Posted on 12/26/2012 9:18:02 AM PST by Dartman
MOSCOW - Russia’s upper house of parliament approved a bill on Wednesday that would prohibit Americans from adopting Russian children and impose other measures in retaliation for a U.S. law designed to punish Russians accused of human rights violations.
The bill, which President Vladimir Putin has hinted he will sign, would also outlaw some U.S.-funded non-governmental organisations and impose visa bans and asset freezes on Americans accused of violating the rights of Russians abroad.
Personally, I am glad to see this. I know someone who adopted two Russian children. He received a tremendous tax credit of over $15,000 for each! That’s a pure tax credit and it covered the entire cost plus some!
Waitaminnit. I thought Putin and Obama were bestest buddies. Is this some Democrat-passed feelgood law?
I’m sorry for the children who will be harmed and the prospective parents who will be disappointed due to this pissing match between two administrations, neither of which really gives a flying freep about their citizens.
I’d like to know more about the US law that is provoking the cat fight. It doesn’t sound like something that Republicans would have wanted to get mixed up in, but it would be right down Democrat alley.
Russian orphans are abused, neglected, and severely marginalized in Russia. The ones that make it here, like my nieces, are given a chance. But I guess that’s not your problem, just as long as people aren’t getting tax breaks you don’t think they deserve.
As a cynical man, I wonder if some same-sex couples were adopting Russian children. If so, I agree with this ban completely. We don’t need to have innocent children corrupted by sodomites.
Is the tax credit your sole objection?
I had a lengthy conversation a few months ago with a woman who flies over there annually and spends time with orphans; the conditions are not very good for them. Offhand, I can’t think of the name of the organization that sponsors her trips, but it’s probably about to be blacklisted.
I met the woman because she’s a volunteer paramedic. She speaks Russian, and I believe she had started the process of adopting a child. I’m sure she’s not out to game the system and make off with taxpayer dollars. She is, of course, just one person that I happen to have met and does not represent the entire population.
Wow. When my husband and I were looking at this the tax credits (of the money that belonged to us originally!) were not nearly enough to cover all of the expenses. The base expense for Russian adoption was $25,000 and the tax credit (to get back what the government has taken from me!) was $10,000. That was six years ago. Luckily I got pregnant so we didn’t go through with it.
Yep. In the middle of this process are couples who thought they were getting a child and kids who though they were getting parents. Those kids now have no hope of adoption considering that Russians don’t do that.
0 proves once again that he will go to great lengths to punish Americans in ways we never thought possible.
Yes, that’s it. I don’t feel I should subsidize someone’s need to parent. If the need is that dire, there are children in this country that could be adopted. While it is regretable that the Russian children orphans are not treated well, there are millions of children all over the world that are in a similar situation; the US cannot be the world savior, nor should it be - especially at the expense of the US Taxpayer.
This is important as other nations will follow suit under protection of Russia.
The US is currently operating in violation of International and Human Rights law in Syria, and did so in Libya. Individual Americans, including military can be held to account by the ICC, and Russia can eventually force these kinds of prosecutions.
The days when the US used the ICC to railroad Eastern Europeans who stood against Muslim terrorist organized crime are over, and Putin intends to return the favor as he did with Georgia.
This establishes that Americans are no longer the default good guys in international law situations, in fact, just the opposite.
See post 12
I am glad things worked out for you. I am not against someone adopting any child anywhere. However, it is still something that I think the US taxpayer should subsidize, especially for a child not in this country. All this does is relieve the host country of the responsibility for the child.
I’m hesitant to call you shortsighted and uninformed, but that issue has nothing to do with the ban, nor would it be a good reason to ban the adoptions. Right here in my state, there are many good Christian families who have adopted Russian children who would languished in Russian orphanages, gone out into society, and become a ugly statistic. There are many more who will now not have an opportunity. I would even wager that a Russian orphan adopted by homos is better off than one who’s left there.
When I first saw the headline, I thought it had something to do with gay parents and adoption.
Freegards
The Russians are known to prevericate extensively when asked about the health of those seemingly normal children.
My sister started this process a few years ago not knowing where the money would come from, but trusting by faith God wanted her to do it. A kind benefactor provided them with the money. The tax credits isn’t enough incentive for anyone to go through what they’ve gone through. I think we have too many Russophiles on FR who think Putty can do no wrong.
Curiously, the man I’m speaking of actually had a natural birth with his wife after the second adoption. He didn’t pay $25,000 for sure. He told me it was actually a net plus for him, tax-wise.
You would have ended up spending much more. And you would have to legally bribe the judge with expensive American liquor.
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