We Woof You A Merry Christmas

Laura Henderson's photo Christmas card shoot requires professional lighting, multiple poses in the living room couch and tries a bunch of dried chicken-strip.

A close-up shot in the head of Fozzy, Ms. Henderson retriever flat coat and border collie mix, is available in the 100 letters he wrote to his friends and family this month.

"People who know us know how Fozzy is the center of our lives," says Ms. Henderson, a fund of 39 years, funds for nonprofit organizations in San Jose, California Fozzy included his own greetings the pets of recipients, even cats, Ms. Henderson says. "I use my left hand so it looks like he did," he says.

Dogs and cats are joined in the annual ritual of sending greetings of the season. card manufacturers are deploying designs that allow people to send letters of their pets to celebrate almost every occasion humans.

"Pets have become important spokespeople for us within our families," says Rochelle Lulow, editorial creative director of American Greetings Corp. He gets to see and hear what everyone is doing and have their own thoughts and , -. We would like to think that's what these smart cards "

A new card this year says American Greetings' Christmas Meowy - It only takes a moment to meow, 'I love you', but I'll have nine lives to show how much! Another says: "You're the one who fills my empty bowl, which always has time to throw my ball and scratches behind the ears", illustrated with a picture of a bone attached tape.

"They are saying what they want to hear," says Ms. Lulow. "We like to think about what they are thinking and what they would like to tell us."

Cards are also available for shipping to domestic animals, such as Hallmark Cards Inc., which says: "For a large cat." Inside is the sentiment: "This Christmas, I hope all your dreams come true"

Get-and dogs cards to send to each other are big sellers in Godfrey's "Welcome to the store in dogdom Mohnton, Pa." We have a playground here, so dogs really meet other dogs, " Store owner Barb Emmett. "If a dog is injured or ill you want to send letters to each other."

Thank you cards are also popular. "The dogs sent to your hairdresser, trainer, veterinarian and caregiver, especially during the holidays," says Ms. Emmett. "I have a selection of Mother's Day and Father's Day cards from the dog, but I want it to be bigger next year."

Label specialists Tiny Prints stationery online usually take calls on how to properly address wedding invitations. But lately, the company is getting calls from pet owners seeking advice on appropriate ways to include animals in their holiday cards.

"It is recommended to put the name of dog or cat in parentheses to be playful," says Anna Fieler, president Tiny Prints' marketing vice. But if the dog has been a member of the family for a long time, many people do not feel the need to qualify and only list the name of the pet.

Dealing cards to pet a receiver can relieve potential minefield of blended families with multiple surnames, Ms. Fieler says a recommended client. "Pets do not have surnames, so you can deflect any type of stress.

Tiny Prints begun to take specific pet greetings after realizing the adaptation of the human card customers for their dogs and cats. Now, the Sunnyvale, California-based company sells pet birth announcements and party invitations. Valentine's Day cards from pets are in the works for next year.

Dog Speak Cards, based in Wilmington, North Carolina, sold their holiday cards in November, says Connie Hillmann, owner and assistant general manager, who is his dog, Kirby. The 'Tips for holiday dogs' card includes advice like "act like you enjoy kissing families" and "avoid drooling during Christmas dinner."

50% of dog Speak cards are written in the voice of a dog, including misspellings like "birfdaaa Happee. Mrs. Hillman said that the company's sales have doubled in each of the five years he has been in the business.

Creation of personal pet costume often includes ambitious. Sandy Groth Dorchester, Wisconsin, spent three weeks sewing elf and Santa Claus outfit for her three cats, but refused to wear dresses with boots attached. Now, with Christmas fast approaching, 55 years old, Ms. Groth is cut up elf and Santa hats instead. "I'm at my wits end," he says.

Ms. Groth horse will wear the same suit as last year. "No reindeer antlers cares," she says.

Bark Pet Photography in Los Angeles seeks to provide a minimum dogs look for their photo sessions' Howliday. "We avoid the dog in a basket with elf ears," says co-owner and photographer Kim Rodgers. "We prefer to focus on personality in place."

Hallmark also encourages pet costumes to include photos of them in the designs shown on their website, where consumers create their own cards. Dressing up pets sometimes brings benefits beyond the humor. "Costumes for pets can help integrate interfaith families - maybe a dog or cat has a menorah in the head," says Olivia Cytrynowicz, editorial director of Hallmark greeting custom.

pet Hallmark cards, including greetings like "Happy Mew Year" and "Happy more Yips," try to avoid too serious or sentimental messages, she says. However, the company sells a signature 'Love', followed by a paw print cat.

Some can not resist bragging a little in a Christmas letter. Bean, Golden Retriever 15 months old, Jim and Michelle Drager, who are owners of a strategic planning firm in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, sent his own Christmas letter to the other seven members of the litter who are now living with their respective owners.

Highlights of the year Bean: jump in the snow, learning to swim and hunt pheasants. "Still I have a fetish carpet and chew every corner," Bean confessed. "He keeps humans from the purchase of a new one."

The letter includes an update on the family. "Michael and Megan (my fellow humans) are doing great!" Bean added to your canine clan hopes "Santa Paws brings you everything you wish for this year." He also asked them to stay in touch.

Influence of Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino Waning, Observers Say

Former president Corazon Aquino is revered in the Philippines as the symbol of the ouster of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. But Mrs. Aquino's repeated calls for the resignation of incumbent President Gloria Arroyo, over allegations of election fraud, have so far gone unheeded. The iconic former president's influence appears to be waning.

Last week, former president Corazon Aquino, the woman who sparked a revolt that toppled a dictatorship, joined politicians and businessmen calling for the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The calls followed allegations that Mrs. Arroyo had rigged the 2004 presidential elections in her favor.

Many thought that with that, Mrs. Arroyo's days were numbered.

But the public did not take to the streets by the hundreds of thousands to demand Mrs. Arroyo step down, as they had done with two of her predecessors.

In 1986, Mrs. Aquino was the grieving widow of Benigno Aquino, Ferdinand Marcos's leading rival, who was gunned down as he returned to Manila from exile. Along with the late Cardinal Jaime Sin, Mr. Aquino called on the people to take to the streets, and they forced Mr. Marcos to flee the country in a movement that would come to be known as "People Power."

Mrs. Aquino again called the people into the streets in 2001, a move that resulted in the forced resignation of President Joseph Estrada, who was accused of massive corruption.

Political analyst Joel Rocamora, director of the private Institute for Popular Democracy, says Mrs. Aquino, widely known as Cory, listened to the wrong people this time and miscalculated the political situation.

"The people who put those things together thought that they would be enough to bring president Arroyo down, force her to resign, as it turned out, they were wrong," he said. "And I think Cory brought into that way of looking at things. I think she was made to believe if she joined the groups, she would be on the winning side."

Mrs. Aquino is a deeply religious Roman Catholic with a strong sense of right and wrong. She says she feels compelled to speak out for what she believes, no matter the cost.

"From time immemorial, I have not said anything that would command universal acceptance," she noted. "But I believe so long as I do what I believe is right, so long as I say what I believe is right for our country, then I will just accept whatever flack, whatever ugly things they will say about me."

But even if Mrs. Aquino does not have the same kind of influence she once had over Philippine political life, Mr. Rocamora says she still wields significant clout, and should not be underestimated.

"Her magic has always been with a specific segment of the population," said Mr. Rocamora. "That is the upper-middle class to upper class, and I think in that segment of the population she's still seen as a moral leader."

For the moment, Mrs. Arroyo seems to have beaten the move to force her out. But analysts say the tide could again turn against her, in which case Corazon Aquino would be seen to have chosen the right side after all.

Karzai Says His Office Receives Money from Iran

Afghan President Hamid Karzai acknowledged Monday that his office receives large cash payments from Iran, but said the money is a transparent form of aid.

President Karzai told reporters in Kabul Monday that Iran has given his office up to $975,000 for government expenses. He said the transactions were not secret and no different from cash payments from the United States.

President Karzai's comments were in response to an article in The New York Times that his chief of staff, Umar Daudzai, has been receiving payments from Iran to "promote Iran's interests" in Afghanistan's presidential palace.

Mr. Karzai said Daudzai had been accepting the money on the Afghan leader's instructions. The Times quotes unnamed sources saying Iran uses its influence to "drive a wedge" between the Afghans and their American and NATO benefactors.

The Iranian embassy in Afghanistan on Monday dismissed the report as "ridiculous and insulting."

South Korea plans an unprecedented peace-time mobilization of soldiers and police to minimize any trouble when it plays host to the leaders of the world's top 20 economies next month

South Korea's military, coast guard and police said they are preparing for all imaginable disruptions during next month's G-20 Summit in Seoul.
Those include large demonstrations, riots, terror and cyber-attacks, and attempts by rival North Korea to spoil the meeting. The commissioner general of the South Korean National Police Agency, Cho Hyun-Oh, noted Monday that some previous G-20 and other major international summits have been plagued with violence. Combining that with the aggressive reputation of South Korean demonstrators, he said, means authorities must be prepared for the worst during next month's event.
Cho predicts that protests during the G-20 Seoul Summit, though, will not be very violent, and his forces will be able to prevent the situation from getting out of hand. He is mobilizing 50,000 police officers - more than one-third of the national force - to provide security in Seoul during the summit November 11th and 12th.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff say the armed forces will go on a "Level 3" alert, which is the highest, starting at the end of this month.
The Defense Ministry is preparing for eight possible types of provocative acts by North Korea, including intrusions south of the Northern Limit Line, the disputed maritime border in the Yellow Sea. The Coast Guard will defend the Han River in Seoul. And the Air Force will be on the lookout for planes that may try to intrude into the airspace over the summit. Cho said he expects the military will be prepared to use anti-aircraft missiles in the capital should any invasions of airspace occur.
The fifth G-20 summit is expected to be the largest so far - attracting 10,000 participants, including 32 heads of government and leaders of international organizations.
The leaders attending include U.S. President Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao, and the heads of several European countries. In addition, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the heads of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank will be there.
South Korean officials say they have ample experience in holding such an event, noting the successful 2002 World Cup and the 2005 APEC summit. Even so, they say severe traffic congestion can be expected throughout the capital during the G-20 Summit.

Political Battle Over US Pension Reform Likely to Intensify

The political battle over President Bush's plan to revamp the U.S. government pension system known as Social Security is expected to intensify over the next few weeks.

President Bush is about half way through a 60-day effort to build public support for his proposal to reform the government pension program known as Social Security.

Among his most recent stops was the Midwest state of Iowa, which has a large proportion of elderly residents. "I am talking about Social Security because I see a problem, and I believe the job of the president is to confront problems and not pass them on to future presidents or future Congress'. That is what I think you elected me for," he said.

The centerpiece of the president's plan is a proposal to allow younger workers to divert some of the taxes they pay toward their pensions into private retirement accounts that could be invested in the stock market.
But Democrats appear united in their opposition to the Bush plan, and that opposition could intensify as Congress returns to work after a two-week Easter recess.

Democrats have enlisted a wide range of special interest groups to lobby against the proposal, including labor unions and retiree organizations.

Richard Trumka is secretary-treasurer of one of the nation's largest labor organizations, the AFL-CIO. He recently spoke out against the president's Social Security plan on the C-SPAN public affairs television network.

"First of all, there is no crisis in Social Security. We have time to study this, and so it is much more important for us to think about this and get it right, than it is to try to rush through some kind of solution," he said.

Concern over the president's plan is not limited to Democrats. Some Republicans are nervous about public opinion polls that suggest growing majorities disapprove of the president's approach to Social Security, even as he campaigns on the issue around the country.

Given the poll numbers, some political experts say the time may have come for the administration to consider a compromise.

Larry Sabato is director of the Center For Politics at the University of Virginia. He compares President Bush's struggle for pension reform to former President Clinton's efforts to revamp health care in the mid-1990s.
"Bill Clinton got nothing at all after putting all his marbles [political capital] into the health care basket [reform proposal]. The same thing could happen to George Bush, if the White House does not, in the very near future, move towards some kind of compromise on Social Security," he said.

Despite the concerns, White House officials insist the president is determined to press for Social Security reform this year. They also cite public opinion polls that indicate the president has succeeded in raising awareness about the uncertain financial future of the Social Security program.

The U.N. Children's Fund has unveiled a treasure box of activities for very young children caught in emergencies

UNICEF says its new early childhood development kit is fun, stimulating and helps provide children in difficult circumstances a sense of normalcy.

　
The U.N. Children's Fund estimates 175 million children are affected by war and natural disasters every year. A large number of these children are six-years old or less. But, until now, only ad hoc recreational toys and materials have been available to help these very young children cope with their traumatic experiences.

　
UNICEF Executive Director Ann Venemann says the new development kit provides young children with resources so they can play and interact with others.

"Studies show that early childhood is the most critical period for brain development, making young children the most vulnerable to the stresses brought on by war and disasters, such as hurricanes, floods and earthquakes," she said.

"Early experiences create a foundation for physical and mental health, optimal growth and lifelong learning, social emotional competencies and productivity. If there is a disruption in development, for example, through serious trauma that is not addressed early on, it could result in life-long development problems," she added.

The kit is a box containing 37 different items, for use by 50 children up to six years of age. Each kit costs $230 and is bursting with soft, pastel colored animal dolls. It also contains multi-colored puzzles, construction blocks, coloring pencils, memory games and even soap for promoting hygiene.

UNICEF says the activities are wide-ranging. They encourage development, social interaction and promote playing, drawing, and story telling.

　
Office of Emergency Programs Deputy Director Dermot Carty recalls the magical effect produced by a recreational kit upon the lives of children suffering the traumatic effects of the Indonesian tsunami.

　
"The children's lives changed immediately. I always remember when the box was opened and the response of the children," said Carty. "First of all they started looking at each other, looking for the box and then looking at each other and it resulted in smiles and then suddenly there was a rush for the box and then suddenly you had interaction. You had children laughing. They were running around. They were playing with each other ... And it was just an amazing experience to have been there to witness that. In a period of five minutes you could see the lives of 100 children changing almost in front of your face."

　

The kit was tested in Chad, Liberia, Congo Brazzaville, Jamaica, Guyana, Maldives and Iraq before being launched. Carty says UNICEF has 1,100 boxes ready to go to 18 countries and this number will grow.

A leading expert on economic development and poverty alleviation says the panic that followed the eruption of the financial crisis last year is probably over

But he warns global financial instability is likely to go on for years because nations have only come up with short-term remedies and have not addressed the structural changes needed to reform the economic system.

The director of the Earth Institute, Jeffrey Sachs, says the panic phase of the current crisis is probably over, as is the fear that the world economy could fall into a depression.

But while nations have managed to avoid the worst, he says the global economy remains on average very bad, with the poorest countries living on the edge of survival.

Sachs blames the financial crisis on a disastrously bad monetary policy and disastrously poor financial regulation.

"The crisis has its epicenter in Wall Street. If I had to point to one clear trigger of this crisis, it was the emergence of a ... completely failed and inappropriate credit default swap market, which went from zero to $62 trillion in seven years without a single regulator paying attention to it. And, that CDS market, the Credit Default Swap Market, was a kind of fairy dust that was sprinkled over the world financial system to make believe that toxic assets were safes," said Sachs.

He says it is unclear whether governments will get a properly regulated system that will be safer for everybody. He also expresses his disdain for the multimillion-dollar bonuses corporate executives receive and fears this practice will continue.

Sachs is a strong proponent of environmentally friendly technology. When the financial crisis hit last year, he says many people looked forward to a so-called green recovery.

　

He says they thought increased investment in new technology aimed at climate change mitigation and environmental conservation would salvage the global economy.

　

"This has not occurred. There has been no green recovery. There has been no significant investment in renewable energy sources. No major increase in sustainable infrastructure. What has happened is that the panic has been broken through very expansionary monetary and fiscal policies, but not through structural change," Sachs said.

　
He says governments have not come up with real structural change that can give a perspective over the course of years and decades.

He says there are no coherent policies linking the macroeconomics, the environmental concerns, and the development concerns. Therefore, he says the world economy remains highly unbalanced and highly fragile.

Some economists say Indonesia is poised to become an emerging economic power similar to China and India

Economic growth slowed slightly during the worst of the global economic crisis, but now it is again expanding at a rate of over six percent a year, and Indonesia has the second-best performing stock market in Asia.
An expanding manufacturing base, an abundance of natural resources, a growing domestic market, a sound financial sector and a stable political climate all contribute to make Indonesia's economy one of the strongest in the world.
Emerging economy
Milan Zavadjil the International Monetary Fund's representative in Indonesia, says it ranks just below China and India in attracting foreign investment.
"Various investor surveys have it jumping up the rankings," Zavadjil said. "And an interesting survey puts it as the fourth most likely place for investment over the next several years among emerging markets."
The Asian Development Bank recently forecast that Indonesia will see gross domestic product growth of 6.1 percent this year, and 6.3 percent in 2011.
Zavadjil says Indonesia's financial sector was not sophisticated enough to get involved in the complicated and ultimately disastrous investments that contributed to the global economic crisis in 2008. So while much of the world was thrown into recession, the fundamentals of Indonesia's economy remained strong.
"Indonesia had a very small fiscal deficit, very small borrowing requirements, a low external government and consumer debt, adequate foreign exchange reserves," he added. "The banks were well capitalized and liquid."
Optimism for businesses
For investors, last year's peaceful presidential election is seen as ushering in a new era of political stability and optimism. Despite the bombings of two Jakarta hotels in July of 2009, government efforts to prevent terrorism have reassured the business community.
Indonesian Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo says the government's conservative fiscal policies protect investments by keeping down inflation.
"Most important we would like to manage our budget," said Martowardojo. "Yes, we will provide stimulus but we will not have a budget deficit [of] more than 1.7 percent. And I believe that is the strength of Indonesia."
Increased exports
Continued economic reforms and free trade agreements with China and other Asian countries have increased exports of commodities such as timber, coal and silver. And in some industries, such as shoe manufacturing, companies are moving factories and jobs from China to Indonesia.
Not all labor organizations agree with the country's free trade policies. Baso Rukmana, head of Indonesia's National Workers Union, says clothing manufacturers in particular are losing jobs because the government makes it too hard to compete.
Need to improve infrastructure
He says the infrastructure is not ready, the roads are not enough and there is an added cost to production, something they call under-the-table money.
Corruption remains a significant problem, and some surveys of business managers show it discourages growth. However, the IMF's Zavadjil says it is no worse than in some other Asian countries.
The finance minister says weak infrastructure, particularly the country's air and sea ports, is the most glaring problem inhibiting growth. He says the government has acted to insure that private investments in infrastructure projects that require years to complete would be secure.
"If there is any change in the policy, if there is any change of license, if there is any change of administration, will we guarantee them?. I can say now, Ministry of Finance, we are ready. We are ready to guarantee," Martowardojo said.
Although Indonesia's stock market is at record levels, the finance minister notes that other asset prices are not rising quickly, so there is little risk the economy will overheat. He says, and many economists agree, the country is likely to see annual growth of over six percent for the next few years.

FIFA Executive Committee announced that the two check black money scandal opened the proceedings

Beijing News October 19, FIFA has a sense of "black money" scandal two of the FIFA executive committee launched a formal investigation. Prior to this, the British media exposed, two members of the FIFA Executive Committee is willing to "sell" on the 2018 World Cup bid in the hands of the vote, FIFA has pledged to strictly trace, without leniency.
"FIFA has been opened against two members of the Executive Committee of the proceedings to ascertain whether they are truly in violation of ethics and behavior of the FIFA statute," FIFA on its official Web site also issued a statement, " associated with this issue other FIFA officials will also be investigated. "
Prior to the British "Sunday Times" reported that the country during the 2018 World Cup, FIFA officials tried to sell two of the votes in their hands. The report said its video information in hand, the FIFA Executive Committee, Ada Amos Muslim Nigerians with 50 million pounds trying to sell their votes. This is a serious breach of FIFA regulations. The report also mentioned that the main  Oceania Football Confederation for their votes in the conditions out to be the buyer to build a sports school.
FIFA will be announced in the December 2 to obtain the right to host the World Cup 2018 and 2022 the country, the result will be the 24 executive members vote. England, Russia and a joint bid for Spain and Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands will be to fight over the right to host 2018 World Cup. Right to host the 2022 World Cup will be vested in the United States, Japan, Korea, Qatar and Australia, a member of.

Facebook, Microsoft Deepen Search Ties

The companies described the agreement -- a deepening of an existing partnership -- as a big step in improving the personalization of search results for everything from movies to restaurants. The deal could also give Microsoft a way to distinguish Bing from Google's market leading search engine.

At an event Wednesday at Microsoft's Silcon Valley offices, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, without mentioning Google by name, said Microsoft was more willing than others to take chances with its search engine. 'They really are the underdog here,' Mr. Zuckerberg said. 'Because of that they're incentivized go all out and innovate.'

The sharing of personal data between the two giants could raise privacy concerns. Bing will have access to all of the public information about a user and their Facebook friends, including names and photos.

Facebook said all the information shared with Bing had been made public by Facebook users, and added that people could opt out of the new services.

Google has access to more limited Facebook data for its search engine, but a spokesman wouldn't comment on whether it has sought a deal akin to Microsoft's.

'We're always interested in expanding the comprehensiveness of our real-time and social search features, but don't have anything to announce at this time,' the spokesman said.

Facebook executives said they were focused on their partnership with Microsoft at the moment but didn't describe the relationship as exclusive.

The first examples of the collaboration, scheduled to appear Wednesday, will include a special box on Bing's search results that highlights websites to which a person's network of friends have previously indicated they 'liked' on Facebook.

Bing will also feature a service for finding people online -- say, an old roommate. It will display Facebook profiles based on the closest connections to a user's Facebook friends.

Facebook and Microsoft executives said they expect to add further forms of integration between their sites in the future. In 2007, Microsoft invested $240 million in Facebook for a 1.6% stake at the time.

While search engines have traditionally determined the relevance of search results through mathematical formulas that rely heavily on linking between Web pages, Microsoft executives said personal connections like the ones found on Facebook can be more authoritative for certain types of searches.

'The best answers aren't going to come from websites, but from people -- and most importantly from people who know something about you,' said Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of Microsoft's online-audience business.

In an interview, Mr. Mehdi declined to say how much he thought the Facebook partnership could increase its share of the search market. 'I do think this can be a new era in the search game,' he said.

Bing is tapping into Facebook's 'instant personalization' feature, which automatically connects a Facebook ID to another website. Users have the option to opt out of the personalization service both on Facebook's own privacy-settings page and on the top right corner of the Bing search page.

Mr. Zuckerberg said 500 million Facebook users can already go and look up public information on Facebook users, so 'why shouldn't an application be able to do that to give you an awesome experience, too?'

Bing won't send information about searches back to Facebook, so a user's potentially sensitive searches won't get exposed to their friends. Microsoft won't be able to use the Facebook data to target ads on the Bing site, the companies said.

Microsoft has seen its share of U.S. searches rise since introducing Bing last year, but new research released Wednesday showed how far it still lags behind Google.

Fresh Currency Solution

After little progress was made on currency issues at the International Monetary Fund's annual meeting over the weekend, the turmoil threatens to overwhelm the agenda of the Group of 20 leaders' summit in Seoul on Nov. 12. South Korean officials worry that unless there is progress at the summit, other countries will decide the G-20 isn't the right forum for dealing with critical global economic issues.

'Every country taking part must not pursue only their national interest,' South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who will be chairman of the summit, said Monday. 'If this happens, I fear the recovery and sustainable growth of the global economy will be put into question.'

In coming days, South Korea will encourage the U.S. and European nations to ease their pressure on China to revalue its currency, people familiar with the effort said, and look for other ways to change the sizable trade surpluses China has generated, which are blamed for a broader imbalance in the global economy.

South Korean officials declined to discuss specifics. Their broad stance first emerged last month, when the country's ambassador to the U.S., Han Duck-soo, raised the use of export targets as part of employing 'some creativity' in the currency fight. People familiar with the South Korean effort note that Japan accepted export limits for a period in the 1980s when it was similarly criticized for trade imbalances.

The idea hasn't yet emerged as an official recommendation from Seoul in China's case. China's central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, said during the IMF meeting that some Chinese economists also had suggested using export restraints to ease pressure between the U.S. and China, but he said it wasn't being seriously considered.

A U.S. official said the possible use of such trade constraints wasn't part of U.S.-Chinese discussions so far.

Survey: More Americans choose a premarital agreement

Americans are taking a cautious approach to marriage and are seeking more prenuptial agreements before walking down the aisle.

And it is not just the wealthy and famous who are looking to safeguard their assets when a marriage crumbles.

More women and middle-class couples are opting for prenups, which can also include adultery clauses, protection of retirement benefits and even custody of the dog, according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML)， which represents more than 1600 lawyers.

"It's a planning tool. Given that half of marriages end in divorce it makes sense to plan," said Marlene Eskind Moses, the president of the AAML.

Nearly three quarters of members who responded to the AAML poll reported an increase in prenups in the last five years, and more than half said more women are seeking the legal agreements.

Once thought of as only for the rich and famous, prenups are appealing to all income levels but for different reasons.

"Sometimes it can be a prenuptial to protect against debt so that one is not responsible for debt their spouse accumulated before the marriage," Moses explained.

The legal agreements can also include clauses on financial arrangements such as budgets and whether the couple will have separate bank accounts.

More women are working now than in previous decades and they are earning higher salaries. Women comprised 46.8 percent of U.S. workers in 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Labor and that number is expected to rise to 46.9 percent in 2018.

"In our historically male-dominated culture women didn't control money and now they need to plan as much as the men. More women have more assets these days and have more control over funds," said Moses, a family lawyer with 30 years of experience.