Carolyn Vlk and ‘Chasing The Cyclone’ author Peter Thomas Release Landmark Study On How Children Are Being Illegally Abducted And Taken From U.S.

BREAKING NEWS: November 29th, 2010

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A landmark study conducted by child abduction prevention advocates Carolyn Ann Vlk and Peter Thomas Senese released earlier today reveals astonishing loopholes in Western Hemisphere travel documentation requirements for children that inadvertently have created substantial opportunities for international child abductors and human traffickers who target thousands of U.S. children each year for cross-border abduction.

The report is titled “International Child Abduction and Human Trafficking In Western Hemisphere: International parental child abduction and human trafficking prevention report in correspondence to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) and other related abduction prevention challenges faced by The United States and its neighboring countries.”
The extensive study focuses in part on the limited ground and sea travel documentation requirements needed for children traveling to contiguous nations as defined by the WHTI, including to the two nations that represent the highest concentration of abduction cases to and from the United States: Mexico and Canada.

According to the 2010 Report on Compliance with the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspect of International Child Abduction prepared by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Children’s Issues, there were 1,621 ‘reported’ international parental child abductions originating from the U.S. during 2009. The average growth rate over the past several years is approximately 20% per year.

Additionally, the number of ‘unreported’ cases of international child abduction to contiguous nations is believed to be substantial and is discussed in Crisis in America: International Parental Child Abduction Today (2010) published by Peter Senese and Carolyn Vlk earlier this Fall. Supporting the concern of the existence of significant ‘unreported’ cases is the most recent National Incidence Study of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Thrownaway Children (NISMART-2) study, which reports that of the 203,900 children that are estimated to be parentally abducted annually in the U.S., that only 28% (56,500) of these abductions were reported to law enforcement.

The report has two main objectives: the first goal is to raise awareness of the loopholes traffickers and child abductors may utilize to facilitate their criminal acts of child-stealing so that targeted parents of child abduction, the judiciary and its court officers, law enforcement officials, and policymakers may act to protect children from this hideous type of crime. The second objective is to offer potential solutions through preventative measures and legislative changes that may assist in preventing child abduction and human trafficking as it is uniquely related to current WHTI policy.

Peter Thomas, the author of the highly praised novel ‘Chasing The Cyclone’ critics have called a ‘Call-To-Arms’ against child-stealing that was inspired by his experience as a father who successfully petitioned the international Hague courts due to the illegal abduction and retention of his child stated, “The information furnished in our report provides substantial insight on how each year thousands of targeted children of international abduction living in the Western Hemisphere, including a considerable number of defenseless U.S. children-citizens, may be criminally transported across international borders. The loopholes in current government policy that may allow abductors to steal children across international borders are severe. In releasing this comprehensive study and by offering measurable solutions, it is Carolyn Vlk’s and my aspiration to raise awareness so that existing policy may be changed in the name of our children’s best interest.”

Carolyn Ann Vlk added, “International child abduction and human trafficking are urgently critical issues that necessitate an immediate response. As children do not have the ability to protect themselves, we must continue to identify risk factors and loopholes that lead to them becoming victimized. The current situation is intolerable and the sheer numbers of children that are disappearing is unacceptable. These are horrendous crimes which mandate our highest priority and that necessitate legislative changes to take place immediately at the federal level. A mandate requiring a passport for all international travel will create the type of change necessary to further protect the innocent ones from this unconscionable crime.”


For more information and to read International Child Abduction and Human Trafficking In Western Hemisphere please visit the following websites:
http://www.chasingthecyclone.com/Abduction_WHTI_Report.html
http://www.internationalparentalchildabduction.com
http://www.peterthomassenese.com

To Give Thanks – A Special Message From Peter Thomas Senese

Today is a day when each of us is expected to reflect upon the things in our life we are thankful for. Over the course of my own life, I am exceptionally grateful that I have come to learn how to find the magic and wonderment that exists in each and every day no matter what circumstances I face. So in this respect, today I celebrate Thanksgiving for the 299th day this year. The following are some of the things I am most grateful for:

1. I am most thankful that my son is safe, happy, able to freely express himself, excelling in all things he is interested in, and capable of seeing all the magic that life has to offer without impediment. As a father who desires only the best things in life for my child, I am deeply satisfied with the richness of my son’s life. And I am thankful.

2. I am thankful that the time that I was Chasing The Cyclone of international abduction is over. Sometimes, I am not exactly sure how these horrific storms were navigated, but they were. Today, the dark clouds that loomed over our heads have been replaced by the golden sunshine of peace. And I am thankful.

3. I am thankful to have such a close-knit, loving family that truly enjoys being with one another. I have been particularly blessed with loving and wise parents who are demonstrative of their love for their children and grandchildren, siblings who are as deeply attached to one another as any brothers or sisters could be, and the most amazing 95 year-old grandmother, who, till this day is as active and vibrant as a person decades her younger. And I am extremely thankful that each day, no matter where in the world I am, my most amazing grandmother is a part of my daily life.

4. I have been blessed to find my true love, my partner, and my companion, with whom I share everything without obstruction. My life is rich, full, exciting, balanced, and possesses more meaning than I have ever known because she is in my life. And I am thankful.

5. Though there was a period in my life when I did not know why the storms of child abduction descended upon our life, I am extremely thankful that I was given the strength to never stop starring down those storms: by doing so, my child is safe and at home. There is a big ‘In Addition’ – I am deeply satisfied and thankful that my experiences have and may continue to assist other children and their parents who may one day have to face these storms. God willing, the work I am involved with will continue to help other families – perhaps even bringing an elevation in understanding that will cause a variety of changes all in the name of protecting our innocence children. And I am thankful to be, in my own small way, in a position to participate in evoking this type of change.

6. I am thankful to have wonderful, caring, and loyal friends in my life. Indeed, our friendships are the raindrops that nourish and enrich our human experience. I have been blessed in many long-lasting, true friendship, and I am thankful for such a wonderful blessing.

7. I am thankful that after an ongoing battle with a degenerative cancer-causing disease that at times created even more difficult challenges than simply fighting to live, my body and its genetic composition are free of the malignant strands that caused unwanted hurt. Today, my body is strong and nearly as healthy as when I was a young man in college. I have conquered my cancer fights, and I am thankful.

8. I thankful and proud of being an American citizen. There literally never is a day that goes by that I am not in awe of our great nation despite many of our nation’s challenges. I have never lost insight into President George Washington’s words the night of his inauguration on Wall Street’s Federal Hall: “that liberty was an ongoing experiment entrusted to the American people”. President Washington’s key words being, “ongoing experiment”, and I am thankful to have an opportunity to be a part of this experiment through my activism in advocating for new child abduction prevention laws that will protect our nation’s children.

9. As a young adult, I attended an amazing high school in beautiful Brooklyn, New York called Edward R. Murrow. As a group of young adults drawn from nearly every conceivable background, many of us were given one lesson that till this day I hold closest to my heart and is one of the cornerstones of who I am: the lesson of the importance of celebrating our differences. Since this time, and over the years, I have never let go of this principle, and because of this, I have lived a very fortunate life. I am thankful that at an early age, both my teachers and my friends as a young adult taught me how to see.

10. And I am so thankful that the tomorrows of my life, though they may be challenging at times, are filled with hope, curiosity, and a sense of being part of something much bigger than myself.

So, in a nutshell, this is my heart, my spirit, and my vitality. I wish to all a most Happy Thanksgiving … today, and tomorrow.

Revelaing Study On How Our Children Are Being Removed From The Country Despite Court and Government Blockades.

For some time now, Carolyn Ann Vlk and I have been researching how children are being criminally stolen from and illegally taken to our country despite court orders and government programs in place to prevent this from occurring. Our findings have been shocking. In the upcoming days, we will share our finding in a detailed published report.

More to come ....

Until then, have a wonderful day.

Peter Thomas Senese

The Laws of Good Parenting Override Our Protected Rights Under the First Amendment

The other night I attended the Free The Slaves ‘Freedom Awards’ Ceremony and Gala. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Free The Slaves organization, they are a worldwide non-profit based in Washington, D.C. committed to stopping the horrors known as human slavery, human trafficking, and human abduction.

So here I am sitting behind my big desk in my office at the studio right now, reflecting on how poor judgment the folks at Amazon demonstrated yesterday, and quite frankly for nearly one full week, by selling a Kindle book that was a how to guide on the disgraceful acts of pedophilia.

Having seen the scars related to human trafficking in both adults and children, the fact that Amazon continued to keep this title up throughout the day amidst thousands upon thousands of immediate protest yesterday was perplexing. Was Amazon fighting for the First Amendment or were they hiding behind the First Amendment with smoking-mirror valor for fear that if they removed one book from the site, their morally sound consumers would act as censors.

Personally, I am a adament supporter of our nation's rights as conveyed under the First Amendment. However, the rules of Good Citizenship and particularly Good Parenting far outweigh my perspective on my freedom of speech when it comes to possibly causing any type of danger to a child.

So here's Amazon selling a book on pedophilia, and their not removing it. And I am very angry. I make substantial money as an author by having my books available to consumers around the world via Amazon. But ... I am also a person who has come seen these monsters.

Finally, sometime after midnight, and with tens of thousands of customers closing their accounts, Amazon’s senior decision makers decided that perhaps their 76 billion dollar market capitalization was worth protecting more than an electronic, for Kindle purchase-only, how to guide on how to molest a child. Thanks Amazon. Incidentally, I liquidated whatever Amazon stock I held in my portfolio first thing this morning.

Sitting here at my desk, now with a hot cup of tea, I wonder what Tina Frundt would have had to say to Jeff Bezos if they were in a coffee shop about what Amazon had done. Tina is the 2010 recipient of Freedom Award’s ‘Frederick Douglas’ Award. Tina has helped over 500 young children get off the streets and away from child-prostitution. I wonder what Anne Keehn, the Freedom Award’s receipeint of the Anne Templeton Award would have said if she had joined in on their conversation. For those of you who do not know Anne Keehn, Anne has worked hard against the human trafficking fight in Asia. My friend Pam Michell, founder of ‘Survivor On A Mission’, and a survivor extraordinaire of human slavery surely would have had Jeff Bezos standing in front of the world apologizing for Amazon’s poor decision making if he had known of my wonderful friend’s plight. I wonder what type of legal argument my very astute friend and 'recovering lawyer' Brett Moore, no novice to fighting fights for those who can't defend themselves, would had said to Jeff Bezos with respect to how a 'how to book' that promotes and depicts criminal acts was a breach of Amazon's by-laws. Oh, that would have been very interesting. And surely, Mr. Bezos would have acted quickly if he had ever seen the holding pens, essentially chicken-coops, that young Asian boys and girls are held in certain parts of the world.

Well yesterday afternoon and throughout the evening, the voices of good citizenship and good parenting rose up and were heard. This filth that exploited our children was removed.

There is no question there is so much more to be done. Crimes that against children are not to be tolerated First Amendment or no First Amendment.

And if you’re wondering what the name of the book Amazon was selling was, I purposefully did not write it down.

Lastly, if you are a parent, make today a uniquely special day, and celebrate your child or children!

And never take these days for granted. Trust me, Chasing The Cyclone is something you never want to do.

Boycott Amazon Until They Stop Selling Pedophilia Book

Over the past few years of my life, I have worked very hard to raise awareness regarding the safety and welfare of children everywhere. My actions stem from my own experience as a chasing parent. Fortunately, my efforts were successful; however, along the way I have met too many parents that have not been, and, I have meet to many individuals connected to the horrors evolving around human trafficking.

One of the things that I have known all along, and what most sane individuals realize too is that the promotion of pedophilia and adult-child physical love is beyond sick.

Today, word reached me that Amazon is selling a book that promotes pedophilia. That is right: AMAZON!!!!!!

In defiance of what Amazon is doing, a boycott has sprung to life. The numbers are growing furiously fast.

I ask that you say 'NO' to Amazon until they remove this book I will not name, but will only provide its KINDLE ASIN Number so not to promote it here, either. It is ASIN B0049U4CF6

I also ask that you write to Jeff Bezos, a father and CEO of Amazon, and let him know that First Amendment or No First Amendment, the laws of good parenting and good citizenship override everything else. And beside, Amazon has the right to remove or not sell anything they find inappropriate.

I am Peter Thomas Senese, a child abduction prevention advocate and the author of multiple books including 'Chasing The Cyclone'.

Peter Thomas Senese and Carolyn Ann Vlk Release Glaring Report On International Parental Child Abduction Crisis In America (November, 2010)

Child abduction prevention advocates Carolyn Ann Vlk and Peter Thomas Senese released today ‘Crisis In America: International Parental Child Abduction Today’ (2010). The far-reaching study focuses on the growing rate of international parental child abduction in America, while analyzing previous studies and erroneous reporting methodologies responsible for past reporting inaccuracies.

The number of reported cases of illegal cross-border parental child abduction for fiscal year 2009 as reported to Congress was 1,639 cases. This represents more than doubled the number of cases in America since 2006. However, according to Peter Senese and Carolyn Vlk, the staggering growth rates and unprecedented number of reported cases of international child abductions does not accurately represent the magnitude of the crisis in America. Citing an assortment of statistics on population growth, migratory immigration population trends, and other select criteria, the report’s writers offer a realistic and alarming picture on abduction rates in America.

Carolyn Ann Vlk is the drafter of Florida’s Child Abduction Prevention Act now law in Florida. Carolyn is a segment writer and producer of ‘Chasing Parents: Racing Into The Storms Of International Parental Child Abduction’. Peter Thomas Senese is the author of the upcoming book on abduction titled ‘Chasing The Cyclone’ and the creator, writer, and narrator of the international documentary film educational series ‘Chasing Parents: Racing Into The Storms Of International Parental Child Abduction. He is also a successful Chasing Parent.

To read ‘Crisis In America: International Parental Child Abduction Today (2010), please visit the following websites:
www.chasingthecyclone.com
www.internationalparentalchildabduciton.info
www.peterthomassenese.com

Chasing The Cyclone author Peter Thomas and Florida’s CAPA Law Architect Release Prevent Departure Program Film.

Child abduction prevention advocates Carolyn Vlk and Peter Thomas Senese are pleased to announce the addition of the ‘Prevent Departure Program’ to the ‘CHASING PARENT: Racing Into The Storms Of International Parental Child Abduction’ documentary film series produced by Pacifica TWST. According to the two advocates, the little-known ‘Prevent Departure Program’ may be one of America’s most useful and powerful tools capable of preventing international parental child abduction.
In a joint statement, Ms. Carolyn Vlk and Mr. Peter Senese said “ The ‘Prevent Departure Program’ may be one of the most important tools available for targeted parents at risk of having their child internationally abducted. It is critical that targeted parents and individuals at the forefront of this great battle understand its existence and potential implementation. It is our hope and anticipation that by creating this important segment in the ‘Chasing Parent’ documentary series, we have made accessible critical information parents and lawyers need in order to protect our nation’s children.”

Carolyn Ann Vlk, who drafted Florida’s ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ law, and Peter Thomas Senese, the author of ‘Chasing The Cyclone’ and the creator of the ‘CHASING PARENT’ educational documentary on international child abduction are committed to raising society’s awareness and understanding on the growing epidemic of international parental child abduction while also calling for new abduction prevention laws and having existing child abduction prevention laws fully implemented and utilized.

With over 1, 600 reported cases of U.S. child-citizens criminally abducted from America in 2009 alone (the year of the last reported data), it is clear that creating and enforcing child abduction prevention programs and laws are critical to protecting our nation’s defenseless children. Since 2006, the number of reported international child abductions has doubled. The vast majority of these children are never returned, as is best demonstrated that there are over 230 American children illegally detained in Japan due to their abduction. Japan has never returned a U.S. child-citizen abducted to their country.

The actual complete picture on international parental child abduction is much more grim.

As Carolyn Vlk and Peter Thomas Senese have pointed out in previous published reports, the number of actual international child abductions originating from the United States is substantially larger than what is reported due to a failure to weigh the large number of unreported international parental child abduction cases. This is discussed in the recently published report titled ‘Crisis in America: International Parental Child Abduction (2010 Updated).

The Prevent Departure Program may be used by the Department of State’s Office of Children’s Issues (OCI) in conjunction with the DHS in preventing the departure from the country of non-U.S. citizens considered to be either in the process or at high risk of abducting an American child-citizen.

The Prevent Departure Program documentary segment was directed by child advocate J.J. Rogers (D.G.A), and produced by Peter Senese and Carolyn Vlk. The film segment was narrated by Peter Thomas Senese.

To view the film segment of the Prevent Departure Program or to learn more about International Parental Child Abduction, please visit the official website of Chasing The Cyclone (www.chasingthecyclone.com).

At risk parents of child abduction or their lawyers should contact the Department of State’s Office of Children’s Issues Abduction Prevention Unit in Washington, D.C.