salvation in the midst of horrific circumstances and deals with some disturbing themes not readily accepted in our comfortable culture. We both gave it a 4 out of 5 - for the brief glimpses of the spectacular scenery as well as the story line which gives hope and deliverance.

Rated PG-13, probably should not be watched with kids due to gratuitous sex scene (nothing you can't see after 7 PM on TV), as well as graphic depiction of cholera.

14 Months

May 24

It's been 14 months since our LID .....

The Gospel According to Diva

This pic was taken on our vacation in the Smoky Mountains last summer.

Can you find Be? Click on the pic to enlarge.....

This post was in my "drafts" folder from a few months back and I decided the time was right to use it. It has been expanded upon from it's original text.

I was recovering from 2 broken ribs . During that period, I feel like all I did was age - my mind was numbed from the pain killers causing me to wander in my thoughts - I could not focus - not on prayer, not on reading & not on any movie with the hint of a storyline.This past week, I felt that I could begin to wean myself off the mind bending pills, as the pain had subsided quite a bit - I told the dog that it was time to take a walk together - we have a park in our area with primative, unpaved trails through acres of native Florida plants - as we walked, I noticed that Diva (my dog) would stop & tilt her head as her ears stood up - as the drug induced fog in my mind began to clear, I realized that there was much to be heard in my pristine surroundings - she had heard a native black snake (non-poisonous) rustling through the dry underbrush - it was sunning itself and was apparently startled at our approach - the sounds of the wind through the brush, dried leaves and trees as well as the chirp of cardinals and scrub jays became a part of God's orchestration and the walk took on a whole new character for me. It reminded me of the Gospel of Luke ....... Jesus was being praised by His followers and the Pharisees became indignant that they would do such a thing and called for Jesus to rebuke them. Jesus replied to them saying "I tell you if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." My heart which had been quite silent for the past 6 weeks or so did not wait for the rocks to sound the call to worship and I praised Him for His creation and Who He is .... and to think my dog snapped me out of my pity party.

Camelot (Where Does an Arab Buy His Wheels?)

Mom loved Robert Goulet and as we were growing up, she frequently played the old 33 rpm disc from the Broadway show "Camelot" on our Victrola to hear him, as Lancelot, sing "If Ever I Would Leave You". I also remembered songs such as "I Wonder What the King Is Doing Tonight?" as well as the title tune "Camelot". Those tunes ran through my head when I received an e-mail from Ticketmaster informing me of a 2 for 1 deal for the upcoming engagement of the show in Orlando.

"Camelot" opened in New York in 1960, but that was a few years before I was able to hop a bus on my own and take in whatever show I wanted to see (we lived in New Jersey, about 10 miles outside NYC). In high school and college, I'd write away for tickets to the Ed Sullivan Show and sat in the audience for quite a few of the live broadcasts and would frequent the Broadway shows, buying the half-price tickets at the booth in Times Square.

Be had done the show in high school, and aside from the 3 or 4 songs which were familiar to me, I really did not know that much about it. Our friends, Jeff & Kathy, wanted to see it, so we all did the dinner thing and walked to the theater from the restaurant.

Well, it should have occured to me that this was going to be quite a stretch - after all, Michael York (age 65), playing King Arthur courting the very young and beautiful Guenivere? Dang - this could be a real snore! It was. After an 8 hour day at the old grind and a very satisfying meal under our belts, I woke up several times during the first act with morning mouth. But, it was not necessarily the talent on stage which lulled me to sleep (the cast members who played Guenivere & Lancelot had outstanding voices) - I believe it was the story, a tale of fantasy which was flimsy at best, combined with lackluster staging incorporating a cast of people who strutted around the stage in fancy costumes. The guy in front of me was probably 6'5" tall and had a hairdo that looked like brocolli and as the 'action' moved around the stage, I grew tired of avoiding the visual impairment blocking my view.

As King Arthur, Michael York set about writing the creed for his Knights of the Roundtable preceding each item with a giant step to the front of the stage, punctuating the move with an index finger pointed toward the sky and making his decree - "Proposition - no knight shall sit at the head of the table! Make our table round!" "Proposition - this and that...."

And as the curtain went down after the first act, I turned to the rest of our party - "Proposition - a swift ride home at the intermission!" All raised their hands and voted "Aye". And so ...... off we went. "Anyone for Spamalot ?" "We got our money's worth. It was a 2 for 1 anyway." "Gosh! I wonder how we'd all do at an opera?" "Do you think Don can be in the LazyBoy before the curtain goes up for Act 2?"

...and so we merrily skip through the adoption waiting room ...

Happy Mothers Day

This is our 3rd Mother's day since we started our adoption paperwork. Joanna, we are praying that God sends you to us quickly. Until then we will pray and keep the faith knowing that He has the appointed time in His plan.

In anticipation of Joanna's arrival, Don had this beautiful oriental name painting of our family created and framed. It is rich in symbolism and oriental heritage. This type of art has been handed down from generation to generation for over 1000 years. There is a legend that an Angel descended from heaven riding on a rainbow. The Angel painted her name using the colors of the rainbow before she vanished through the clouds. The Angel's name has been used over the years to convey love and feeling to family and loved ones. Each letter is hand fashioned using symbols that convey meaning. The bamboo tree conveys intelligence and integrity. The artist used the bamboo tree in the letters B and J. The rainbow which you see in the O and E represent promise, love, hope and peace. Each symbol has meaning. I can't wait until Joanna is old enough to understand the rich heritage of her lineage.

Thank you Don for a gift that is not only beautiful but will be precious to our family over the years.

Back to the Old $%#@!

This pic taken Feb 14, 2007 - the day of some of the worst weather in the Northeast


A sad day - Thursday, May 10 - after 9 weeks of recovery from 2 broken ribs, it's back to the old grind at the US Airways ticket counter at Orlando International Airport. I have been spared bad weather and the start-up of a new (perhaps primative would be more appropriate) computer system while absent from work. If I had a desk job, I most probably wold have been back a little over a month after the accident, however slinging bags and lifting heavy non-ambulatory passengers could have damaged them further - so alas, the time has come - poor, poor Don.

Flower Power - Part 2

Peter & Gordon

It was apparent from the first bars of their opening song "Nobody I Know" that Peter and Gordon" had lost their singing chops over the years. What were once light and fluid vocals are now husky sounding pub singing voices. We stayed for the whole show, and I even bought a CD to enjoy their music as it was originally intended. I believe their singing gigs are for the benefit of fattening the purse of Gordon Waller as Peter Asher is a fat cat producer in L.A. and is most probably a gajillionaire. A nice trip down memory lane just the same ......

The Tokens

So we thought ..... We gotta hear "The Tokens" for their tune "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" ...... and we discovered that the group puts on a high energy show that borders on vaudeville - only with 50s rock. And they made the combination work, bouncing comebacks off each other and including the audience in zany sing-alongs. Be had to work, but I went back for a second night to enjoy the fun again.

Jose Feliciano

Jose Feliciano was quite remarkable as he performed for the fans at EPCOT. Seated throughout the entire 30 minute shows, JF made his way through his own tunes as well as those of others from the 60s & 70s with his own unique style. The man nailed every note and still plays a hot guitar.

Petula Clark

Petula Clark is the only female headliner on the Flower Power concert lineup for 2007 and she proved that she could stand firm against the big boys. The overture was a trippy pastiche of themes from her big hits accentuated with offstage vocal inserts from her very familiar pipes. The themes eventually melded together as one and formed the basis for the melody of "Who Am I" which led to her entrance. The substantial breeze blowing it's way across the lagoon added lift to her flowing gown and cape (good thing the wind was in her favor) and the songstress had the audience in her hands.
Making her way through "This Is My Song", "My Love", Don't Sleep In the Subway" and of course "Downtown" she tried her best as she belted with the best of them, sustaining several song endings a considerable length of time. Her mid range and lower register were weak on the more delicate passages and she spoke some of the lyrics as it appeared she had some vocal fatigue. But this was a legend - a 74 year old legend - and we were there for the event ....... and so, we skip merrily through the adoption waiting room.

Congrats!

Although I was in denial that they only made it through November 1, 2005, congratulations are in order for those who have seen the face of their child for the first time as referrals are out. We wish to congratulate Lynda & Roy Korbert from our Orlando Waiting Parents Support Group who received their referral package!

Also, our friends, Todd & Jaci Romer received their Traveling Authorization and head out to China tomorrow to be united with their daughter.

Our agency indicated to us that the CCAA received an unusually heavy load of dossiers last October which may explain the unusually small numbers of calendar days referred. Pray that they get over the hump - I'm aging rapidly and Joanna will be running to get a magic marker to play Connect the Liverspots on homedaddy's hand.