Like everywhere else in the world, divorce rates are rising in Egypt. It's not too surprising, really — we've written before about the rising statistics of divorce in basically every country where it's legal. According to an article I recently read, though, the rate of divorce in Egypt isn't just up. It's way up.

It seems that almost 50 percent of couples are getting divorced. That's comparable to most of the Western world, but rare for an Islamic country. Here's the interesting part, though — these couples are getting divorced within the first four years of marriage, and one of the two leading causes is sexual frustration.

Islamic and sociological scholars are blaming the harsh rules on sexuality outside of marriage. Apparently, even kissing outside of marriage is condemned. While I'm sure that keeps their teen pregnancy rates down, it doesn't take a genius to figure out why the Egyptian people are frustrated.

In the Western world, we experienced similar troubles until the advent of birth control and the womens' lib movement. The difference was that in our society prior to that, divorce was still largely stigmatized and woman couldn't really work. Apply the same sexual rules to economically free couples who are able to get divorced whenever they want to, and you've got yourself a one-way ticket to splitsville.

Let's face it, if you tell a bunch of adolescents and young adults that they can't get past first base without getting married, you're going to see a lot of ill-advised weddings. What did they think was going to happen?

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The hand-wringing over Silda Wall Spitzer's future with her now defamed husband, the governor of New York, has officially begun. Newspapers, talk radio, TV pundits, therapists and armchair shrinks — yeah, that's you and me and all of us — all chipping in with our two cents.

Silda, Silda, Silda... Whatever was she thinking standing by her cheatin' hubby, the gov of New York? Well, she and the gov are married for 20 years. They have three kids together. She shelved her prestigious and lucrative legal career to raise the kids and to be a dutiful political wife. She's also a passionate philanthropist and organizer, having founded a children's advocacy program (Children for Children), among other activities.

This is a dynamic woman. She is no fool. Will her children, three beautiful girls, ever be able to trust the men in their lives? What message does it send to them if she stays?

All bets are off on Silda's marriage. Yep. In what's likely to become the Super Bowl of divorces, I anticipate a separation and divorce proceedings to begin within six to eight months, or at least before the end of 2008.

The two met in 2001 and married in 2006 in Costa Rica. A publicist for Pink simply said the pair had separated and "While the marriage is over, their friendship has never been stronger".

Yeah, everyone says they want to stay friends right after a breakup.

Rumors had been swirling about the marriage being on the rocks, probably mainly due to the couple rarely being seen in public together. Last August, Hart dismissed all the rumors as "just a bunch of trash talk".

It seems that it was their separate careers that perpetrated the split. Pink is working on a new album and will be returning to the studio soon, and Hart has been opening new nightclubs, the first of which is scheduled to open in May at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.

It would be nice to see the pair remain friends, but let's face it, nothing sours normally amicable people like divorce proceedings.

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I read a lot of news stories and columns about divorce, and I often find myself reading the same things over and over again. Similar stories, similar bits of advice and words of caution. So it really jumps out at me when I find something that offers a fresh perspective, and that was most definitely the case when I saw a column in a Michigan newspaper written by a high school senior who is a child of divorce.

What she had to say should resonate long and hard for any divorced parent, no matter what stage of divorce you're in. She writes about how her parents struggled to compromise as they worked to agree on a visitation schedule. As part of the process, the family was assigned a "friend of the court." Perhaps the most striking thing she wrote is that she never actually met the person who served in that official capacity.

When we talk about mediation here at FWW, it always seems to me like a foregone conclusion that whoever does the mediating would at least meet the children. The fact that it isn't a requirement is appalling. Perhaps there's a reason for it. Maybe the court doesn't want that person's decision-making process to be swayed by a child's undoubtedly emotional reaction. But you know what? I think that comes with the territory.

The writer goes on to say that by following the letter of the law, a parent could be thrown in jail if the visitation schedule isn't adhered to by all parties. And sometimes the visitations don't happen because emotions get in the way. Depending on how bitter and angry and resentful the parents are, the whole thing could easily be turned into a regrettable nightmare. But again, the most important message here is that you have a child of divorce telling you that nobody listened to her — mom, dad, the friend of the court — no one. She grew up feeling like she didn't have a role or a choice in what was happening to her family. She referred to herself as a prisoner of war.

Christine had requested that their case be transferred to reconciliation court, hoping that with some counseling, the marriage might be salvageable. Apparently she was mistaken. Her husband is standing by the statements he made when he said the marriage is "irretrievably broken".

Christine's attorney said that even if a reconciliation weren't possible, transferring the case could help in an equal division of property and debt and "determine the enforceability" of the prenup she signed. Hmm, sounds like there might be a battle in the works.

The case has been placed back on the regular court calendar, though when the two will be meeting has yet to be revealed.

Lute's attorney felt sure this was the outcome, saying nothing had changed since Lute filed his original divorce petition.

It'll be interesting to see how this one pans out, and what Christine might be whipping out to fight that prenup.

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The thing about limits is that they tend to inspire creativity. Take a Romanian attorney, for example.

Romania's laws prohibit lawyers from advertising. Now, for the moment, let's set aside the discussion about how this is a great idea and we should do it here too. The guy needed a way to get the word out about his services. He apparently handles divorce cases, so he had a bunch of mini-sized business cards printed up and had them stuck onto the outside of condom wrappers. And the condoms were sitting in a bowl on the front desk at a hotel.

For another moment, let's set aside the discussion of condoms being available in plain sight in hotel lobbies, like maps of local attractions, although we'd support this idea too!

Anyway, the idea is that people come to the hotel to have illicit affairs, so it's the perfect place to make sure they know legal help is available once they're found out. If only he was allowed to advertise, I could see the TV commercial now: "If you're having an affair, you need a condom ... and a lawyer!"

All it takes is a little ingenuity. Lawyers ... these are smart people!

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Gay marriage is in the news a lot lately. Where I live — in Ontario, Canada — gay marriage has been legal for a few years now. Even the most homophobic of Ontario citizens have simply gotten used to the fact that we consider all love equal.

In Scotland, though, the same can't be said. Bryan Morgan and Richard Brown of Saltcoats, Scotland, have filed for divorce just 18 months after their marriage. Apparently, they have been the victims of numerous verbal and physical attacks.

While it is tragic that gay men and women are the victims of verbal abuse, many have come to expect it. In no way do I condone verbal abuse, but gay people all over the world understand that people just aren't very tolerant. But physical abuse? Attacks and violence and vandalism? Where are the police?

"Gangs of up to 15 youths were outside shouting abuse, throwing bricks and trying to break my door down," says Bryan. Gangs now? Bricks?

Like pioneers for women's rights, religious rights, and ethnic rights, pioneers for gay rights are being persecuted just like others were in the most abominable times in human history. It shocks me that this behavior continues in a first world country with an apparent democracy. Whether these perpetrators like it or not, the Scottish government has made gay marriage legal.

I am disgusted.

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Former New York Stock Exchange chairman Dick Grasso might be sweating a little. A new book discussing Grasso's time on the NYSE reveals that he was questioned about having an extramarital affair and fathering a child with his supposed mistress.

In 2004, then-State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed a suit against Grasso seeking to reclaim over half of the money he made during his eight years as chairman. Mr. Grasso was paid around $190 million dollars, which Spitzer contends is a violation of state laws governing not-for-profit organizations.

Most of the testimony was released to the public already, but this particular interview was kept under wraps until now. Grasso was interrogated about a woman named Karen Ross, a childhood friend of his.

The personal nature of the questions stemmed from emails that Spitzer seemed to think were indicative of an affair. Whether the alleged affair is current or past wasn't specified. Apparently, Grasso paid part of Ms. Ross's daughter's college tuition, and Spitzer asked him point blank if the child were related to him in some way. The only way she could be is if he had fathered her.

Grasso never lost his cool, but his attorney fired back that the subject matter being discussed wasn't related at all to the case and it was private information. The question was asked again and Grasso simply replied, "No."

Admittedly, this doesn't make Grasso look nearly as bad as the Attorney General's office, but still — if I were Mrs. Grasso, I might be checking out his emails just in case.

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In what sounds like South Korea's version of Britney and K-Fed, actress Ok So-ri has admitted to having an affair, which she pursued because of her sexless marriage to actor Park Chul.

You ever heard of them? Me neither. But it's got a lot of people's attention in South Korea, where the two of them have been media darlings. What's really disturbing is that adultery is a crime in South Korea that can result in jail time. And get this: The only way to prove adultery in the South Korean legal system is with "decisive evidence," including physical evidence such as photos of the person engaged in sexual intercourse.

No, I'm not making that up.

Apparently, it has to be full-on intercourse, too. Anything short of that doesn't meet the legal criteria. And Chul says he has the necessary evidence. No word on how it is he managed to get it. Hey, I'm thinking this is a legal system Bill Clinton would approve of.

OK, that's a cheap joke. Sorry Mr. President. I'm a big fan. But I couldn't resist. I mean, come on — do you believe this? You couldn't pay someone to make up something this ridiculous.

It seems South Koreans realize that the law needs to be changed, though it's been unsuccessfully challenged in court three times since 1990. Keep an eye on this case. It may get really interesting.

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Sounds horrendous doesn't it? Like the kind of thing you'd expect to see in a soap opera. But under the circumstances, it is the right thing to do.

The man's wife has an incurable condition and will be in a coma for the rest of her life. He has agreed to arrange for her care. But he also has an ailing mother to take care of, so the court has permitted his divorce. There are no easy decisions here, for either the court or the man involved.

A story in the China Post briefly says that the comatose woman can't "fulfill her role as a wife." I was just about to suggest that rulings like this show that maybe Chinese authorities are beginning to demonstrate a more progressive approach. But this is still a very patriarchal society. I can't help but wonder what the court's ruling might have been if things were reversed, and it was the husband in the coma.

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