Now this is taking a love rivalry to extremes...from timesonline.co.uk, Jan. 25, 2007


Skydiver charged with murder after love rival fell 13,000ft to her death
David Charter and Rory Watson in Brussels
Victim's headcam filmed her death
Parachute looked sabotaged, say police

A married woman who was having an affair with a fellow skydiver plunged 13,000ft to her death after her love rival and best friend tampered with her parachute, police say.
Els Van Doren, 37, fell to earth in a garden in front of a group of onlookers. Els Clottemans, 22, has been charged with her murder.

Minutes earlier the pair had joined hands in a star formation with two other skydivers including Ms Clottemans’s boyfriend, a Dutchman named only as Marcel, who police say was having an affair with Mrs Van Doren. While he and Ms Clottemans broke away at 4,000ft when their parachutes inflated, Mrs Van Doren, a mother of two, was unable to open either her main parachute or the reserve and crashed to her death in the town of Opglabbeek, Belgium.
Her final moments were filmed by her own head-mounted camera.

Wally Elters, a witness at the aerodrome from which the fatal flight departed, told Le Soir: “I was working on my plane when I heard someone on the ground screaming and pointing to the sky. “I looked up and saw a black spot falling quickly to the ground. It was wriggling about and it was pretty obvious it was a person. Above it were three people in parachutes coming down slowly. Then it hit the ground. It was an appalling moment.”

Police say that video footage taken by Mrs Van Doren as she tried to open her parachute provided evidence that led them to suspect that a fellow club member had sabotaged the equipment. A spokesman said: “A close inspection of the parachutes leads us to believe they had been meddled with.” An employee at the airfield in Zwarteberg added: “It is very rare for one parachute not to open, but for two to fail is virtually unheard of.”

At Mrs Van Doren’s funeral, about 1,000 people heard her sister deliver a bitter eulogy. “You did all you could during that final jump to save yourself,” she was quoted as saying in the Belgian press. “But someone did not want you to live.”

Ms Clottemans was arrested and charged after a two-month investigation. She denies the allegations but is being held in custody before a court appearance later this month.
Police became increasingly suspicious of Miss Clottemans after discovering the affair between Mrs Van Doren and Marcel. All three had skydived togther for several years. Ms Clottemans, a secretary, is understood to have attempted suicide hours before being brought in for questioning by detectives for a second time last month. She is said to be suffering from a personality disorder and is receiving treatment.

Police have also disclosed that Ms Clottemans had previously been arrested for attempting to run over an American boyfriend. (Busy, isn't she?) He escaped injury and she was released without charge.

According to the Belgian media, Marcel tried to arrange his liaisons so that neither woman found out about the other. (Didn't work, apparently!) His affair with Ms Clottemans began a year ago and he would spend Friday evening through to Saturday morning with her. In the afternoon, he would meet Mrs Van Doren after she had spent the morning working in her husband’s jewellery shop. Their relationship had begun some years earlier and the two would spend the night in nearby Eindhoven, before returning to the skydiving club the next day.

Despite Marcel’s precautions, Ms Clottemans appears to have found out about her rival, although Mrs Van Doren was unaware that he was also involved with her close friend.
A statement from the public prosecutor said: “A thorough investigation of the available evidence and analysis of the motive provide sufficient reason for arresting the suspect. The investigating magistrate charged her with murder, issued an arrest warrant and had her locked up in Hasselt prison.

“In order not to jeopardise the smooth running of the investigation, no further information will be supplied. As has already been suggested in the media, the motive for the crime is most probably in the passionate area. The accused denies the charges.”

Yikes. What a way to go...and to be filming your own death too. That's cold.

Who said "the law is an ass?" Here's more proof. From the Detroit Free Press, Jan. 18, 2007

Adultery could mean life term under Michigan felony statute, court declares

DETROIT - In a ruling sure to make philandering spouses squirm, Michigan's second-highest court says that anyone involved in an extramarital fling can be prosecuted for first-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony punish- able by up to life in prison."We cannot help but question whether the Legislature actually intended the result we reach here today," Judge William Murphy wrote in November for a unanimous Court of Appeals panel, "but we are curtailed by the language of the statute from reaching any other conclusion.

"Technically, any time a person engages in sexual penetration in an adulterous relationship, he or she is guilty of CSC I (the most serious sexual-assault charge in Michigan's criminal code)." No one expects prosecutors to declare open season on cheating spouses.

The ruling is especially awkward for Attorney General Mike Cox, whose office triggered it by successfully appealing a lower court's decision to drop CSC charges against a Charlevoix defendant. In November 2005, Cox confessed to an adulterous relationship. Murphy's opinion initially received little notice. But it has since elicited reactions ranging from disbelief to mischievous giggling among Michigan lawyers.The ruling grows out of a case in which a Charlevoix man accused of trading Oxycontin pills for the sexual favors of a cocktail waitress was charged under an obscure provision of Michigan's criminal law. The provision decrees that a person is guilty of first-degree criminal sexual conduct whenever "sexual penetration occurs under circumstances involving the commission of any other felony."

Charlevoix Circuit Judge Richard Pajtas sentenced Lloyd Waltonen to up to four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to two felony counts of delivering a controlled substance. But Pajtas threw out the sexual-assault charge against Waltonen, citing the cocktail waitress's testimony that she had willingly consented to the sex-for-drugs arrangement.Charlevoix prosecuting attorney John Jarema said he decided to appeal after police discovered evidence that Waltonen may have struck drugs-for-sex deals with several other women.

Cox's office, which handled the appeal on the prosecutor's behalf, insisted that the waitress' consent was irrelevant. All that mattered, the attorney general argued in a brief demanding that the charge be reinstated, was that the pair had sex "under circumstances involving the commission of another felony": the delivery of the Oxycontin pills.

The Attorney General's Office got a whole lot more than it bargained for. The Court of Appeals agreed that the prosecutor in Waltonen's case needed to prove only that the Oxycontin delivery and the consensual sex were related. But Murphy and his colleagues went further, ruling that a first-degree CSC charge could be justified when consensual sex took place in conjunction with any felony, not just a drug sale.

Whoa. Good luck with this one, guys.

Don't exhibit any of these signs, people!

from a PR.com press release...spelling counts, doesn't it?


Knowing the Truth About Your Spouse - Can You Handle It?

Infidelity is a growing trend as Divorce rates soar across the nation. With more than 50% of all marriages ending in divorce, Infidelity being the root of the problem accounts for approximately 98% of all divorces. Knowing the truth will surprisingly bring the needed closure and resolution that people need. Statistics show that the deceit is actually more damaging than the actual affair. Magnum Investigations leads the industry via specializing in Cheating & Child Custody Investigations.

Morristown, NJ, January 09, 2007 --(PR.COM)-- Have you ever suspected that your spouse has been engaging in an extra-marital affair? Does your “gut” tell you something is wrong? Has your spouse been acting strangely? If you have answered yes to any of these question you are not alone. (No, you're not. In fact, you're in a big honkin' crowd.)

Infidelity is common trait amongst our society and is even glamorized in Romance Novels, movies, sitcoms, and in some cases amongst friends. Unfortunately, adulterous affairs exist and grow for quite some time before the spouse becomes suspicious. Even though most cheaters are eventually caught, most can remain undetected for months and even years.

These relationships usually are relationships of high passion and sometimes convenience. It is not uncommon for the adulterers to both be married; these relationships are all the more difficult to detect because it is a “no strings attached” relationship and both parties are often more careful because they both have something to loose. (They have something to lose, too.) Magnum Investigations, LLC Specializes in Cheating Spouse and Child Custody Investigations. This agency is the only agency licensed and bonded in New Jersey and Pennsylvania that specializes in such cases.

The unique thing about this agency is that they exercise extreme caution in each case and they provide results without getting caught. The owner of the company is a retired New Jersey Police officer and has years of experience in dealing with the Family Courts in NJ. We interviewed him and asked why it is important for people to know whether or not their spouse is cheating.

“Despite what some investigative agencies might tell you, simply because your spouse is cheating does not necessarily mean you will get a better divorce settlement. I would rather be upfront and honest with my clients because i am not looking for a quick buck. Most clients benefit from the Peace of Mind they receive by knowing the truth; it undoubtedly will provide the resolution that so many people are deperately seeking. It is one thing to know your spouse is cheating, and it is a whole other thing to see it.”

Magnum Investigations are innovators in the industry in terms of providing results without getting caught. (Please note! Do you know whether or not you're being watched? Be discreet and careful.) “It is not uncommon for clients to call us and tell us that they hired XYZ Company and the investigator got caught.” said Mr. Halscheid. “You can never follow someone with one investigator or you are destined to get caught. Most investigative agencies stay away from Domestic Investigations because they are very difficult.”

In fact, many investigative agencies sub-contract these cases to Magnum Investigations. If you suspect that your spouse is cheating there is no benefit of you confronting him/her because he/she will likely deny it anyway. A cheater is not going to confess upon your accusations and will often lie ‘till the end. (Smart ones do, anyway.) Video-surveillance is the best proof you will ever obtain.

“I tell people that they deserve to know the truth. I am so confident that if a spouse is cheating we will obtain the proof.” He also added, “We handle the most difficult of cases. If you are price shopping and looking for the cheapest company then we are not the company for you; on the other hand, if you want Results without getting caught, then Magnum Investigations is Your Information Solution!”

10-Common Warning Signs of a Cheating Spouse (are you exhibiting these behaviors? Stop!)

Do you suspect that your significant other is cheating? Does your boyfriend/girlfriend or husband/wife or soul-mate exhibit any of the following warning signs?
1) Suddenly Working Late or unaccountable time?
2) Suddenly interested in going out with “friends”?
3) Suddenly wearing perfume or cologne?
4) Suddenly interested in appearance- (Exercising, dieting, new hair style, dressing differently)
5) Constantly on the internet, email, or chat-rooms?
6) Says it’s in your imagination or even accuses you of cheating?
7) Hiding Cell phone bills, avoids answering phone when you are around, cell on vibrate?
8) Lack of interest in sex or introduces new sexual behavior in bedroom? 9) Starts arguments just prior to leaving the house.
10) No longer wears wedding ring or says he/she lost it. (For guys, a wedding band is often a chick magnet, so put it back on!)

Your significant other may exhibit some or all of these signs; the more signs that you see the more likely he/she is cheating. However, the most important indicator of cheating is not even a warning sign… it is your instinct. If you “feel” that it is happening, it usually is! (That's true, so watch what you're doing.)

Amen, brother - from AGI, in Italy.

News for Arab Countries, Special service by AGI on behalf of the Italian Prime Minister's office

SADDAM. CALDEROLI: INCREDIBLE HYPOCRISY IN ITALY(AGI) - Rome, Dec.29 - "This country is unbelievably hypocrite (sic): it is outraged by the sentencing to death of an international criminal such as Saddam Hussein and doesn't lift a finger when a women is stoned to death for adultery or when Catholics are beheaded because of their religion, as often happens in some Islamic countries", said Northern League MP Roberto Calderoli. "The death penalty is a regular procedure in Islamic countries, but why doesn't anyone say anything when unknown people are sentenced to death?".

Good question.