Soaring Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 Have you ever known a "small" issue like this affect a city's bid? Website: http://bringseanhome.org/home.html NY Times Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/nyregion...mp;ref=nyregion The "Bring Sean Home" media attention has really intensified here in the U.S. over the last month or so, and it has turned into a foreign policy issue between the U.S. and Brazil that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton brought up first when she met with Brazil's Foreign Ministry Secretary about a week ago. In a nut shell, David Goldman a New Jersey man, married a Brazilian woman named Bruna Ribeiro. The two married here in the states and had a son named Sean. According to David, there were no signs of the marriage in trouble, but Bruna along with her parents took Sean back to Rio de Janiero for "vacation" only to never return. She divorced David in Brazil, and later remarried a high powered family law attorney. A custody battle has ensued over the last four years, but Bruna died during child birth about a year ago, but her Brazilian husband took custody of Sean. Now under the Hague Convention, Brazil is in the wrong, and should return Sean home, but the state courts have only handled the case, not the federal courts, so many are calling Brazilian officials extremely negligent and completely out of bounds by not allowing David Goldman to retain custody. This has received very little media attention in Brazil due to the step father's high powered background, but I see this issue only intensifying if it does not become resolved. Barack Obama wrote an email to David Goldman before he was elected president, you can read it here: http://bringseanhome.org/media.html#OBAMA ------- The U.S. had a somewhat similar issue back in the late 90's when a Cuban child was found in the at sea. His mother died in a raft off the coast of Florida. The family in Florida wanted custody, but the father was still in Cuba. Armed police eventually had to take the boy from the relative's home in Florida and return him home to his father in Cuba. The U.S. was compliant under the Hague Convention, even though they have very rocky relations with Cuba. This turned into a very sensitive issue between Cuba and the United States, and I'm wondering if it could turn out that way between Brazil and the U.S. ------- I work at a prestigious family law firm, and this custody issue is a blatant refusal to abide by the Hague Convention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 The story got featured on 48 Hours (or one of the other network newsmagazine shows). Contemptible as the actions of the Brazilians are (especially the new step family of the kid), I don't think this will influence the choice for 2016. It happens every time and has no bearing on the choice of a host city of a sports extravaganza. Or I could be wrong. Unless Goldman (why are the Goldmans -- remember the guy killed with Nicole Simpson? -- always involved in cases like this?) manages to reach some IOC members and maybe 'blackmail' Brazil??? People should stop marrying OUTSIDE their continent and culture. A few times, it ends up insituations like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soaring Posted March 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 The story got featured on 48 Hours (or one of the other network newsmagazine shows). Contemptible as the actions of the Brazilians are (especially the new step family of the kid), I don't think this will influence the choice for 2016. It happens every time and has no bearing on the choice of a host city of a sports extravaganza. Or I could be wrong. Unless Goldman (why are the Goldmans -- remember the guy killed with Nicole Simpson? -- always involved in cases like this?) manages to reach some IOC members and maybe 'blackmail' Brazil??? People should stop marrying OUTSIDE their continent and culture. A few times, it ends up insituations like this. Yeah, I think unless they do an "awareness campaign" with IOC members, it won't garner much attention. One can't base an entire city's capability to host the Olympics on the account of some ignorant judges. But to flat out not comply with the Hague Convention, an International Charter may be a little sticking point. I guess one could make the case that the U.S. has not complied fully with the Geneva Convention with account to Guantanamo Bay detainees (although Obama is working to change that). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlympicGames Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 It's not just some judges, it's the scumbag Brazilian government, who could have fixed this long ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soaring Posted March 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 It's not just some judges, it's the scumbag Brazilian government, who could have fixed this long ago. True, they could have fixed this years ago, and they can easily go in and return him to his father. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorbr Posted March 6, 2009 Report Share Posted March 6, 2009 It's not just some judges, it's the scumbag Brazilian government, who could have fixed this long ago. Actually... do you know anything related to having 3 powers in government? checks and balances and so on? Perhaps you should starting researching a bit more in order to talk about Brazilian government... Well... once more soaring... you are trying to diminish Rio's chances by a superficial thing like this one.... what about the zillion treaties your country doesn't sign? If we are talking about International Relations who do you think the entire world thinks is worst? Brazil or the US? Try to guess... About the problem itself... there are 2 versions of the story.... of course you'd pick up the father's story.... "how dare a third world country judges could hold an "american" child..."... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soaring Posted March 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2009 First of all, I don't consider Rio a third world country. It is an emerging power, and is definitely an important player on the world stage. Brazil will continue to become a stronger country because tremendous progress has been made. It does have a great strategy by strategically aligning itself with other emerging countries like India and South Africa. Regarding the custody issue... I work for a law firm that has extreme credibility in international custody matters, the step father has no legal grounds to maintain custody according to Hague that Brazil agreed to. Sean's father has no history of abuse, and has the means to take of his son. The Brazilian uncle trying to defend their family's fight, basically only gave subjective reasons why David Goldman shouldn't have custody. It just seems that since their family is very high powered in Rio's elite, they had alliances on the state court. The U.S. was in the same situation, but they returned the child to Cuba. It was controversial, and really not a popular decision, but the U.S. had no grounds to hold the child here when the biological father was living an able to take care of the child even though he resided in a country that the U.S. despises. There is no doubt the United States has a PR problem when it comes to treaties and Agreements (most notably the Kyoto Protocol), my main question was - Can these issues affect city bids? If you notice, most of my threads involve questions. I don't claim to be an expert, therefore I like to ask people for their opinions on this forum, because they are much more knowledgeable about the Olympics than myself. I am sorry if you feel like I am attacking your city's bid, but that is not my intention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlympicGames Posted March 6, 2009 Report Share Posted March 6, 2009 Actually... do you know anything related to having 3 powers in government? checks and balances and so on? Perhaps you should starting researching a bit more in order to talk about Brazilian government... Well... once more soaring... you are trying to diminish Rio's chances by a superficial thing like this one.... what about the zillion treaties your country doesn't sign? If we are talking about International Relations who do you think the entire world thinks is worst? Brazil or the US? Try to guess... About the problem itself... there are 2 versions of the story.... of course you'd pick up the father's story.... "how dare a third world country judges could hold an "american" child..."... You are pathetic. So is Brazil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosh Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 Soaring Higher, You either have too much time on your hands or your a complete troll. You need to stop littering this thread with idiotic catty threads. A custody dispute will effect Rio's Olympic bid, are you serious? The IOC gave the Olympics to Beijing, that gleaming showcase of stellar human rights and justice for all, and your questioning whether a custody battle will hurt Rio's bid. Get serious or go away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosh Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 You need to stop littering this forum with idiotic catty threads. (Ahh, that's more like it ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 Soaring Higher, A custody dispute will effect Rio's Olympic bid, are you serious? The IOC gave the Olympics to Beijing, that gleaming showcase of stellar human rights and justice for all, and your questioning whether a custody battle will hurt Rio's bid. Get serious or go away! Good point, rosh!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosh Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 It's not just some judges, it's the scumbag Brazilian government, who could have fixed this long ago. I'm bedazzled by your stunning eloquence. A custody dispute between two nobodies is caught up in state courts in a country with three separate branches of government and you blame the "scumbag" Brazilian government. I guess in the spirit of our most recent Olympics, you prefer an autocratic government to impose its' will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlympicGames Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 I'm bedazzled by your stunning eloquence. A custody dispute between two nobodies is caught up in state courts in a country with three separate branches of government and you blame the "scumbag" Brazilian government. I guess in the spirit of our most recent Olympics, you prefer an autocratic government to impose its' will. The situation with that child is so blatantly wrong, that child's Brazilian mother was such a cunt she gave cunts a bad name (she's dead now, good riddance), that woman's Brazilian husband is the epitome of the word "sleazebag", the judicial system in Brazil is so blatantly corrupt, the government of Brazil is so blatantly inept. What is it you don't understand? You're a third world country masquerading as something bigger, and it shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiTown16 Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 The situation with that child is so blatantly wrong, that child's Brazilian mother was such a cunt she gave cunts a bad name (she's dead now, good riddance), that woman's Brazilian husband is the epitome of the word "sleazebag", the judicial system in Brazil is so blatantly corrupt, the government of Brazil is so blatantly inept. What is it you don't understand? You're a third world country masquerading as something bigger, and it shows. This is very wrong and very rude. CHItown '16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 This needs to be moved to the General Off-Topic forum. I can see why the Brazilian members aren't happy about it being in this part of the forum and why, despite knowing it wasn't your intention Soaring, they see this as trolling. It's just not relevent to 2016 and I doubt even if relations between the US and Brazil sour because of it, it will be in the IOC's minds. And OlympicGames, for someone so incredibly touchy and senstive when even minor defects of the US are brought up, your last post is asking for trouble. It would be fairly easy for any Brazilian member to counter that by pointing out the amount of corporate corruption seen in your country recently and the moral lows to which your previous regime sank to by ignoring the Geneva convention - they might even say you're a first world country masquerading as a third world one. This is one case...there's no point turning it into another BRAZIL v US thread! ------ Back on topic: It seems fairly obvious, if all the facts have been presented, that the Brazilian man is the one in the wrong here. Of course, the US authorities should back David Goldman completely in this custody battle. I know nothing in law is black and white, but this seems about as close as one can get to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlympicGames Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 This is very wrong and very rude.CHItown '16 And very well deserved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlympicGames Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 And OlympicGames, for someone so incredibly touchy and senstive when even minor defects of the US are brought up, your last post is asking for trouble. Hardly, my name isn't Baron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlympicGames Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 It would be fairly easy for any Brazilian member to counter that by pointing out the amount of corporate corruption seen in your country recently and the moral lows to which your previous regime sank to by ignoring the Geneva convention - they might even say you're a first world country masquerading as a third world one. Let them bring it up. I agree! The last eight years of Bush were despicable, and I'm glad the bastard and his fellow swine are out of office. ESPECIALLY Dickhead Cheney. I didn't vote for either of those pieces of ****. As far as Wall Street goes, corruption is the wrong way to characterize it. More like unbridled selfish GREED, and they're a bunch of bastards too, so really, I don't argue any of those points at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 Hardly, my name isn't Baron. What the???? That name is patented; watch it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosh Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 It would be fairly easy for any Brazilian member to counter that by pointing out the amount of corporate corruption seen in your country recently and the moral lows to which your previous regime sank to by ignoring the Geneva convention - they might even say you're a first world country masquerading as a third world one. Indeed, Rob. The corruption and profligacy of Wall Street has brought the global economy to its' knees. I think that's just a little more important and relevant than the indolence of the Brazilian Judicial System. Moreover, one could suggest that the financial crisis, which began in the U.S., leading to the global economic collapse will have a more negative effect on Chicago's bid, because of resentment, than a custody dispute will have on Rio's bid. Hum, maybe I should start a thread on that topic, but only if I was a troll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soaring Posted March 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 OK, you all are right. I was stupid to post this. I should have at least posted this in General Off-Topic, but I wanted to hear what some of the Brazilian forumers had to say, and it was more guaranteed that they would respond in this area of the forum. If some wants to start a topic in Chicago 2016's area about corrupt police or politicians have at it - or I forgot, that has been done already... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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