Edward Lewis and Vivien Ward (from Pretty Woman) have a new name, and that name is Globalization. Why should Edward pay money to have Vivien stay overnight, when Singaporean men now get paid to have women marry them? Why should Vivien be content with working the streets of Hollywood and one week engagements, when she could instead ply her wares along the streets of Singapore for two whole years? (TWO! Gasp.)

Globalisation.

If you have no idea what I'm yakking about, then direct your browser here. Believe it or not, Singaporean husbands now fetch a market rate of $5000 per marriage, by marrying women from certain countries who are willing to pay their way to a high flying prostitution career in Singapore. Edward Lewis can now only watch in frustration as Chinese, Thai, Russian and Vietnamese women flock to Singaporean men and even pay them for a paper marriage. Sure beats having your wife and lover walk out of your door with half your possessions, especially if you have a closet desire to have an active prostitute as your wife. ("Meet my wife. She's in the personal servicing industry.")

Local men nowadays must be getting more mercenery. I've only heard of young men marrying old, sickly rich women and inheriting their fortunes when they die (If you ladies think the reverse doesn't happen, think again.) but this certainly was a surprise. Turnover rate of the wives is higher, meaning you can earn more money in a shorter time. No need to wait for an eternity for that pesky rich wife to die. Heck, you can even charge your wife a percentage of her hard-earned (pun is not intended, you gutter-brain) money, so you get to be a pimp as well as a husband. What a concept eh?

It's a disgrace what has happened to the institution called marriage. Reports like this make me feel as if many marriages nowadays are by turns a sham, a farce or a tragedy. Marriages of convenience are bad enough, but this... These men ought to have some sense beaten into them. Have a judge make their marriage iron-clad and irreversible. Or have the producers of Pretty Woman sue them for distorting the message of Pretty Woman. Or better yet, force these men to undergo sex change operations to effectively snip off their budding entreprenuerism.