Messages

[UK court rejects enforcement of prenuptial pacts]

UK court rejects enforcement of prenuptial pacts

By ROBERT BARR

LONDON (AP) — Prenup? Forget it for now in Britain.

A court ruling has made it worthwhile to wait at least until the honeymoon to thrash out the details of a separation.

In the case of two Americans who live in the British territory of the Isle of Man, judges on Wednesday affirmed the validity of arrangements made after the wedding, rebuffing the ex-wife's attempt to gain a larger share of her former husband's fortune than the pair had agreed to.

But the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council — the highest appeal court for British territories — also said it would keep to its rule that agreements made before a marriage are contrary to public policy, leaving it up to British lawmakers whether to follow the United States, Australia, Russia, Germany and others in recognizing prenuptial agreements.

Lawyers said the ruling was a disappointment for wealthy clients who are turning to such agreements to secure their fortunes in case of divorce.

Full Story: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i0E7aem6ih17ryV5XBHz2w3l_oCAD955BUHO0

[The Worst Ballot Challenge Of All]

The Worst Ballot Challenge Of All      
By Eric Kleefeld (http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/kleefeld) - December 18, 2008, 10:32PM
         
Looking back over today's meeting of the Minnesota state canvassing board, it's become painfully clear that Norm Coleman's big problem is that his ballot challenges are made up almost entirely of brazenly frivolous attempts to get votes for Al Franken thrown out. During the recount proper, that puffed up his apparent lead.

But now we're at the point where all those challenges are resolved-- in other words, he can't hide behind these tricks anymore. To be fair, Franken had his share of hopeless tries to toss Coleman votes, but it was nowhere near this bad.

This one might just be the worst of all. The Coleman campaign tried to get a vote for Franken thrown out because the voter had written on the ballot. What'd they write?

         "Thank you for counting my vote!"

Is there anything more that needs to be said?

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/the_worst_ballot_challenge_of.php

               

[Unbelievable. She wants $53,826 per week for doing....nothing.]

Unbelievable. She wants $53,826 per week for doing....nothing.

How to spend $53,826 a week without really trying

The estranged wife of United Technologies Corp.'s chairman George David filed a document with the court that shows that she requires $53,000 a week to support her lifestyle. If you're curious to see how one person can spend that much money a week, here's the PDF of the court filing (http://www.courant.com/media/acrobat/2008-12/44011085.pdf).

    Real estate accounts for a lot of it, including mortgage, maintenance fees, rent or other costs for a Park Avenue apartment, a Hamptons residence and several properties in Sweden.

    But travel ($8,000), clothing ($4,500), hair and skin care ($1,000), dry cleaning ($650) and flowers ($600), among many other items, contribute to the total.

    Dry cleaning does not include fur storage and cleaning ($45).

    And that's when Douglas-David is cutting back.

    "While recognizing that many of these expenses may seem high, most are lower than prior to the commencement of this case in August 2007," a footnote in her financial affidavit says.

Wife Of UTC's George David Has Expenses Of $53,000 A Week (http://www.courant.com/community/news/hfd/hc-david1218.artdec18,0,4768262.story)

[We recommend using Firefox: Get Firefox Now]

Microsoft has begun flooding media outlets with information advising users to switch to an alternate browser (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7784908.stm)while a serious security flaw is being patched. The flaw, which affectsall versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer, is manifested via malwareand has infected over 6000 sites thus far (http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Hackers-Compromise-Legit-Web-Sites-to-Target-Microsoft-IE-Flaw/).

Microsoft states: 'The vulnerability exists as an invalid pointer reference in the data-binding function (http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9123338)of Internet Explorer. When data binding is enabled (which is thedefault state), it is possible under certain conditions for an objectto be released without updating the array length, leaving the potentialto access the deleted object's memory space. This can cause InternetExplorer to exit unexpectedly, in a state that is exploitable.'"

According to the BBC report, though, Microsoft itself is only askingthat users be "vigilant while it investigated and prepared an emergencypatch"; it's outside experts who say to dump IE (at least for now).

[HIGHLIGHT=#ffff00]We recommend using Firefox: Get Firefox Now[/HIGHLIGHT] (http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/)

I see what you are saying, but I think here it is a hostile act, whereas there it is also symbolic. I don't know a ton about the Middle-eastern culture, but I think shoes are very symbolic.

The whole point was that we don't really need the newspapers to tell us that throwing shoes at someone might just possibly be considered an insult. I mean, seriously...each of them insisted on spelling it out for us as if we couldn't possibly understand it. They must all think that we're just unimaginably stoopid.

Sarcasm used to diagnose dementia

Sarcasm may be the lowest form of wit, but Australian scientists are using it to diagnose dementia (http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/2428/sarcasm-useful-detecting-dementia), according to a new study. Researchers at the University of New SouthWales, found that patients under the age of 65 suffering from frontotemporal dementia (FTD), the second most common form of dementia, cannot detect when someone is being sarcastic.

http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/2428/sarcasm-useful-detecting-dementia

[Not like here in the west, where it's a gesture of affection.]

On the heels (ha ha) of the now-notorious incident in which an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at some guy named George Bush, the world press has rushed to tell us that throwing shoes is a really bad thing in the Arab world. Not like here in the west, where it's a gesture of affection.

"In Arab cultures, throwing shoes is a grave show of disrespect." —Bloomberg.com (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aabFVZj4gc4g&refer=home)

"The act is an Arab symbol of contempt." —Christian Science Monitor (http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1215/p25s06-wome.html)

"Throwing shoes at somebody is a supreme insult in the Middle East." —Reuters (http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2008/12/14/africa/OUKWD-UK-IRAQ-BUSH.php)

"In Iraqi culture, throwing shoes at someone is a sign of contempt." —Associated Press (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iTki_d652tvHLYQvaRlelGq64GoQD952NAD00)


Those Mysterious Easterners, So Different From You and Me (http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/010871.html)

Thank you for your kind words!

I really think the staff and folks that come here who make SPARC it what it is. The gang here (TGB, Maury, Olanna, and Kent) do most of the heavy lifting. My biggest contribution is just staying out of the way. :)  

Thank you again for all you've said- it's always nice to hear that people find the site useful!

-Waylon



>I just wanted to take a minute here and thank you...for this
>site and the services provided here. There really is nothing
>like it on the net. There are so many horrible things going on
>in this world but it's a huge comfort for those facing
>parental court cases (and other parental issues), to come here
>and get, hopefully, what is needed.
>I would have never thought 8 years ago when I first met my
>soon-to-be husband that such a site was needed, let alone, on
>the net at all. I don't post as much any more, but am here
>daily..reading the forums, checking the chat room for old
>friends, etc.....with every click, I learn something new.
>
>So, thank you and bless you and yours for everything you (and
>the SPARC staff) do for parents!
>
>"You are the wind beneath my wings" (and many others too~)

>One other ? When we log into this Forum will we automatically
>log into the chat room as on the other Forum? or is that to
>remain in the future?

The chat room and the message boards are completely different systems and will remain that way for the foreseeable future.

>OK, Forum is great,, is there going to be a new chatroom as
>well? :)

We're going to keep the current, although it'll be modified somewhat. You most likely won't notice any difference.