Georgia Military Divorce Attorney - NV Supreme Court upholds Mack divorce settlement
Associated Press Writer
RENO, Nev.—The Nevada Supreme Court upheld a divorce settlement Thursday ordering convicted killer Darren Mack to pay more than $1 million to the estate of his slain wife.
In a nine-page ruling, justices rejected arguments by Mack's attorneys that the settlement was invalid because it was only verbally consented to, but never signed, before Charla Mack was killed on June 12, 2006.
Mack, a former wealthy Reno pawn shop owner, was sentenced last year to 36 years to life for killing his estranged wife and shooting Washoe Family Court Judge Chuck Weller, who handled their contentious divorce.
Court records show Darren and Charla Mack met with Weller in January 2006 to discuss a possible settlement. A tentative agreement disintegrated in a May 2006, but Weller, based on the couple's earlier verbal acceptance of deal, ordered the settlement to be entered.
The following month, Charla Mack was stabbed to death and Weller was shot, and the divorce papers were never signed.
In 2007, District Judge David Huff of Yerington, finalized the settlement retroactively. He ordered Mack to pay $480,000 in cash and $500,000 over a period of five years.
Darren Mack appealed.
During arguments before the Nevada Supreme Court in November, lawyer Julia Islas said Charla's death terminated the divorce proceedings, leaving the court no jurisdiction to complete the settlement.
But Egan Walker, representing Charla's estate and survivors, including the couple's young daughter, argued it would be wrong to allow Mack to escape the settlement obligation by killing his wife.
The high court agreed, saying under Nevada's slayer statute, Mack "may not benefit from his wrongful act of killing Charla."
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
Augusta Military Divorce Attorney - Obama phasing out military's 'stop-loss' policies
Augusta Military Divorce Attorney - Obama phasing out military's 'stop-loss' policies
After invading Iraq without the troops adequate to maintain order, then-President George W. Bush resisted advice to expand the military to ease the strain on weary soldiers. Instead, the administration extended their tours to 15 months from 12. When that failed to fix the problem, the Pentagon told soldiers they had to stay in the military, even after they fulfilled their commitments.
The result was a military stretched to the point of breaking. Prolonged exposure to combat and separation from their families took a toll on soldiers trapped by the new "stop-loss" policies. Suicide and divorce rates rose.
The Obama administration has rightly given high priority to ending the abuse of stop-loss.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last week that he will phase out most of the program over the next two years. Currently, 13,100 soldiers are covered by the policy as well as 4,400 National Guardsmen and 1,450 reservists.
Gates also promised to provide an extra $500 per month to troops affected by stop-loss, retroactive to last October. Congress approved $72 million for the payments last fall, but Army leaders had been reluctant to distribute the money because they feared it would discourage re-enlistments.
Gates' commitment to ending stop-loss is partly inspired by a surge in recruits caused by the recession and rising unemployment. The administration also is reducing troop levels in Iraq faster than it is increasing the deployments to Afghanistan.
Such practical considerations are a necessary element of the administration's decisionmaking. But practical considerations should not overshadow the obligation this country has to end a cruel and unsustainable policy.
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
After invading Iraq without the troops adequate to maintain order, then-President George W. Bush resisted advice to expand the military to ease the strain on weary soldiers. Instead, the administration extended their tours to 15 months from 12. When that failed to fix the problem, the Pentagon told soldiers they had to stay in the military, even after they fulfilled their commitments.
The result was a military stretched to the point of breaking. Prolonged exposure to combat and separation from their families took a toll on soldiers trapped by the new "stop-loss" policies. Suicide and divorce rates rose.
The Obama administration has rightly given high priority to ending the abuse of stop-loss.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last week that he will phase out most of the program over the next two years. Currently, 13,100 soldiers are covered by the policy as well as 4,400 National Guardsmen and 1,450 reservists.
Gates also promised to provide an extra $500 per month to troops affected by stop-loss, retroactive to last October. Congress approved $72 million for the payments last fall, but Army leaders had been reluctant to distribute the money because they feared it would discourage re-enlistments.
Gates' commitment to ending stop-loss is partly inspired by a surge in recruits caused by the recession and rising unemployment. The administration also is reducing troop levels in Iraq faster than it is increasing the deployments to Afghanistan.
Such practical considerations are a necessary element of the administration's decisionmaking. But practical considerations should not overshadow the obligation this country has to end a cruel and unsustainable policy.
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
Augusta Military Divorce Attorney - Wife Demands $100M in Divorce Trial
Augusta Military Divorce Attorney - Wife Demands $100M in Divorce Trial
Marie Douglas-David Says She Has $53,000 in Weekly Expenses; Wants $100M in Divorce
By JAY SHAYLOR and SCOTT MICHELS
During a time when many of the country's rich and famous are tactfully hiding their lavish spending, David vs. Douglas-David, an ugly divorce case playing out this week in family court in Hartford, Conn., stands out for its made-for-the-tabloids tales of excess.
Marie Douglas-David, a Swedish countess and former investment analyst, says she should not have to live on the roughly $38 million her estranged husband has offered her as part of a divorce settlement. She is asking for about $100 million from former United Technologies CEO George David, 66, plus $130,000 a month in alimony.
Douglas-David, who left her high-level job at a New York investment bank after she married David, wants a judge to throw out a 2005 postnuptial agreement that entitled her to an estimated $38 million in cash, stock and a Park Avenue apartment, saying she was coerced into signing it.
Though the case hinges on the validity of that agreement, the trial has revealed some of the sordid details of the couple's on-again, off- again romance and their lavish spending amid the worst economic crisis since the 1930s. David is worth an estimated $329 million.
David Divorce: Tales of Lavish Spending
Both sides have accused each other of cheating; he with a woman he met at a flower shop and she with a Swedish fencing champion. David filed for divorce at least four times in seven years. Douglas-David told the New York Post that David's repeated divorce filings were followed by makeup trysts and that he used sex to control her.
William Beslow, one of Douglas-David's lawyers, who has worked divorce cases for Tatum O'Neal and Marla Maples, said that one of David's divorce filings was served to his wife when she was suffering from abdominal pain and preparing to undergo an endoscopy.
David claims his wife tried to divorce him during Christmas.
"I think it's about revenge. I think it's about hate. I think it's about anger," said Wendy Jaffe, a Beverly Hills, Calif., attorney and the author of "The Divorce Lawyers Guide to Staying Married."
"She's 36 years old. She's beautiful. She's bright. She's entitled to a lot of money. She could have a phenomenal future in front of her if she'd put the divorce behind her and move on," Jaffe said.
Marie Douglas-David: Spends $53,000 a Week
Then there's the money. Douglas-David said in court papers that she has no income but expenses of more than $53,000 a week -- more than the annual income of the average American household. At that rate, she claims she would spend $38 million in less than 15 years.
Her court filings note that her spending "may seem high," but her expenses are lower than they were before the divorce was filed in August 2007.
Her weekly expenses include $23,000 to maintain properties in Manhattan, the Hamptons and Sweden. In Detroit, where the median home price is $7,500, that would buy three houses a week.
Douglas-David also said she spends $2,200 a week for a personal assistant; $1,000 for hair and skin care; $600 for flowers; and $4,500 for clothing -- the equivalent of buying 13 pairs of jeans at the Gap every day.
There's also the $8,000 a week in travel, enough for a round-trip coach ticket from New York to Sweden every day.
David's lawyers say Douglas-David threatened to drag his name through the mud.
"She threatened him with a mud fight if he did not give her everything that she ever asked for and there was a limit to his tolerance to those demands as the marriage deteriorated over time," said Anne Dranginis, one of David's attorneys.
"Like in every marriage, there are failures of understanding. There are differences of perceptions," Dranginis said. "It is possible to get divorced almost anywhere and keep those things private. Only when there's the intent to manipulate a person or system that this unseemly kind of testimony becomes public."
Marriage Made in Hell?
The couple married in 2002. Douglas-David's lawyers have argued that she was coerced into signing the postnup out of fear of being divorced without children.
Douglas-David told the New York Post that David told her that a 35-year-old without a child is a failure and that he didn't want to be associated with failure, which David denied in court.
David, for his part, said his wife threw terrible tirades, saying there was nonstop "verbal violence."
He testified that his wife seemed to feel that he and "everyone around me was inadequate, including my children."
"It has a pretty woman and a lot of money. Those are the two biggest ingredients" for a closely watched divorce trial, said Raoul Felder, a celebrity divorce lawyer.
"Other than that, this case is basically a case of sour grapes. Nobody's going to have much sympathy for this woman who's going to have to struggle by with only [$38] million," he said. "It sounds like a marriage made in hell anyway."
For nearly three years, they've lived apart; David in a $2.6 million Connecticut estate and Douglas-David in a $29 million Manhattan apartment,according to court filings.
Neither seems willing to give up without a fight. Asked whether he had any regrets, David told ABC News outside the courthouse, "No, absolutely not. None."
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
Marie Douglas-David Says She Has $53,000 in Weekly Expenses; Wants $100M in Divorce
By JAY SHAYLOR and SCOTT MICHELS
During a time when many of the country's rich and famous are tactfully hiding their lavish spending, David vs. Douglas-David, an ugly divorce case playing out this week in family court in Hartford, Conn., stands out for its made-for-the-tabloids tales of excess.
Marie Douglas-David, a Swedish countess and former investment analyst, says she should not have to live on the roughly $38 million her estranged husband has offered her as part of a divorce settlement. She is asking for about $100 million from former United Technologies CEO George David, 66, plus $130,000 a month in alimony.
Douglas-David, who left her high-level job at a New York investment bank after she married David, wants a judge to throw out a 2005 postnuptial agreement that entitled her to an estimated $38 million in cash, stock and a Park Avenue apartment, saying she was coerced into signing it.
Though the case hinges on the validity of that agreement, the trial has revealed some of the sordid details of the couple's on-again, off- again romance and their lavish spending amid the worst economic crisis since the 1930s. David is worth an estimated $329 million.
David Divorce: Tales of Lavish Spending
Both sides have accused each other of cheating; he with a woman he met at a flower shop and she with a Swedish fencing champion. David filed for divorce at least four times in seven years. Douglas-David told the New York Post that David's repeated divorce filings were followed by makeup trysts and that he used sex to control her.
William Beslow, one of Douglas-David's lawyers, who has worked divorce cases for Tatum O'Neal and Marla Maples, said that one of David's divorce filings was served to his wife when she was suffering from abdominal pain and preparing to undergo an endoscopy.
David claims his wife tried to divorce him during Christmas.
"I think it's about revenge. I think it's about hate. I think it's about anger," said Wendy Jaffe, a Beverly Hills, Calif., attorney and the author of "The Divorce Lawyers Guide to Staying Married."
"She's 36 years old. She's beautiful. She's bright. She's entitled to a lot of money. She could have a phenomenal future in front of her if she'd put the divorce behind her and move on," Jaffe said.
Marie Douglas-David: Spends $53,000 a Week
Then there's the money. Douglas-David said in court papers that she has no income but expenses of more than $53,000 a week -- more than the annual income of the average American household. At that rate, she claims she would spend $38 million in less than 15 years.
Her court filings note that her spending "may seem high," but her expenses are lower than they were before the divorce was filed in August 2007.
Her weekly expenses include $23,000 to maintain properties in Manhattan, the Hamptons and Sweden. In Detroit, where the median home price is $7,500, that would buy three houses a week.
Douglas-David also said she spends $2,200 a week for a personal assistant; $1,000 for hair and skin care; $600 for flowers; and $4,500 for clothing -- the equivalent of buying 13 pairs of jeans at the Gap every day.
There's also the $8,000 a week in travel, enough for a round-trip coach ticket from New York to Sweden every day.
David's lawyers say Douglas-David threatened to drag his name through the mud.
"She threatened him with a mud fight if he did not give her everything that she ever asked for and there was a limit to his tolerance to those demands as the marriage deteriorated over time," said Anne Dranginis, one of David's attorneys.
"Like in every marriage, there are failures of understanding. There are differences of perceptions," Dranginis said. "It is possible to get divorced almost anywhere and keep those things private. Only when there's the intent to manipulate a person or system that this unseemly kind of testimony becomes public."
Marriage Made in Hell?
The couple married in 2002. Douglas-David's lawyers have argued that she was coerced into signing the postnup out of fear of being divorced without children.
Douglas-David told the New York Post that David told her that a 35-year-old without a child is a failure and that he didn't want to be associated with failure, which David denied in court.
David, for his part, said his wife threw terrible tirades, saying there was nonstop "verbal violence."
He testified that his wife seemed to feel that he and "everyone around me was inadequate, including my children."
"It has a pretty woman and a lot of money. Those are the two biggest ingredients" for a closely watched divorce trial, said Raoul Felder, a celebrity divorce lawyer.
"Other than that, this case is basically a case of sour grapes. Nobody's going to have much sympathy for this woman who's going to have to struggle by with only [$38] million," he said. "It sounds like a marriage made in hell anyway."
For nearly three years, they've lived apart; David in a $2.6 million Connecticut estate and Douglas-David in a $29 million Manhattan apartment,according to court filings.
Neither seems willing to give up without a fight. Asked whether he had any regrets, David told ABC News outside the courthouse, "No, absolutely not. None."
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
Augusta Military Divorce Lawyer - 'CSI': Helgenberger files for divorce
Augusta Military Divorce Lawyer - 'CSI': Helgenberger files for divorce
by Sean Smith
Marg Helgenberger, star of the CBS series CSI has filed for divorce from her husband, Alan Rosenberg, the president of the Screen Actors Guild, the Associated Press reports. Helgenberger, 50, filed her petition for divorce in Los Angeles on Tuesday, citing irreconcilable differences. The two actors were married in 1989, and have one son. As president of SAG, Rosenberg, 58, has been engaged in a protracted battle over the last year with Hollywood producers, attempting to negotiate a new SAG labor contract.
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
by Sean Smith
Marg Helgenberger, star of the CBS series CSI has filed for divorce from her husband, Alan Rosenberg, the president of the Screen Actors Guild, the Associated Press reports. Helgenberger, 50, filed her petition for divorce in Los Angeles on Tuesday, citing irreconcilable differences. The two actors were married in 1989, and have one son. As president of SAG, Rosenberg, 58, has been engaged in a protracted battle over the last year with Hollywood producers, attempting to negotiate a new SAG labor contract.
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
Augusta Military Divorce Attorney - Strong Bonds weekend delivers tools for stronger marriages
Augusta Military Divorce Attorney - Strong Bonds weekend delivers tools for stronger marriages
By Sgt. 1st Class Mark Bell
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - With the sounds of the nearby Atlantic Ocean waves crashing the sandy beaches, more than 50 couples renewed their wedding vows during the finale of a three-day marriage retreat weekend.
Sponsored by the 81st Regional Support Command, the Strong Bonds' Marriage Enrichment Workshop brought 72 Army Reserve Soldiers and their spouses to the island resort recently.
The weekend kicked off with a welcome from Maj. Gen. Charles E. Gorton, the 81st RSC commanding general, who stressed the importance of family in today's Army Reserve.
"First and foremost, I want to thank you for making the choice to be here," Gorton told the attentive participants. "By being here, you are showing your spouse and family that you are dedicated to a more enriched family life."
With couples in attendance ranging from newlyweds of less than four months to more than 20 years together, Gorton said, like them, he owes most of his military success to his wife.
"Without her, I wouldn't be here today," he said. "She has stood by me throughout my long military career. Our spouses are our number one fans."
After Gorton's brief inspirational speech, it was down to the business of helping Army families grow stronger.
The chaplain-led program helps Soldiers and their families build strong relationships, said Chaplain (Maj.) Ike Eweama, the 81st RSC Family Life Chaplain.
"The program's mission is to build Soldier readiness by providing skills the Soldier can use to strengthen his or her marriage and other relationships," he said.
Eweama said the program is important because the Army is only as strong as the Army Family.
"Soldiers who are strong at home in their relationships are strong in the Army," he said. "American Soldiers, being members of the world's premier fighting force, sacrifice for our country every day and so do their loved ones."
He said the military life puts extreme hardship on relationships, especially in wartime. So the Army, backed by Congress, has committed unprecedented resources to help Soldiers build stronger relationships through the Strong Bonds Program.
Eweama said he hopes participants reap the great benefits that Strong Bonds was meant to give the couples.
"The essence of Strong Bonds is to empower Soldiers and their loved ones with relationship-building skills, and connect them to community health and support resources," he said. "It is a holistic, preventative program committed to the restoration and preservation of Army families, even those near crisis."
The Strong Bonds program is one way of saying thanks to service members and their Families for the sacrifices they make every day, Eweama said.
"Because we understand the stresses of military life, we want to serve them through an off-post, Strong Bonds weekend retreat," he said. "Every attendee at these events will gain skills that fortify their marriage and relationships by enjoying a time of relaxation, recreation, fellowship and fun."
Eweama said although the program is not a psychotherapeutic session, it is very important because of the increasing demands placed on Army Families and Soldiers, including frequent deployments and relocations. Intimate relationships are tested and many marriages end in divorce.
"Research shows that training in communication, intimacy and conflict management increases marriage satisfaction and reduces rates of family violence," he said.
Gorton said he hopes that what couples take back with them to their homes is the ability to better communicate and understand each other.
"Some couples think it is easy to communicate, but I can tell you from personal experience it isn't a simple process," Gorton said. "I want our Families to understand each other and realize the importance each brings to the relationship."
Gorton said without strong Army Families, the Army Reserve wouldn't be the force it is today.
"We owe it to all of our Soldiers and their spouses to give them the tools to succeed at home," he said. "They are our Family as well."
Bookmark & ShareDeliciousDiggFacebookMySpaceYahoo BuzzSee All...DeliciousDiggDiigoFacebookFriendFeedGoogle BookmarksLinkedInLiveMixxmyAOLMySpaceNewsvineRedditStumbleUponTechnoratiTwitterYahoo Buzz
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
By Sgt. 1st Class Mark Bell
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - With the sounds of the nearby Atlantic Ocean waves crashing the sandy beaches, more than 50 couples renewed their wedding vows during the finale of a three-day marriage retreat weekend.
Sponsored by the 81st Regional Support Command, the Strong Bonds' Marriage Enrichment Workshop brought 72 Army Reserve Soldiers and their spouses to the island resort recently.
The weekend kicked off with a welcome from Maj. Gen. Charles E. Gorton, the 81st RSC commanding general, who stressed the importance of family in today's Army Reserve.
"First and foremost, I want to thank you for making the choice to be here," Gorton told the attentive participants. "By being here, you are showing your spouse and family that you are dedicated to a more enriched family life."
With couples in attendance ranging from newlyweds of less than four months to more than 20 years together, Gorton said, like them, he owes most of his military success to his wife.
"Without her, I wouldn't be here today," he said. "She has stood by me throughout my long military career. Our spouses are our number one fans."
After Gorton's brief inspirational speech, it was down to the business of helping Army families grow stronger.
The chaplain-led program helps Soldiers and their families build strong relationships, said Chaplain (Maj.) Ike Eweama, the 81st RSC Family Life Chaplain.
"The program's mission is to build Soldier readiness by providing skills the Soldier can use to strengthen his or her marriage and other relationships," he said.
Eweama said the program is important because the Army is only as strong as the Army Family.
"Soldiers who are strong at home in their relationships are strong in the Army," he said. "American Soldiers, being members of the world's premier fighting force, sacrifice for our country every day and so do their loved ones."
He said the military life puts extreme hardship on relationships, especially in wartime. So the Army, backed by Congress, has committed unprecedented resources to help Soldiers build stronger relationships through the Strong Bonds Program.
Eweama said he hopes participants reap the great benefits that Strong Bonds was meant to give the couples.
"The essence of Strong Bonds is to empower Soldiers and their loved ones with relationship-building skills, and connect them to community health and support resources," he said. "It is a holistic, preventative program committed to the restoration and preservation of Army families, even those near crisis."
The Strong Bonds program is one way of saying thanks to service members and their Families for the sacrifices they make every day, Eweama said.
"Because we understand the stresses of military life, we want to serve them through an off-post, Strong Bonds weekend retreat," he said. "Every attendee at these events will gain skills that fortify their marriage and relationships by enjoying a time of relaxation, recreation, fellowship and fun."
Eweama said although the program is not a psychotherapeutic session, it is very important because of the increasing demands placed on Army Families and Soldiers, including frequent deployments and relocations. Intimate relationships are tested and many marriages end in divorce.
"Research shows that training in communication, intimacy and conflict management increases marriage satisfaction and reduces rates of family violence," he said.
Gorton said he hopes that what couples take back with them to their homes is the ability to better communicate and understand each other.
"Some couples think it is easy to communicate, but I can tell you from personal experience it isn't a simple process," Gorton said. "I want our Families to understand each other and realize the importance each brings to the relationship."
Gorton said without strong Army Families, the Army Reserve wouldn't be the force it is today.
"We owe it to all of our Soldiers and their spouses to give them the tools to succeed at home," he said. "They are our Family as well."
Bookmark & ShareDeliciousDiggFacebookMySpaceYahoo BuzzSee All...DeliciousDiggDiigoFacebookFriendFeedGoogle BookmarksLinkedInLiveMixxmyAOLMySpaceNewsvineRedditStumbleUponTechnoratiTwitterYahoo Buzz
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
Augusta Military Divorce Attorney - A looming social crisis
Augusta Military Divorce Attorney - A looming social crisis
by Kim Yong-hak
Once a social crisis breaks out, it can take decades to overcome.
When the Asian financial crisis hit Korea in 1998, an academic seminar was held in Hawaii where sociologists had a series of animated discussions. They talked about whether Korea was facing a social crisis in the wake of the economic crisis. A group of scholars made a diagnosis that the country was indeed in the throes of such a crisis, and presented statistics to back up the claim. Crimes such as scams and robberies were on the rise. Families were falling apart and the divorce rate was rising. One cold-blooded father even cut off his son’s finger in order to claim insurance money. This group maintained that these were symptoms of a disease gripping our society, causing our social standards and norms to be abandoned.
Although we were few in number, some socialists including myself rejected that theory. We saw that those numbers had been on the rise for a long time and that the recent increases were not much bigger than the usual growth rate in those areas. Extreme cases such as immoral acts within families had always existed. We maintained that it was wrong to use those cases as evidence to proclaim that society was in the grip of a crisis. Jumping to that conclusion too easily would in fact mean that we would be dealing with a crisis of crisis theories. Fortunately, we were able to overcome the economic problems at the time and the theory that Korea was in a social crisis disappeared.
That was all well and good, but these days I fear we may actually be facing such a social crisis because of the current economic meltdown.
A social crisis is much more serious than an economic one. Once it breaks out, it could take decades to overcome. For instance, during the period when we were battling against military rule, we developed a tendency to ignore public law enforcement. That is a serious chronic disease that our society has yet to cure.
Pathological problems in society are persistent and hard to correct. Once a family falls apart, it is nearly impossible to restore.
The current situation is different from the financial crisis in several respects, making social problems more of a concern this time around. It is not only because of the economic outlook that the current troubles will persist.
The real issue is how people respond to the economic turmoil. During the financial crisis, the people united. The grass roots were standing on the edge of a cliff, barely managing to eke out a living. Still, they joined together and were able to overcome.
But people are now having difficulty finding reasons to work together. The crisis cannot be overcome simply with hard work. Korea is seeing a string of confrontations between different ideologies. The National Assembly is in chaos. Many different sectors of society are clashing over the Yongsan tragedy, in which evictees and a police officer died in the course of protests.
Another difference is that the gap between the rich and the poor is greater than it used to be. In 1997, our society was relatively equal. When incomes were categorized into five different levels, the highest level earned around four times more than the lowest group. Now, the top group earns 7.6 times more than the lowest when the difference between rural and urban areas is taken into consideration.
The economic crisis will hit the bottom class hardest and the gap between the top and the bottom classes will certainly grow.
Despite these circumstances, we are focusing too much attention on economic indicators such as exchange rates, stock indexes and interest rates. We don’t hear the silent cries from the other side of the economic downturn, cries which herald the looming social crisis.
Social norms will collapse, families will abandon their children, housewives will prostitute themselves and we will see more domestic violence and a surge in the divorce rate. We will see an increase in suicides and crimes, and distrust of society and hatred for the social order will grow.
Another symptom is unemployment, which hurts the pride of the family breadwinner and gives rise to income polarization and the weak resenting the powerful.
It is not too late. We need to collect information related to the state of our society, analyze the trends and prepare measures with which to respond.
A social crisis will descend upon us before we know it. We need to be sensitive to its progress, and we need to find ways to handle a third economic crisis that may hit us in the future.
The crisis we’re facing now is of the type that cannot be overcome simply by checking economic indicators.
*The writer is a professor of sociology at Yonsei University. Translation by the JoongAng Daily staff.
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
by Kim Yong-hak
Once a social crisis breaks out, it can take decades to overcome.
When the Asian financial crisis hit Korea in 1998, an academic seminar was held in Hawaii where sociologists had a series of animated discussions. They talked about whether Korea was facing a social crisis in the wake of the economic crisis. A group of scholars made a diagnosis that the country was indeed in the throes of such a crisis, and presented statistics to back up the claim. Crimes such as scams and robberies were on the rise. Families were falling apart and the divorce rate was rising. One cold-blooded father even cut off his son’s finger in order to claim insurance money. This group maintained that these were symptoms of a disease gripping our society, causing our social standards and norms to be abandoned.
Although we were few in number, some socialists including myself rejected that theory. We saw that those numbers had been on the rise for a long time and that the recent increases were not much bigger than the usual growth rate in those areas. Extreme cases such as immoral acts within families had always existed. We maintained that it was wrong to use those cases as evidence to proclaim that society was in the grip of a crisis. Jumping to that conclusion too easily would in fact mean that we would be dealing with a crisis of crisis theories. Fortunately, we were able to overcome the economic problems at the time and the theory that Korea was in a social crisis disappeared.
That was all well and good, but these days I fear we may actually be facing such a social crisis because of the current economic meltdown.
A social crisis is much more serious than an economic one. Once it breaks out, it could take decades to overcome. For instance, during the period when we were battling against military rule, we developed a tendency to ignore public law enforcement. That is a serious chronic disease that our society has yet to cure.
Pathological problems in society are persistent and hard to correct. Once a family falls apart, it is nearly impossible to restore.
The current situation is different from the financial crisis in several respects, making social problems more of a concern this time around. It is not only because of the economic outlook that the current troubles will persist.
The real issue is how people respond to the economic turmoil. During the financial crisis, the people united. The grass roots were standing on the edge of a cliff, barely managing to eke out a living. Still, they joined together and were able to overcome.
But people are now having difficulty finding reasons to work together. The crisis cannot be overcome simply with hard work. Korea is seeing a string of confrontations between different ideologies. The National Assembly is in chaos. Many different sectors of society are clashing over the Yongsan tragedy, in which evictees and a police officer died in the course of protests.
Another difference is that the gap between the rich and the poor is greater than it used to be. In 1997, our society was relatively equal. When incomes were categorized into five different levels, the highest level earned around four times more than the lowest group. Now, the top group earns 7.6 times more than the lowest when the difference between rural and urban areas is taken into consideration.
The economic crisis will hit the bottom class hardest and the gap between the top and the bottom classes will certainly grow.
Despite these circumstances, we are focusing too much attention on economic indicators such as exchange rates, stock indexes and interest rates. We don’t hear the silent cries from the other side of the economic downturn, cries which herald the looming social crisis.
Social norms will collapse, families will abandon their children, housewives will prostitute themselves and we will see more domestic violence and a surge in the divorce rate. We will see an increase in suicides and crimes, and distrust of society and hatred for the social order will grow.
Another symptom is unemployment, which hurts the pride of the family breadwinner and gives rise to income polarization and the weak resenting the powerful.
It is not too late. We need to collect information related to the state of our society, analyze the trends and prepare measures with which to respond.
A social crisis will descend upon us before we know it. We need to be sensitive to its progress, and we need to find ways to handle a third economic crisis that may hit us in the future.
The crisis we’re facing now is of the type that cannot be overcome simply by checking economic indicators.
*The writer is a professor of sociology at Yonsei University. Translation by the JoongAng Daily staff.
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
Augusta Military Divorce Attorney - Winehouse 'Won't Let' Husband Divorce Her
Augusta Military Divorce Attorney - Winehouse 'Won't Let' Husband Divorce Her
Amy Winehouse has slammed rumors she has given up on her marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil, insisting she "still loves" her husband and wants to make a new life with him in London.
Fielder-Civil, who has been serving a time in jail for breaking the terms of his probation, filed for divorce in January.
The singer was subsequently reported to be fighting to save their relationship, even flying back from a holiday in the Caribbean after hearing he had been released from prison.
Recent rumors suggested the singer had given up hope of repairing the damaged relationship after Fielder-Civil confirmed his plans to divorce the star.
But Winehouse has come out in defense of her marriage, announcing she has always planned to reconcile with her estranged partner.
She tells Britain's Now magazine, "I still love Blake and I want him to move into my new house with me -- that was my plan all along.
"I won't let him divorce me. He's the male version of me and we're perfect for each other."
The star has also hit back at claims she cheated on her husband during her recent sunshine break, insisting a holiday romance should not affect her relationship with Fielder-Civil.
She adds, "Alright, I had some fun with a lovely bloke in St. Lucia, but that was a holiday thing. I don't want anybody but Blake.
"I didn't want to go back to Britain until he was out of jail. I'd like to take him back to St. Lucia with me because that's where we spent our honeymoon and I know he loves it there."
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
Amy Winehouse has slammed rumors she has given up on her marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil, insisting she "still loves" her husband and wants to make a new life with him in London.
Fielder-Civil, who has been serving a time in jail for breaking the terms of his probation, filed for divorce in January.
The singer was subsequently reported to be fighting to save their relationship, even flying back from a holiday in the Caribbean after hearing he had been released from prison.
Recent rumors suggested the singer had given up hope of repairing the damaged relationship after Fielder-Civil confirmed his plans to divorce the star.
But Winehouse has come out in defense of her marriage, announcing she has always planned to reconcile with her estranged partner.
She tells Britain's Now magazine, "I still love Blake and I want him to move into my new house with me -- that was my plan all along.
"I won't let him divorce me. He's the male version of me and we're perfect for each other."
The star has also hit back at claims she cheated on her husband during her recent sunshine break, insisting a holiday romance should not affect her relationship with Fielder-Civil.
She adds, "Alright, I had some fun with a lovely bloke in St. Lucia, but that was a holiday thing. I don't want anybody but Blake.
"I didn't want to go back to Britain until he was out of jail. I'd like to take him back to St. Lucia with me because that's where we spent our honeymoon and I know he loves it there."
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
Augusta Militsry Divorce Attorney - Haggard says he suggested divorce after scandal
Augusta Militsry Divorce Attorney - Haggard says he suggested divorce after scandal
7 hours ago
DENVER (AP) — Disgraced pastor Ted Haggard says he wanted his wife to divorce him after a sex scandal involving another man, but she refused.
Haggard made the comments in a two-part episode of the syndicated television show "Divorce Court" to be broadcast April 1-2. The show released a partial transcript Tuesday.
Haggard resigned as pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs and as president of the National Association of Evangelicals after a male prostitute from Denver alleged a cash-for-sex relationship with him in November 2006.
Haggard confessed to "sexual immorality."
Both Haggard and his wife Gayle appear on "Divorce Court," but her comments about the possibility of a divorce weren't released.
Ted Haggard said he wasn't rejecting his wife but thought he had become so "toxic" that divorce was best for her and their children. He said she replied, "No way. I'm not going to do that."
The Haggards were to be paid an undisclosed amount for the "Divorce Court" appearance. It is the latest in a series of public appearances that started in January. He also has appeared on the "Oprah Winfrey Show" and "Larry King Live."
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
7 hours ago
DENVER (AP) — Disgraced pastor Ted Haggard says he wanted his wife to divorce him after a sex scandal involving another man, but she refused.
Haggard made the comments in a two-part episode of the syndicated television show "Divorce Court" to be broadcast April 1-2. The show released a partial transcript Tuesday.
Haggard resigned as pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs and as president of the National Association of Evangelicals after a male prostitute from Denver alleged a cash-for-sex relationship with him in November 2006.
Haggard confessed to "sexual immorality."
Both Haggard and his wife Gayle appear on "Divorce Court," but her comments about the possibility of a divorce weren't released.
Ted Haggard said he wasn't rejecting his wife but thought he had become so "toxic" that divorce was best for her and their children. He said she replied, "No way. I'm not going to do that."
The Haggards were to be paid an undisclosed amount for the "Divorce Court" appearance. It is the latest in a series of public appearances that started in January. He also has appeared on the "Oprah Winfrey Show" and "Larry King Live."
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
Augusta Military Divorce Attorney - United Tech chairman to continue divorce testimony
Augusta Military Divorce Attorney - United Tech chairman to continue divorce testimony
United Technologies Corp. Chairman George David will return to the witness stand as he fights his wife's efforts to win $100 million in their divorce trial in Connecticut.
The trial resumes Monday morning in Hartford Family Court.
The 67-year-old David testified Friday that he took his estranged wife, Marie Douglas-David, on extravagant vacations and showered her with jewelry in 2004 and 2005 as the couple tried to save their marriage.
But Douglas-David, a 36-year-old Swedish countess, says it was all part of his efforts to coerce her into signing a postnuptial agreement that would give her $43 million if they divorce. She's asking a judge to declare the agreement invalid.
The couple married in 2002 and do not have any children together. His net worth is estimated at nearly $300 million.
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
United Technologies Corp. Chairman George David will return to the witness stand as he fights his wife's efforts to win $100 million in their divorce trial in Connecticut.
The trial resumes Monday morning in Hartford Family Court.
The 67-year-old David testified Friday that he took his estranged wife, Marie Douglas-David, on extravagant vacations and showered her with jewelry in 2004 and 2005 as the couple tried to save their marriage.
But Douglas-David, a 36-year-old Swedish countess, says it was all part of his efforts to coerce her into signing a postnuptial agreement that would give her $43 million if they divorce. She's asking a judge to declare the agreement invalid.
The couple married in 2002 and do not have any children together. His net worth is estimated at nearly $300 million.
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
Augusta Military Divorce Attorney - Hip-hop flop Damon Dash's wife Rachel Roy files for divorce
Augusta Military Divorce Attorney - Hip-hop flop Damon Dash's wife Rachel Roy files for divorce
BY Jose Martinez - DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Record producer Damon Dash and Rachel Roy attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit Gala: Anglomania at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
He's got no money, but he sure does have mo' problems.
Roc-A-Fella Records and Rocawear co-founder Damon Dash has been slapped with divorce papers by wife Rachel Roy, the Daily News has learned.
The stunning fashion designer piled onto Dash's already sizable stack of lawsuits when she filed for divorce from her husband of four years this month in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Ed Hayes, a lawyer for Roy, declined comment, and a Dash spokeswoman did not return calls or e-mails.
An electronic record of the case says the divorce is for "nonmonetary relief" and should be resolved by February.
Dash and Roy, who put her own name on a women's fashion line, got hitched in Mexico in January 2005. They met when Roy was working at Rocawear and have two daughters.
The breakup is the latest legal mess for the has-been hip-hop titan, whose empire - which he once pegged at "about $50 million" in a New York magazine profile - has crumbled under massive debt, bad business deals and one suit after another.
Dash, who in 2005 sold his stake in Rocawear to Jay-Z for $20 million, owes $2 million in state taxes, and a bank has started foreclosure proceedings on his two Tribeca condos.
A Manhattan judge even ordered the city to seize his luxury Chevrolet Tahoe SUV last year when he couldn't make the $714.99 monthly payment. He's also being sued by law firms and landlords for not paying his bills.
The fall has been a spectacular one for Dash, who sipped Champagne on a yacht in Jay-Z's video for "Big Pimpin'" - then emptied his bottle of bubbly onto bikini-clad beauties in a hot tub.
"He's broke, he's got nothing left," a source said.
Dash debuted last year as a theater producer with the "Hip-Hop Monologues," an Off-Broadway account of the life of his latest protégé, rapper Jim Jones.
The production is set to resume performances tonight at 37 Arts in Manhattan.
While he may have been short on cash, Dash wasn't short on confidence when he hyped the show in New York magazine and vowed to make a splashy return to the music business.
"And when I come back, I'm gonna change the economy as well," he said.
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
BY Jose Martinez - DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Record producer Damon Dash and Rachel Roy attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit Gala: Anglomania at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
He's got no money, but he sure does have mo' problems.
Roc-A-Fella Records and Rocawear co-founder Damon Dash has been slapped with divorce papers by wife Rachel Roy, the Daily News has learned.
The stunning fashion designer piled onto Dash's already sizable stack of lawsuits when she filed for divorce from her husband of four years this month in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Ed Hayes, a lawyer for Roy, declined comment, and a Dash spokeswoman did not return calls or e-mails.
An electronic record of the case says the divorce is for "nonmonetary relief" and should be resolved by February.
Dash and Roy, who put her own name on a women's fashion line, got hitched in Mexico in January 2005. They met when Roy was working at Rocawear and have two daughters.
The breakup is the latest legal mess for the has-been hip-hop titan, whose empire - which he once pegged at "about $50 million" in a New York magazine profile - has crumbled under massive debt, bad business deals and one suit after another.
Dash, who in 2005 sold his stake in Rocawear to Jay-Z for $20 million, owes $2 million in state taxes, and a bank has started foreclosure proceedings on his two Tribeca condos.
A Manhattan judge even ordered the city to seize his luxury Chevrolet Tahoe SUV last year when he couldn't make the $714.99 monthly payment. He's also being sued by law firms and landlords for not paying his bills.
The fall has been a spectacular one for Dash, who sipped Champagne on a yacht in Jay-Z's video for "Big Pimpin'" - then emptied his bottle of bubbly onto bikini-clad beauties in a hot tub.
"He's broke, he's got nothing left," a source said.
Dash debuted last year as a theater producer with the "Hip-Hop Monologues," an Off-Broadway account of the life of his latest protégé, rapper Jim Jones.
The production is set to resume performances tonight at 37 Arts in Manhattan.
While he may have been short on cash, Dash wasn't short on confidence when he hyped the show in New York magazine and vowed to make a splashy return to the music business.
"And when I come back, I'm gonna change the economy as well," he said.
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
Augusta Military Divorce Attorney - David Divorce Trial: 'Nonstop Verbal Violence'
Augusta Military Divorce Attorney - David Divorce Trial: 'Nonstop Verbal Violence'
By MARYELLEN FILLO - The Hartford Courant
Marie Douglas-David has complained in court about how her estranged husband, United Technologies board Chairman George David, had divorce papers served, each time making sure a friend or acquaintance was there to "comfort" her.
But she was no slouch either when it came to threatening divorce, according to testimony Monday in the couple's divorce trial. In 2006, she planned to serve papers on him at their marriage counselor's New York office, according to the testimony.
Day 4 of the divorce trial between the 36-year-old Swedish countess and the 66-year-old business mogul with an estimated worth of $329 million provided the first glimpse into Douglas-David's behavior as part of the power couple.
The former investment analyst, who is trying to void a post-nuptial agreement and collect a larger settlement, was described as someone who threw out-of-control tirades that sent the former CEO of United Technologies packing. In one instance, according to testimony, she reconsidered the marriage just weeks after their Greenwich civil ceremony in May 2002.
David described that episode during a third day of questioning by Douglas-David's attorney William Beslow, a New York celebrity divorce attorney who has been portraying the millionaire as cold, calculating and manipulative, taking away his wife's independence and self-esteem by making her financially dependent on him.
"It was nonstop verbal violence," said David when asked about his weeklong disappearances during one of the many rocky points in the couple's six-year marriage.
"There was so much anger and hostility," he said about Douglas-David's behavior toward him when the two were alone. "There would be violent outbursts and they would happen again and again."
"I do get angry and maybe would lose my temper for 60 seconds or so," he said as he described fights that would escalate over matters that often were related to money, his children or his travel to be with her in Sweden. "I didn't want to take her phone calls and then get blasted to pieces."
When questioned about his decision to go to Argentina while his wife was in Sweden around Christmas 2006, David explained that he had been tipped off by their marriage counselor that she would attempt to serve him with divorce papers in Sweden.
"On the advice of counsel, I stayed away" by traveling to Connecticut and then to Argentina to be with one of his daughters, he said.
While in Argentina, David was told that his wife had suffered a miscarriage. David said that although he was concerned about her, he wasn't sure she had miscarried. There was no testimony indicating that David had been advised that there might have been a pregnancy.
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
By MARYELLEN FILLO - The Hartford Courant
Marie Douglas-David has complained in court about how her estranged husband, United Technologies board Chairman George David, had divorce papers served, each time making sure a friend or acquaintance was there to "comfort" her.
But she was no slouch either when it came to threatening divorce, according to testimony Monday in the couple's divorce trial. In 2006, she planned to serve papers on him at their marriage counselor's New York office, according to the testimony.
Day 4 of the divorce trial between the 36-year-old Swedish countess and the 66-year-old business mogul with an estimated worth of $329 million provided the first glimpse into Douglas-David's behavior as part of the power couple.
The former investment analyst, who is trying to void a post-nuptial agreement and collect a larger settlement, was described as someone who threw out-of-control tirades that sent the former CEO of United Technologies packing. In one instance, according to testimony, she reconsidered the marriage just weeks after their Greenwich civil ceremony in May 2002.
David described that episode during a third day of questioning by Douglas-David's attorney William Beslow, a New York celebrity divorce attorney who has been portraying the millionaire as cold, calculating and manipulative, taking away his wife's independence and self-esteem by making her financially dependent on him.
"It was nonstop verbal violence," said David when asked about his weeklong disappearances during one of the many rocky points in the couple's six-year marriage.
"There was so much anger and hostility," he said about Douglas-David's behavior toward him when the two were alone. "There would be violent outbursts and they would happen again and again."
"I do get angry and maybe would lose my temper for 60 seconds or so," he said as he described fights that would escalate over matters that often were related to money, his children or his travel to be with her in Sweden. "I didn't want to take her phone calls and then get blasted to pieces."
When questioned about his decision to go to Argentina while his wife was in Sweden around Christmas 2006, David explained that he had been tipped off by their marriage counselor that she would attempt to serve him with divorce papers in Sweden.
"On the advice of counsel, I stayed away" by traveling to Connecticut and then to Argentina to be with one of his daughters, he said.
While in Argentina, David was told that his wife had suffered a miscarriage. David said that although he was concerned about her, he wasn't sure she had miscarried. There was no testimony indicating that David had been advised that there might have been a pregnancy.
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
Augusta Georgia Military Divorce Attorney - Jungle hostage seeks divorce
Augusta Georgia Military Divorce Attorney - Jungle hostage seeks divorce
John Follain
FOR six years, the husband of the French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt campaigned tirelessly to secure her release from the guerrillas who had kidnapped her.
Juan Carlos Lecompte, an advertising executive, carried a life-size cardboard image of his wife everywhere. From a plane above the Colombian jungle where she was held, he showered 100,000 photographs of her two children from a previous marriage, Melanie and Lorenzo, in the hope that one of them might reach her.
Yet nine months after Betancourt, 47, was freed in a dramatic military operation, her demand for a divorce has focused attention on alleged extra-marital affairs that are reported to have torn them apart.
It emerged last week that Betancourt had filed for divorce on the grounds that she and Lecompte had been apart for so long - the minimum separation recognised under Colombian law is two years. The couple have been estranged since last July, almost from the moment her ordeal at the hands of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) ended.
When they were finally reunited, she did not embrace him. He then stayed behind when she flew to a triumphant welcome in France.
The Colombian press reported that her icy greeting was the result of an alleged affair he had with an unnamed Mexican woman.
Lecompte has dismissed this as “an invented piece of gossip”, but his mother-in-law Yolanda Pulecio, a former beauty queen, said: “What I can’t forgive Mr Lecompte for is that while my daughter was lost in the Colombian jungle . . . he has been having his way in Bogota with the Mexican whom everyone is talking about.”
However, Betancourt herself is alleged to have had an affair. Out of Captivity, a book by three American military contractors held with her, mentions a relationship with a fellow hostage, Luis Eladio Perez, a former congressman, who was freed last year. Perez said recently: “We were just friends, excellent friends.” But his wife Angela said there had been an affair.
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
John Follain
FOR six years, the husband of the French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt campaigned tirelessly to secure her release from the guerrillas who had kidnapped her.
Juan Carlos Lecompte, an advertising executive, carried a life-size cardboard image of his wife everywhere. From a plane above the Colombian jungle where she was held, he showered 100,000 photographs of her two children from a previous marriage, Melanie and Lorenzo, in the hope that one of them might reach her.
Yet nine months after Betancourt, 47, was freed in a dramatic military operation, her demand for a divorce has focused attention on alleged extra-marital affairs that are reported to have torn them apart.
It emerged last week that Betancourt had filed for divorce on the grounds that she and Lecompte had been apart for so long - the minimum separation recognised under Colombian law is two years. The couple have been estranged since last July, almost from the moment her ordeal at the hands of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) ended.
When they were finally reunited, she did not embrace him. He then stayed behind when she flew to a triumphant welcome in France.
The Colombian press reported that her icy greeting was the result of an alleged affair he had with an unnamed Mexican woman.
Lecompte has dismissed this as “an invented piece of gossip”, but his mother-in-law Yolanda Pulecio, a former beauty queen, said: “What I can’t forgive Mr Lecompte for is that while my daughter was lost in the Colombian jungle . . . he has been having his way in Bogota with the Mexican whom everyone is talking about.”
However, Betancourt herself is alleged to have had an affair. Out of Captivity, a book by three American military contractors held with her, mentions a relationship with a fellow hostage, Luis Eladio Perez, a former congressman, who was freed last year. Perez said recently: “We were just friends, excellent friends.” But his wife Angela said there had been an affair.
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
Georgia Military Divorce Attorney - Troops are coming home, but to a wounded, battle weary Britain
Georgia Military Divorce Attorney - Troops are coming home, but to a wounded, battle weary Britain
Ben Macintyre
After six years of fighting in Iraq, the last soldiers are coming home: but “home” is a very different place. Britain has changed, through the experience of that war, in ways both subtle and profound, positive and painful, transitory and permanent. We are not the same people that we were six years ago: the war has changed us too.
Britain today is more sceptical of politicians, divided and paranoid than it was in 2003. We are subject to closer surveillance, more cautious, and perhaps more suspicious. Security looms, for many, as a greater concern than defence of civil liberties. We are, as a direct consequence of the “War on Terror” and war in Iraq, less free, and less carefree.
The Iraq war, its potential physical and psychological trauma as well as its political ramifications, echoes into every corner of our culture, from books, cinema and plays to poetry and art. War has even penetrated the language.
Britain kept the home fires burning, but they do not burn as brightly as they once did. Returning soldiers face a very different reception from the one that welcomed veterans of the Gulf War and the Falklands conflict, let alone the homecoming victors of the Second World War. And the soldiers themselves have been changed by war - often war of the most brutal sort. The effect on society of reabsorbing thousands of war veterans is hard to predict, but certain to be profound and long-lasting.
More than 100,000 British men and women have been deployed to the battlefields of Iraq in the past six years. For some, the experience will have been enriching and life-enhancing. But others will return hollowed out in mind and crippled in body. The social after-effects will still be felt in Britain decades from now.
How these former soldiers are treated will speak volumes about the state of what is often referred to as the “military covenant”, the unofficial but enduring notion that British society has a special bond with, and obligation towards, its soldiers.
The war has permeated our culture, from high to low. Theatre, in particular, has embraced the politics and reality of war with fascination and fury, from Black Watch, Gregory Burke's play about Scottish soldiers serving in Iraq, which won four Olivier Awards this month, to David Hare's Stuff Happens, reconstructing the events that preceded the war.
Writers have grappled with the issues of war in fact and fiction: Ian McEwan's Saturday ruminated on the pending war, and Rajiv Chandrasekaran's Imperial Life in the Emerald City vividly portrayed life in the Baghdad green zone.
The sensitive, angry poetry of the First World War has found a latter-day counterpart in the “milblog”, an entirely new literary genre: blogs written by soldiers in real time, an unfiltered and violent sort of poetry from the front line. The war has also produced more traditional forms of poetry, including Simon Armitage's deeply moving poems of soldiers returning to a changed society. Pop music has joined the chorus. In Middle Eastern Holiday Hard-Fi lamented the fate of the squaddie, dispatched to the alien Iraqi desert: “I've got to go, but what a prize to give/ Package deal to the sun, everything is inclusive/ where bullet holes scar the minarets/ smoke on the horizon a beautiful sunset.”
Colonel Tim Collins's exhortation to the troops of The Royal Irish Regiment - “We go to liberate, not to conquer ...” - is now more widely known and quoted than any battlefield oration since Churchill's promise to “fight them on the beaches”. At the same time, the terminology of war has permanently entered the language: “shock and awe”, “collateral damage”, “extraordinary rendition”.
British politics has been transformed by the Iraq war. The so-called dodgy dossier, the death of David Kelly, the debate over Guantánamo Bay and the allegations of torture have changed the political landscape. The perception, whether justified or not, that the British Government went to war under false pretences has seeped into public consciousness, and poisoned politics. Tony Blair's reputation will be judged on the Iraq war. The next election will be fought, in large part, on the issue of political trust, with the war as a backdrop.
More than half of British voters supported the war in 2003, earnestly believing that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. When that turned out to be untrue, the nature of British politics was changed for ever, increasing political mistrust in Britain to a level that may be higher than it has ever been. It is hard to imagine what level of justification will be necessary, in the future, to persuade the British people to back a “just war”.
On a broader plane, the war helped to foment a culture of anti-Americanism that is only now beginning to abate. Among the British intelligentsia, it became fashionable to condemn all things American, to see the US as a nation of warmongering polluters and religious fanatics.
The extreme language of anti-Americanism on the intellectual Left reached a peak with the late Harold Pinter's Nobel prize acceptance speech in 2005, in which he declared: “The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism ... The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless ...” The war has left deep divisions within British society, and race relations have undoubtedly suffered. A minority of British Muslims regard the war as illegal, racist and brutal. That cleavage was dramatically demonstrated this month when protesters jeered at soldiers of The Royal Anglian Regiment at a homecoming parade in Luton, waving placards denouncing them as “butchers of Basra”, “murderers” and “baby- killers”. People who had come to cheer the soldiers returning from a tour of duty in Iraq reacted with fury, shouting “scum” at the demonstrators and waving Union Jacks.
Britain might well have faced terrorist attack without the Iraq war, yet the argument that there is no link between the invasion and the increased threat of domestic terrorism is hard to sustain. The consequences of the increased security are visible in ways large and small: lengthy queues at airports, increased surveillance, security cameras on every corner.
Britain has long prided itself on its military traditions, yet the war has raised important questions about the relationship between civilians and the military. The number of parades has increased in recent months, yet many soldiers face a chilly homecoming.
David Cameron, the Conservative leader, refers to the “unbreakable common bond of identity, loyalty and responsibility” between Britain and its Armed Forces, but a long, unpleasant and unpopular war has put that bond under unprecedented strain.
There have been well-publicised incidents in which soldiers have been abused or insulted, including the episode when local people objected to injured servicemen using a swimming pool at a leisure centre in Surrey. Last year personnel at RAF Wittering were told not to wear their uniforms in Peterborough, as they might be subjected to verbal abuse.
Beyond these isolated incidents, military leaders fear that soldiers are regarded by the public with something far more dangerous and intractable: shrugging indifference. General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the Army, has spoken of the “growing gulf between the Army and the nation”.
That sense of isolation is just one of the possible psychological strains facing returning soldiers. It is hard to quantify the after-effects of combat, but statistics appear to indicate that the worst effects of post-traumatic stress disorder do not emerge until 13 years after active deployment.
Many soldiers will slip easily back into British and then civilian life. Some thrive on the demands of war, and will find the experience gained on the battlefield valuable in later life. But some experts warn that Britain could face substantial problems with divorce, depression, alcohol and drug abuse among ex-servicemen. Combat Stress, the welfare society for former servicemen, has reported a 53 per cent increase in the number of veterans with mental health problems in the past three years. In five years, the number of former soldiers in prison is reported to have doubled.
Many of the effects of the Iraq war will fade with time. Anti-Americanism is waning with the arrival of a new president; writers and artists are turning to new subject matter; with British soldiers no longer occupying Iraq, the anger of some British Muslims may fade; as soldiers return, and their experiences are absorbed into the national memory, perhaps the military covenant will strengthen.
But Britain is not the same place that it was when the country marched to war. Six years later, like the soldiers themselves, this is a nation toughened and more realistic perhaps, but also conflict-weary and battle-scarred.
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
Ben Macintyre
After six years of fighting in Iraq, the last soldiers are coming home: but “home” is a very different place. Britain has changed, through the experience of that war, in ways both subtle and profound, positive and painful, transitory and permanent. We are not the same people that we were six years ago: the war has changed us too.
Britain today is more sceptical of politicians, divided and paranoid than it was in 2003. We are subject to closer surveillance, more cautious, and perhaps more suspicious. Security looms, for many, as a greater concern than defence of civil liberties. We are, as a direct consequence of the “War on Terror” and war in Iraq, less free, and less carefree.
The Iraq war, its potential physical and psychological trauma as well as its political ramifications, echoes into every corner of our culture, from books, cinema and plays to poetry and art. War has even penetrated the language.
Britain kept the home fires burning, but they do not burn as brightly as they once did. Returning soldiers face a very different reception from the one that welcomed veterans of the Gulf War and the Falklands conflict, let alone the homecoming victors of the Second World War. And the soldiers themselves have been changed by war - often war of the most brutal sort. The effect on society of reabsorbing thousands of war veterans is hard to predict, but certain to be profound and long-lasting.
More than 100,000 British men and women have been deployed to the battlefields of Iraq in the past six years. For some, the experience will have been enriching and life-enhancing. But others will return hollowed out in mind and crippled in body. The social after-effects will still be felt in Britain decades from now.
How these former soldiers are treated will speak volumes about the state of what is often referred to as the “military covenant”, the unofficial but enduring notion that British society has a special bond with, and obligation towards, its soldiers.
The war has permeated our culture, from high to low. Theatre, in particular, has embraced the politics and reality of war with fascination and fury, from Black Watch, Gregory Burke's play about Scottish soldiers serving in Iraq, which won four Olivier Awards this month, to David Hare's Stuff Happens, reconstructing the events that preceded the war.
Writers have grappled with the issues of war in fact and fiction: Ian McEwan's Saturday ruminated on the pending war, and Rajiv Chandrasekaran's Imperial Life in the Emerald City vividly portrayed life in the Baghdad green zone.
The sensitive, angry poetry of the First World War has found a latter-day counterpart in the “milblog”, an entirely new literary genre: blogs written by soldiers in real time, an unfiltered and violent sort of poetry from the front line. The war has also produced more traditional forms of poetry, including Simon Armitage's deeply moving poems of soldiers returning to a changed society. Pop music has joined the chorus. In Middle Eastern Holiday Hard-Fi lamented the fate of the squaddie, dispatched to the alien Iraqi desert: “I've got to go, but what a prize to give/ Package deal to the sun, everything is inclusive/ where bullet holes scar the minarets/ smoke on the horizon a beautiful sunset.”
Colonel Tim Collins's exhortation to the troops of The Royal Irish Regiment - “We go to liberate, not to conquer ...” - is now more widely known and quoted than any battlefield oration since Churchill's promise to “fight them on the beaches”. At the same time, the terminology of war has permanently entered the language: “shock and awe”, “collateral damage”, “extraordinary rendition”.
British politics has been transformed by the Iraq war. The so-called dodgy dossier, the death of David Kelly, the debate over Guantánamo Bay and the allegations of torture have changed the political landscape. The perception, whether justified or not, that the British Government went to war under false pretences has seeped into public consciousness, and poisoned politics. Tony Blair's reputation will be judged on the Iraq war. The next election will be fought, in large part, on the issue of political trust, with the war as a backdrop.
More than half of British voters supported the war in 2003, earnestly believing that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. When that turned out to be untrue, the nature of British politics was changed for ever, increasing political mistrust in Britain to a level that may be higher than it has ever been. It is hard to imagine what level of justification will be necessary, in the future, to persuade the British people to back a “just war”.
On a broader plane, the war helped to foment a culture of anti-Americanism that is only now beginning to abate. Among the British intelligentsia, it became fashionable to condemn all things American, to see the US as a nation of warmongering polluters and religious fanatics.
The extreme language of anti-Americanism on the intellectual Left reached a peak with the late Harold Pinter's Nobel prize acceptance speech in 2005, in which he declared: “The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism ... The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless ...” The war has left deep divisions within British society, and race relations have undoubtedly suffered. A minority of British Muslims regard the war as illegal, racist and brutal. That cleavage was dramatically demonstrated this month when protesters jeered at soldiers of The Royal Anglian Regiment at a homecoming parade in Luton, waving placards denouncing them as “butchers of Basra”, “murderers” and “baby- killers”. People who had come to cheer the soldiers returning from a tour of duty in Iraq reacted with fury, shouting “scum” at the demonstrators and waving Union Jacks.
Britain might well have faced terrorist attack without the Iraq war, yet the argument that there is no link between the invasion and the increased threat of domestic terrorism is hard to sustain. The consequences of the increased security are visible in ways large and small: lengthy queues at airports, increased surveillance, security cameras on every corner.
Britain has long prided itself on its military traditions, yet the war has raised important questions about the relationship between civilians and the military. The number of parades has increased in recent months, yet many soldiers face a chilly homecoming.
David Cameron, the Conservative leader, refers to the “unbreakable common bond of identity, loyalty and responsibility” between Britain and its Armed Forces, but a long, unpleasant and unpopular war has put that bond under unprecedented strain.
There have been well-publicised incidents in which soldiers have been abused or insulted, including the episode when local people objected to injured servicemen using a swimming pool at a leisure centre in Surrey. Last year personnel at RAF Wittering were told not to wear their uniforms in Peterborough, as they might be subjected to verbal abuse.
Beyond these isolated incidents, military leaders fear that soldiers are regarded by the public with something far more dangerous and intractable: shrugging indifference. General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the Army, has spoken of the “growing gulf between the Army and the nation”.
That sense of isolation is just one of the possible psychological strains facing returning soldiers. It is hard to quantify the after-effects of combat, but statistics appear to indicate that the worst effects of post-traumatic stress disorder do not emerge until 13 years after active deployment.
Many soldiers will slip easily back into British and then civilian life. Some thrive on the demands of war, and will find the experience gained on the battlefield valuable in later life. But some experts warn that Britain could face substantial problems with divorce, depression, alcohol and drug abuse among ex-servicemen. Combat Stress, the welfare society for former servicemen, has reported a 53 per cent increase in the number of veterans with mental health problems in the past three years. In five years, the number of former soldiers in prison is reported to have doubled.
Many of the effects of the Iraq war will fade with time. Anti-Americanism is waning with the arrival of a new president; writers and artists are turning to new subject matter; with British soldiers no longer occupying Iraq, the anger of some British Muslims may fade; as soldiers return, and their experiences are absorbed into the national memory, perhaps the military covenant will strengthen.
But Britain is not the same place that it was when the country marched to war. Six years later, like the soldiers themselves, this is a nation toughened and more realistic perhaps, but also conflict-weary and battle-scarred.
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
Augusta Military Divorce Attorney - Support the troops, up close
Augusta Military Divorce Attorney - Support the troops, up close
By Dan Moffett - Palm Beach Post Columnist
Many American families across the country are struggling to cope with the recession. For military families, the coping gets even harder.
Returning veterans often have to deal with money problems and the prospect of foreclosure. The high divorce and suicide rates of these veterans speak louder than economic statistics about the hardships of service. The picture only gets worse when a soldier, sailor, airman or Marine returns with physical or psychological damage to repair.
The Obama administration has promised to provide more assistance to vets and their families. But even when the government has help available, finding it in the federal bureaucracy can be a source of stress in itself. U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, has come up with an idea that would help fix this.
Last week, Rep. Klein got the House to pass an amendment to the national service act that would create a volunteer program to guide veterans to the assistance they need. The amendment would allow young Americans in particular to serve the country as aides and mentors to returning vets. The volunteers would help file health-care forms, set up doctors' appointments, find job training and even provide transportation.
The benefits of Rep. Klein's legislation to military families are obvious. Also important would be its unifying effect. The bill could bring military and non-military people closer together and promote an appreciation of service that too often goes unnoticed. One of the many great lessons of the Vietnam war was that a disconnect between the military and civilians - between the battlefield and college campuses - damages the country. Volunteerism is one way to ensure that Americans from all walks of life stand together.
Rep. Klein believes that the idea also will provide an economic stimulus. "For every dollar spent on service initiatives," he says, "we will see four dollars of direct, tangible economic returns in our community."
The House bill would more than triple the number of volunteers, from 75,000 to 250,000, and give students the chance to earn stipends to pay for college. Relieving the stress on service members has to become a national priority. Last week, Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, the Army vice chief of staff, told a Senate committee that the Army had 133 confirmed suicides last year, despite adding more counselors and mental health specialists. All the top military leaders at the Pentagon agree that there are not nearly enough psychologists and psychiatrists to go around.
Gen. Chiarelli said that about 70 percent of the suicides involved "some type of relationship problem" in the home, and he cited the "cumulative effect of deployments from 12 to 15 months" as much of the reason.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans to shorten deployments, beginning this year, and do away with the "stop-loss" provision that calls vets back for another tour after their service should have ended. President Obama's budget calls for large increases in spending on veterans' health care and benefits, with an emphasis on mental illness.
Job training will be an increasingly important component of the administration's initiatives because so many veterans are reentering an economy with rising unemployment. Many will find that the jobs they left no longer are there. Rep. Klein wants to ensure that all vets are treated with "the highest levels of respect and dignity," which often hasn't happened during the past seven years. With the help of more volunteers, the Obama administration can change that.
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
By Dan Moffett - Palm Beach Post Columnist
Many American families across the country are struggling to cope with the recession. For military families, the coping gets even harder.
Returning veterans often have to deal with money problems and the prospect of foreclosure. The high divorce and suicide rates of these veterans speak louder than economic statistics about the hardships of service. The picture only gets worse when a soldier, sailor, airman or Marine returns with physical or psychological damage to repair.
The Obama administration has promised to provide more assistance to vets and their families. But even when the government has help available, finding it in the federal bureaucracy can be a source of stress in itself. U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, has come up with an idea that would help fix this.
Last week, Rep. Klein got the House to pass an amendment to the national service act that would create a volunteer program to guide veterans to the assistance they need. The amendment would allow young Americans in particular to serve the country as aides and mentors to returning vets. The volunteers would help file health-care forms, set up doctors' appointments, find job training and even provide transportation.
The benefits of Rep. Klein's legislation to military families are obvious. Also important would be its unifying effect. The bill could bring military and non-military people closer together and promote an appreciation of service that too often goes unnoticed. One of the many great lessons of the Vietnam war was that a disconnect between the military and civilians - between the battlefield and college campuses - damages the country. Volunteerism is one way to ensure that Americans from all walks of life stand together.
Rep. Klein believes that the idea also will provide an economic stimulus. "For every dollar spent on service initiatives," he says, "we will see four dollars of direct, tangible economic returns in our community."
The House bill would more than triple the number of volunteers, from 75,000 to 250,000, and give students the chance to earn stipends to pay for college. Relieving the stress on service members has to become a national priority. Last week, Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, the Army vice chief of staff, told a Senate committee that the Army had 133 confirmed suicides last year, despite adding more counselors and mental health specialists. All the top military leaders at the Pentagon agree that there are not nearly enough psychologists and psychiatrists to go around.
Gen. Chiarelli said that about 70 percent of the suicides involved "some type of relationship problem" in the home, and he cited the "cumulative effect of deployments from 12 to 15 months" as much of the reason.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans to shorten deployments, beginning this year, and do away with the "stop-loss" provision that calls vets back for another tour after their service should have ended. President Obama's budget calls for large increases in spending on veterans' health care and benefits, with an emphasis on mental illness.
Job training will be an increasingly important component of the administration's initiatives because so many veterans are reentering an economy with rising unemployment. Many will find that the jobs they left no longer are there. Rep. Klein wants to ensure that all vets are treated with "the highest levels of respect and dignity," which often hasn't happened during the past seven years. With the help of more volunteers, the Obama administration can change that.
Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer Augusta Georgia domestic mediator. She is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney , and Augusta Georgia child support attorney. She offers mediation for divorce, child custody, and child support.
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