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Asia/Pacific

Australia will be introducing an 18 week paid maternity leave scheme starting in 2011, once approved by parliament. It is to be publicly funded, and to provide the federal minimum wage (currently AUS $543.78 a week) rather than a percentage of the primary caregiver’s salary. It will not be available to families wherein the primary caregiver has an annual salary above $150,000.^[10]

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By David Seaman, MainStreet

The U.S. doesn’t have it so bad tax-wise compared to other nations, despite what Glenn Beck would have you believe.

Here‘s a rundown of average income tax rates for 10 high-tax countries, based on information from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development. The data are for 2008, the most recent numbers available.

10. Australia

Income tax rates:

Single, no child: 22.6%

Single, two children: 22.6%

One-earner married couple, no child: 19.1%

One-earner married couple, two children: 22.6%

Average income tax: 21.7%

It was recently reported that Australia’s federal government may raise taxes soon “to pay for an ambitious takeover of the nation’s ailing public health care system.” Looks like health care legislation is hot, even down under.

9. France

Income tax rates:

Single, no child: 27.8%

Single, two children: 22.5%

One-earner married couple, no child: 23.9%

One-earner married couple, two children: 21.9%

Average Income Tax: 24%

Slow times are ahead for France’s economy. As BusinessWeek reported, “France’s economy will expand at a slower pace in the first quarter than previously estimated, growing 0.4% compared with an initial prediction of 0.5%, the central bank said in today’s statement.”

8. Italy

Income tax rates:

Single, no child: 29.3%

Single, two children: 24.3%

One-earner married couple, no child: 26.7%

One-earner married couple, two children: 21.9%

Average income tax: 25.6%

Italy’s economy has hit an unexpected speed bump, BusinessWeek reported: “Italy’s economy unexpectedly shrank in the fourth quarter as manufacturers cut back on production even after the country emerged from its worst recession in more than six decades.”

7. Greece

Income tax rates:

Single, no child: 26.3%

Single, two children: 25.5%

One-earner married couple, no child: 27.4%

One-earner married couple, two children: 26.6%

Average income tax: 26.5%

In case you haven’t heard, Greece is having a bad year. Its government is in massive debt, and its citizens oppose the government’s plans to correct the problem.

Those who work for the tax authorities in Greece are among the strikers who oppose the government’s new “austerity” plan to get its budget deficit under control.

6. Finland

Income tax rates:

Single, no child: 30%

Single, two children: 30%

One-earner married couple, no child: 30%

One-earner married couple, two children: 30%

Average Income Tax: 30%

They may be taxed at a pretty high 30%, but at least everyone is taxed evenly. Unfortunately, flat taxes aren’t helping the country’s economy fight the global recession. According to one recent report, Finland’s “economy last year saw its biggest annual fall since 1918 as the global downturn dampened demand for key exports like paper and mobile phones.”

When we can’t afford our Nokia (NOK) smart phones, it hurts Finland’s economy.

5. Austria

Income tax rates:

Single, no child: 33.9%

Single, two children: 32.2%

One-earner married couple, no child: 33%

One-earner married couple, two children: 32.2%

Average income tax: 32.8%

Austria was hit by the global economic downturn, but not as severely as many other countries: “Austrian GDP contracted 3.6% in 2009 and it will probably see positive growth of nearly 1% in 2010. Unemployment has not risen as steeply in Austria as elsewhere in Europe, partly because its government has subsidized reduced working hour schemes to allow companies to retain employees,” according to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

4. Germany

Income tax rates:

Single, no child: 42.7%

Single, two children: 32.1%

One-earner married couple, no child: 33.2%

One-earner married couple, two children: 24.1%

Average income tax: 33%

Now this is interesting: “Thousands of wealthy Germans have come forward after authorities said they would buy a stolen CD with the names of up to 1,500 German citizens hiding cash away in Switzerland.”

The German government intends to purchase a disc for around 2.5 million euros ($3.4 million) that discloses the many rich German citizens who have been stashing cash in Switzerland to shirk German taxes. But now the tax man may have the upper hand.

3. Belgium

Income tax rates:

Single, no child: 42.5%

Single, two children: 39%

One-earner married couple, no child: 33.8%

One-earner married couple, two children: 31.3%

Average income tax: 36.7%

Belgium’s high tax rates make it difficult for retail workers to survive, says The Economist. “There are some genuinely tragic stories out there in this recession. For example, in Belgium, shop workers from the Carrefour supermarket chain are braced for a nationwide strike over plans to lay off nearly 2,000 staff at Belgian stores and depots. According to Le Soir newspaper, a 32-year-old cashier with five years’ experience at Carrefour is paid 1,705 euros a month, gross. After Belgian taxes and social security charges are deducted, that is a brutally small amount to live on.”

2. Denmark

Income tax rates:

Single, no child: 40.9%

Single, two children: 40.9%

One-earner married couple, no child: 35.6%

One-earner married couple, two children: 35.6%

Average income tax: 38.25%

Denmark’s unemployment rate is much lower than ours. As recently reported by The Wall Street Journal, “Denmark’s unemployment rate held steady in January for the third straight month, showing the same kind of resilience that has surprised market watchers in neighboring Norway and Sweden.”

1. Hungary

Income tax rates:

Single, no child: 38.3%

Single, two children: 38.3%

One-earner married couple, no child: 38.3%

One-earner married couple, two children: 38.3%

Average income tax: 38.3%

According to a recent article in the Budapest Times, Hungarian politicians feel the tax burden needs to be lowered in order to stabilize the nation’s economy: “Tax cuts and employment growth are the main prescriptions offered by Hungary’s major political parties to cure the country’s lackluster competitiveness and its social ills.”

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Why Affairs Cause Heartache

If you’ve been tempted to stray, you may not be concerned with why affairs cause heartache.  After all, it feels so good to have someone lavishing attention on you and making you feel like you’re someone special.  This can be very tempting, especially when your significant other doesn’t even seem to give you the time of day. 

But before you step over the line, you need to consider some reasons on why you shouldn’t have an affair.  First of all, if you are thinking about getting a divorce, or if your affair leads to divorce, you have put yourself in a bad position.  The discovery of an affair tends to make spouses combative during divorce proceedings, and can also impact a judges decision on custody and property settlement.

Another important consideration is the impact that an affair can have on your integrity and self esteem.  The article below makes some really good points on why affairs cause heartache, especially from a woman’s point of view.

Affairs Are About Anything But Love

Participants present affairs as arising by chance and based upon love and mutual adoration.  The relationship advances from flirtation to infatuation.  This can happen quickly or over considerable time.  Eventually there is an expectation that the affair advance to sexual behavior.  The participants then claim each other as true love partners who understand each other better than their own spouses.  It sounds so romantic and so beyond their control.  The relationship continues in secrecy.

Scratch the surface and what may transpire is one emotionally vulnerable adult and another adult seeking sexual gratification.  More often than not, it will be the woman who is emotionally vulnerable and the man who is seeking the sexual gratification.  Upon this scenario, the man professes his love and the woman in part feels completed by his attention and in part badly about herself for the context of the relationship.

What is most important for women to realize is that this is not a healthy loving relationship.  More to the point, these relationships can be insidiously emotionally and psychologically abusive of women.

Affairs are secretive by nature and represent a betrayal of fidelity.  Hence they contribute to marital turmoil and demise.  Because of these factors, affairs also diminish personal integrity. It is hard to feel good about oneself entirely in this situation.  If one does feel good about oneself, it may be through a psychological process of disassociation or splitting.  Through these psychological processes a person cuts him or herself off from those parts of oneself that are distressful.  Hence the person is not fully integrated in terms of feelings, thoughts and actions.  It is a way to cope with loss of integrity.

Decent men do not subject the object of their affection to such harm.  Decent men would not place a woman in conflict with her marital partner, family, children, friends and community… or with herself.  Men who engage in such activity tend to be working towards their own sexual gratification over the needs of the woman.  The approach then, often involves a process of grooming towards the sexual encounter.  The man pursues, the woman resists, the man continues and escalates displays of affection and adoration, and the woman succumbs.  The period of grooming will depend on the vulnerability of the woman and the intensity of the pursuit.  Guilt and shame are the most common of feelings when the intoxication of the moment subsides and the woman is left to ponder the experience.

If a fellow truly admires a married woman, in the first place he wouldn’t compromise her marriage, family or integrity, but in the event feelings deepened and were mutual, he would resist the relationship so that the woman could choose how to deal with her marriage first – without the complications imposed by an affair.  In the event the fellow is also married, his transgressions are threefold; one against his spouse, the other against the married woman as described above and the third to himself.  He has also participated in self-demeaning behavior.

Affairs are about anything but love.  Romance has nothing to do with it.  Harm to the participants and bystanders is an inevitable conclusion.  Hardly the example anyone would want for their children.

No wonder affairs only happen in secret.

Article by Gary Direnfeld, MSW, RSW  www.yoursocialworker.com
Gary Direnfeld is a child-behaviour expert, a social worker, and the author of Raising Kids Without Raising Cane. Courts in Ontario, Canada consider Gary an expert on matters pertaining to child development, custody and access, family/marital therapy and social work.

If you are thinking about stepping outside your marriage to find the love and attention you need, then you need to consider not only why affairs cause heartache, but also what the eventual outcome might be.  The following articles offer more information about affairs and their cause.

Extramarital Affairs
Signs of Cheating
Spying On Your Spouse
More Articles on Affairs

Getting A Divorce / Children and Divorce/ Emotions and Divorce

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I followed the latest Jack Neo’s sex scandal with a heavy heart.

  I also cried when I saw how harassed the beleaguered couple was when photographers went up to the press conference stage e to take pictures of the poor couple from all angles. It was humility at its lowest point.  Irene Neo, Jack’s wife,  reportedly fainted after the short press conference. It will take immense effort on both the couple’s part to renew and continue their  marital relationship after such a massive onslaught on their privacy.

 To rub more salt into his fragile wound, many people have compared the number of girls that Jack have  bedded with those of golf legend Tiger Wood and even labeling him “Oh Jack you tiger!” Such cheap taunts are certainly uncalled for.

 It showed how merciless the media can be if you are a celebrity caught in the wrong limelight. More girls coming forward to expose Jack’s mischief also didn’t help the famed film director. More importantly, Jack’s wholesome image is forever tarnished from now on and one wonders if his films will be continued to be cherished from now on.

 The media coverage on the scandal is also maddening. Every day, there will be a few articles on the latest on Jack and his new mistresses. Not since the news on terrorist Mas Selamat’s escape did we have so much spotlight focused on one individual and his exploits. Some of Asiaone’s articles on the scandal  were viewed in the tens of thousands daily!

 Netizens were also divided on whether Jack should be forgiven or forsaken. The gravity of the situation was heightened when it was reported by Sin Min Daily that he has up to eleven girls on his plate. Jack was smart not to answer to such such gossipy news. Naturally, more women chose not to forgive Jack than men.  Some even will choose to boycott his movies from now on. I guess this is an individual decision that each of us have to make for ourselves.

 The intense media spotlight must have being very strenuous on Jack and his family. One wonders if he is of a lesser mortal being, will be be subjected to so much attention? Probably not.

 I believe many married people have cheated behind their spouses’ back. The mushrooming of massage parlours and karaoke lounges and executives working on overseas trips have subjected men to much sexual temptation. It takes a very disciplined strong man to resist sexual temptation as there is the belief that what he does abroad is unseen by anyone. Many wives have also turn a blind eye to such overseas tryst so long their husbands take the necessary precaution and not commit their emotion into such dangerous liaisons.

We may also be greatly influenced from those Hollywood movies and sitcoms that are aired almost daily on our televison. We have “Desperate Housewives” – a sitcom series heavily laced with extra marital affairs.  It is almost unnatural not to have a fling on that popular US sitcom.  Our young women are also getting very modern nowadays and sex before marriage is becoming very common for them. It is no longer a shameful thing if you marry because you are pregnant. I have seen so many of such marriages these days.

 I also remembered when I did my reservist duties many years ago, many of my army buddies would rush into town to look for women during the short rest and recreation (R & R) break. To them, it was time to have some fun and it seemed right after “suffering” for many days in the field. I decided not to join them due to religious reason

Our country  also  has the unfortunate reputation of having one of the lowest sex frequency in the world for married people. Many of my male friends told me that getting sex from their wives is like striking 4D. Has work stress prevented many of our couples from having fun in the bedroom that they have to seek sexual pleasure outside of their marriages? Are our over-woked ambitious wives to be blamed here?

 The whole episode  also reminded me of  a few  of my friends who lost their marriages when they  were caught  committing extra marital affairs. Naturally, most of them were men. Most of them confessed to me that they got very little sex from their spouses and thus have to seek sexual fulfillment elsewhere.

 I am not saying that women are  entirely to be blamed here for our men’s sexual tyrst outside of marriage. However, I have known  women who use sex as a weapon to control the whole relationship. If the husband fails to give in to the woman on certain issue, sex will be withheld and a power struggle soon ensues. Few men will beg their wives for sex out of pride and ego. Sex that is not mutually appreciated is also boring and unfulfilling. After a while, most men will explore having sex outside marriage.

 A marriage without sex is like having a pot of plant without adding on fertiliser and water on a regular basis. The relationship like the potted plant will soon die off.

 Psychologists have all along advised that for man sex is like food – an item that is  on the basic list of the Maslow’s hierarchy of need. Women can do away with sex as it is something unimportant to them. By now, you should have heard of the slogan: “Man gives love to get sex and woman gives sex to get love.”  This shows how different we are in our biological makeup.

 Jack was lucky that his wife Irene stood by him even after  he has committed a string of  affairs. She has every right to divorce him but didn’t.  For that, she earned my respect and I think many Singaporeans who are following the scandal closely. Most women will divorce their husbands if they were caught committing adultery. The trust is gone and it is a stab to a woman’s self esteem when her husband was caught enjoying another person’s body. Most men will also not forgive their wives if the same thing happened to them.

 I sincerely hope that the media will allow Jack and his family to sort  out their own private life from now on.  Enough has being said both online and offline to last a long time.  It is time for our press to lay off the couple and allow them the time and space to grieve and heal. Hopefully, over time, we will all enjoy Jack for his movies  than his scandals.

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Jack Neo and wife broke down in tears during press conference on 11 March 2010

Reporting from 东方天蝎大楼, 10.20am

Beleaguered Jack Neo, who was rocked by a series of sex scandals since last Saturday after his mistress alerted the media of his sexual exploits, finally broke his silence on the saga.

The press conference venue at 东方天蝎大楼 was already swarmed by reporters from both SPH and Mediacorp 10 minutes before it began.

As the media waited in anticipation, Jack Neo’s manager went on stage and reminded everybody present that this will be the one and only press conference given by Jack and here will be no further comments on this matter. There will also not be a Q&A session much to the disappointment of the crowd.

Jack and his wife arrived at 10.15am and was seen walking to the stage holding hands together.

Jack began by saying in mandarin:

“Dear friends of the media, thanks for your concern over the last few days. I would like to stress that all that had happened is solely the fault of mine and does not involve anybody else. I feel very fortunate today that my wife has forgiven me.”

Halfway through the press conference, Jack Neo broke down and cried.

“My wife has suffered more pain than any woman in this world. I am very sorry for what has happened. This is my last time speaking to the media.”

Jack then passed the mike to his wife, who said:

“I do not know how to handle the media…..All I want to say is that I have forgiven Jack.  I treasure Jack Neo, my marriage and my children. I have been hurt alot. I ask the media to let us off and give us some space and your blessings. Thank you,” she cried.

The press conference ended abruptly before it began. As Jack and his wife left the stage, the journalists rushed to surround them for further questions which caused a stir when members from Jack’s production team shouted at them to leave the couple alone.

Jack’s wife was reported to have fainted upon leaving the press conference.

A father of four, Jack is arguably Singapore’s most famous and successful movie director with a series of award-winning films such as “I not stupid” and “Run children!” under his belt.

The sex scandal has gripped the attention of the entire nation as Jack Neo is a familiar figure with many Singaporeans with his landmark “Comedy Night” in the 1990s.

He is also awarded a PBM in 2004 for his grassroots volunteer work and a Cultural Medallion in 2005. A PAP member himself, he is rumored to be close to Foreign Minister George Yeo who jumped almost immediately to his defence, calling on Singaporeans to rally around him.

While guys are more tolerant of his misadventures - a survey done by Lianhe Wanbao revealed that 75 percent of the men polled are willing to forgiving him, many women are disappointed and disgusted by hiss infidelity and vow to boycott his films from now onwards.

Jack has since apologized to his wife Irene Kng who has forgiven him. Speaking to Lianhe Wanbao yesterday, she said Jack is now like her “baby” whom she “sayangs” everyday.

Other Videos:

See yahoo video broadcast of the news conference (very clear)

See  also Channelnewsasia video broadcast of the press conference

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Special Report
Singapore’s 40 Richest
Suzanne Nam, 09 Sep 09, 11:00 PM ET

   Singapore is emerging from its deepest recession since the island became an independent nation in 1965. Though the economy may shrink up to 6% this year, there are signs that the worst is over. GDP expanded in the second quarter for the first time in a year. Exports and manufacturing were up in July, and property prices and sales are picking up. The country’s main stock index has jumped almost 90% since its March low.

All of this has meant a boost in the fortunes of the nation’s richest. The total net worth of Singapore’s top 40 is $39 billion, up 20% from last year’s $32 billion. Ng Teng Fong is No. 1 again, worth $8 billion, $1 billion more than last year. Kuok Khoon Hong’s net worth is up $2.2 billion to $3.5 billion, thanks in part to a 70% jump in the stock price of palm oil firm Wilmar International.

Some of the increase is due to the addition of very wealthy newcomers such as the Kwee brothers, who debut at No. 4 with a combined net worth of $3.2 billion. The Kwee brothers, who equally share ownership of Pontiac Land, the property developer that owns the city-state’s Ritz-Carlton, are not new money and are well-known in Singapore’s business circle. But they were not previously included due to lack of reliable financial information.

Other rich-listers like the Lien family, previously listed under Margaret Lien, got a boost from the inclusion of relatives’ holdings (done to treat rich listers as evenly as possible and to provide the broadest snapshot of Singapore’s wealth). Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp.’s Lee Seng Wee’s fortune got a bump for a similar reason as we decided to combine his fortune with that of his brother Lee Seng Tee, who was No. 32 last year.

One set of brothers not on the list: the Kewalram Chanrais. While a holding company called Kewalram Singapore owns 23% of Olam (the company the family helped found), worth almost $700 million, the brothers are apparently excluded as potential beneficiaries.

Malaysian citizen Ong Beng Seng is listed this year with his Singaporean wife, Christina, who last appeared herself on this list in 2007. The Ongs live in the city-state and together have stakes in Singapore companies NSL and Kuo International, run by her brother Peter Fu Chong Cheng, who debuts with a $570 million fortune.

Overall, 19 on the list added to their wealth, including real estate tycoon Koh Wee Meng, who builds affordable housing and runs budget hotels, and Yao Hsiu Tung, whose Hi-P makes components for consumer products companies including Research In Motion, Procter & Gamble and Apple.

Thirteen returning tycoons are poorer than they were a year ago. The biggest loser in percentage terms was ship builder Brian Chang, whose fortune dropped 71% to $160 million.

A minimum net worth of $135 million was needed to make the cut, up from $120 million in 2008, and four of last year’s top 40 fell short. One of them was Kartar Singh Thakral, as shares in Australia-listed real estate investment trust Thakral Holdings are down 60% since last year. Another dropoff was Wong Fong Fui, a newcomer we profiled last year but whose fortune fell along with the stock of his Boustead Singapore, down 35% in the past year.

Public fortunes were calculated using share prices and exchange rates as of Aug. 28, 2009. For privately held assets, we estimated what they would be worth if public. This ranking, unlike Forbes’ list of the world’s billionaires, includes numerous nuclear family fortunes shared by individuals with their children and grandchildren, or with their siblings. Because so many fortunes include at least some relatives’ holdings, Forbes Asia no longer lists “and family” but rather details family information in the bios when appropriate. Where family fortunes are held by extended families, such as the Kwek cousins, we split them into separate entries.

Additional reporting by Caroline Chen, Phyllis Fang Savage, Lan Anh Nguyen, Jessica Tan, Russell Flannery and Justin Doebele.

 _______________________________________________________________________

1. Ng Teng Fong
2. Khoo Family
3. Kuok Khoon Hong
4. Kwee Brothers
5. Wee Cho Yaw
6. Zhong Sheng Jian
7. Peter Lim
8. Kwek Leng Beng
9. Lee Seng Wee
10. Ong Beng Seng & Christina Ong
11. Lien Family
12. Tan Boy Tee
13. Chang Yun Chung
14. Peter Fu Chong Cheng
15. Ho Sim Guan
16. Chua Thian Poh
17. Kwek Leng Kee
18. Henry Ng
19. Vivian Chandran
20. Koh Wee Meng
21. Olivia Lum
22. Chew Hua Seng
23. Simon Cheong
24. Ow Chio Kiat
25. Cheng Wai Keung
26. Ho Kwon Ping
27. Tan Pong Tyea
28. Lee Kian Soo
29. Yao Hsiao Tung
30. Ng Chwee Cheng
31. Loo Choon Yong
32. Kwek Leng Peck
33. Oei Hong Leong
34. John Chuang
35. Goh Lik Tuan
36. Sunny George Verghese
37. Brian Chang
38. Victor Sassoon
39. Wong Ngit Liong
40. Tay Liam Wee

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Singaporeans not good enough: Temasek offered 110k – 130k USD per annum to fresh Indian IIM-B graduates

All 270 students from the 2010 batch of the post-graduate programme (PGP) of the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) have been placed in just five days since the opening of the process. IIM-B also claims to have completed the final placements ahead of all other IIMs.As many as 120 reputable firms from and outside the country – from both the traditional and emerging sectors like healthcare and energy – visited the institute during the placement period.Fifteen new companies took part in the placements this year, recording a 41 per cent increase from last year.Prominent among the new entrants were: AT Kearney, Alvarez & Marsal, Bain & Co, Booz & Co, Diamond Consulting, Nomura and Temasek Holdings.Nomura is reported to have made the highest offer of Rs80 lakh per annum for the role of vice president finance in an international location. Temasek Holdings offered Rs50-60 lakh per annum.

The students have accepted as many as 15 international offers from companies including Nomura, Temasek, P&G, Enzen, Arvin Meritor and UAE Exchange.

About 45 women in the batch accepted offers in sectors, like investment banking, consulting and PE. 

In the lateral placements held for students with two years of work experience, 30 companies made recruitments. A total of 66 offers were received by the students in lateral placement as compared to 50 offers last year.

Support my online petition “Employ Singaporeans First!” to stop the jobs’ flight – Gilbert

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Why Men Have Affairs

There are many different kinds of reasons for men to have affairs. Forces such as sexual attraction, companionship, excitement and curiosity can pull men toward affairs. Affairs are often glamorized in movies, romance novels, soap operas, and TV shows. Public disclosure of public figures having affairs is headline news because people are fascinated and titillated by hearing about others’ affairs. Men are bombarded with images of women as sex objects in advertising and marketing campaigns. Over and over, the message to men is that the good life includes a procession of sexy women in their lives. Women inadvertently buy into this image and struggle to achieve it. The lack of good sex education and the existence of sexual taboos combine to make it difficult to talk honestly about sex.

Truly speaking, women seem to be better cheaters than men: they are better at keeping their affairs under wraps and generally have an agenda for their infidelity. Some affairs occur because the cheating parties truly want to leave their established partner, particularly when they are married. However, very few married men leave their wife for their mistress! That is, unless their wife finds out and leaves. The Bureau of Justice Statistics states that on an average, there are more than three women who gets murdered by their husbands or boyfriends every day. If your partner is not willing to seek help for his abusive behavior, your only option is to leave or get divorced.

According to a poll of over 400 women conducted by WomanSavers.com, love and intimacy is the number one reason why women have affairs, followed by sex, money and finally excitement. The differences in why women and men have affairs are varied with women seeking emotional fulfillment and most men seeking sexual fulfillment.

The top 10 reasons why men have affairs include:

1. More sex (sometimes due to lack of sex in their relationship)

2. Sexual variety through different partners or different sexual experiences

3. Too boost their ego to feel special or still attractive to the opposite sex

4. For the thrill of the chase

5. Opportunistic sex (if the opportunity occurs, they can’t pass it up)

6. To sabotage their current relationship

7. Revenge (to get back at their partner for one reason or another)

8. A feeling of entitlement (the belief they are entitled because they work hard or are the bread winner)

9. Sexual addiction

10.To escape

There is no such thing as a perfect affair. Keeping an on-going affair is a juggling act of covering up lies, explaining time away, and dealing with associated guilt feelings. The cheater becomes consumed by guilt and sometimes lashes out even more at their partner. If you are involved in an affair, respect yourself and your partner enough to get out.

Surviving Adultery: How to Survive and Overcome Adultery

Adultery is devastating to any marriage, regardless of the circumstances under which adultery might have occurred. Unfortunately, adultery is all too common is the cause of pain and anguish to many couples.

Though there is no excuse for adultery and the offended spouse is not to blame. Emotional distraction or unmet needs are major contributors to the temptation of having an affair

Upon reflection, if you discover that you have contributed to the problem, repent and keep that in mind as you consider your response to the situation and dealing with adultery is very complex, and it involves a lot of issues that you must address before determining your actions.

According to an adultery poll of over 500 women conducted by WomanSavers.com, over 64% of women would not forgive their partner if he had a sexual affair. With each adulterous situation being different, you must consider your options carefully on whether or not you choose to take back your cheating man. Nevertheless, almost all women agree that if a man is a serial cheater, under no circumstances should a woman stay with him.

If your marriage was unhealthy to begin with, and your spouse’s act of adultery was a short-lived event that came in a time of weakness, then that is important to consider. If that is the case and your spouse is being honest and repentant, then it is suggested that you forgive your spouse and reconcile. A first prerequisite to doing this would be to agree together to get marriage counseling to help “repair” the weak areas that may have contributed to the problem and to rebuild the lost trust.

If, however, your spouse is defiant about his or her act of adultery and if it is still happening and he or she refuses to stop and if this is not the first time it has happened then your response needs to be much stronger. This is when you may consider separation or possibly divorce because staying in the relationship can expose you to serious disease, as well as great emotional harm.

If you decide to move toward divorce, it is also recommended that you get some counseling to help you through the process. With your emotions frazzled, it can be a very difficult time in which to make sound decisions alone so get some objective input from a trusted leader or counselor.

If your spouse is repentant, it will take you some time to regain your trust for your husband or wife and it is up to you to forgive your spouse and to do your part in working at the relationship. However, it is up to your spouse to work at re-establishing trust and that takes time.

Going through the aftermath of adultery is much like grieving the death of a loved one, whether or not you and your spouse reconcile, it is important for you to give yourself the right to grieve. You have been through a terrible betrayal. Do not let anyone convince you otherwise. It is normal for you to not be as lighthearted as you may have once been. You have been hurt and those feelings of betrayal and grief are normal and to be expected.

As mentioned in the beginning, marriage is much larger than the two people it surrounds; therefore, seeking spiritual guidance and instruction and/or professional help cannot be emphasized enough. Additionally, there is now an opportunity to finally deal with issues that may continue to cause damage to your marriage if left unresolved. There will be hard work ahead but the reward could be a ‘happily ever after’ relationship in which the two of you can grow old together through mutual respect and love.

Written by Stephany Alexander, http://www.womansavers.com ©

* All break up and relationship articles are the property of their owners. ‘ All WomanSavers relationship articles are copyright of the individual authors, unless specified. http://www.WomanSavers.com is not responsible or liable for the accuracy and/or content of the women’s relationship and break up articles displayed on this site. Submitted relationship articles for women to be included, but not limited, to the categories of: relationship articles, break up articles, abuse articles, cheating statistics, dating advice articles, divorce articles, gender difference studies, healthy relationship articles, internet cheating articles, marriage articles, medical articles, men’s advice for women, men’s relationship articles, miscellaneous articles, relationship news articles, rape statistics articles, sex articles, sex laws, sexual infidelity articles, single women articles, surviving infidelity articles, websites that help cheaters, women over 40.

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http://hubpages.com/hub/Top-10-Hot-Jobs-in-Singapore-for-2010

Jobs in Singapore

Singapore is an island city state in Asia which is highly westernized and currently has seen a strong economic growth as well. The recent surveys have clearly shown that now 18% employers are expected to hire more workers, as previously recession had slowed down the process to a great extent.

In Singapore, contemporary economy is greatly based upon manufacturing and services and so the island city state features a higher per capita GDP. Financial services, exports, commodities exchanges and industries have been supporting the economy of Singapore and have made it more prosperous. These days, oil drilling equipments and electronic industries and other chemical plants are exceedingly adding to the economy and are offering more jobs to the people in Singapore.

People can expect around 9000 jobs in business services, 6000 in financial intermediation, 5000 in computer related activities, 4000 in transport and logistics, 300 in education and 2500 in health care. Perhaps it may be worthwhile to check out How to find a job in Singapore

 Top 10 Hot Jobs in Singapore

• Computer and Information Systems Manager: The vital backbone of a company is formed by a computer and information manager, who even enjoys good career prospects. In the field of Computer Science and Engineering, a good IT degree is required and typical pay rates on an average are $6200.
• Editor (newspaper and periodicals): People in this field initially start as journalists and then move up in the profession as they gain experience. The background in this field requires English, Mandarin or Malay as qualification along with journalism, mass communication and other humanities disciplines. The pay scale in this field varies from $6,300 to $7,400.
• Business Management Consultant: When the top management companies require consultancy, they seek advice from a business management consultant. For this designation, just a few positions are offered and only the best candidates can go in for these posts. The general pay scales for the fresh candidates range from $6,400-$7,200.
• Legal profession (Lawyers, Advocates/Solicitors and other Legal Officers): There are some requirements set by the Board of Legal Education and for a person to become a practicing lawyer, satisfying these requirements is very important. In addition to this, they also need to undergo six months of pupilage in a law firm for earning a good amount between $6,700 – $8,000.
• Research and Development Manager: Most of the MNC’s have their Research and Development centers based in Singapore and the managers in this field are completely responsible for supervising the processes involved with new products and technology development. R&D managers always require some prior experience and advanced degree for applying for this designation and their pay scale varies from $6,900 and $8,200.
• Futures Trader and Broker: Future Traders and Brokers buy and sell assets at a fixed price and at a fixed date in future. In this field, people can easily work as a part of a brokerage or bank and can earn around $7000.
• Creative Director (Advertising): With some recognized global advertising agencies in Singapore like Ogilvy & Mather, people can easily grab the opportunities to work as this designation along with earning a handsome amount of around $8,500 to $11,000.
• Physicians and Surgeons: Physicians, general Practitioners and surgeons have a bright future, although their way to success is quite hard. In an island city state like this, people can easily earn $7,500 to $11,000 or even more.
• Commercial Airline Pilot and Flight Inspector: The training of pilots involves lots of hard work and investment, but professionally trained pilots can easily earn an attractive amount ranging from $9,400 to $19,500.
• Fund Manager: Fund Managers administer the fund pooled by different small investors and being the job portfolio so tough, people need to be professionally trained. This designation offers a very good pay scale ranging from $12,400 – $20,400.

Support my petition “Employ Singaporeans First!”

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Do You Earn More Than $52,350 The Median Annual Income?

March 10th, 2010

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RESORTS World Sentosa’s (RWS) sheen appears to have dulled somewhat – at least in the eyes of investment houses.

After initial bullishness over the prospects of Singapore’s first integrated resort, some banks have cut their earnings forecasts for RWS. One key reason: The staggered opening strategy employed by the resort, which has already raised considerable ire among travel agents and businesses.

Investment banks say that as a result, the impact of the IR’s opening has been blunted.

Analysts initially made bullish forecasts as expectations were high in the industry that RWS would open with a bigger bang – the company had previously said it was raring to go and that it was hampered only by the lack of a casino licence.

But when the casino opened on Feb 14, only about half the tables were available.

The other crowd-puller, the Universal Studios theme park, will open only on Thursday next week, and even then, limited tickets will be sold during what is being called a preview phase.

RWS has not said how long this phase will last.

In its latest report on Monday, DBS Vickers also noted that the number of visitors to the casino averages 20,000 daily, short of Genting’s own expectation of 33,000 visitors daily.

As a result, CIMB-GK has cut its net profit estimates for the company by 17 per cent to $299.2 million. It labelled the partial opening of the casino on Feb 14 ‘disappointing’.

OCBC Investment Research, meanwhile, slashed its revenue forecast by 6.7 per cent to $1.9 billion.

Explained OCBC’s analyst Carey Wong: ‘We were expecting the casino and theme park to start contributing (to revenue) from early 2010, but the partial opening…will mean the full impact of operations will not be seen before April or May.’

A poll by Bloomberg yesterday also reflected uncertainty about how Genting will perform. According to the poll, eight research houses rated Genting shares a ‘buy’, but an equal number had ’sell’ calls. There were three neutral ratings.

Genting, one of the most actively traded counters in recent months, saw share prices peak at about $1.30 on Jan 19, the day before the first phase of RWS opened with four hotels.

Since then, the share has fallen off its peak and is 30 per cent down since the start of this year, making it the worst-performing counter on the Straits Times Index. Genting closed at 91.5 cents yesterday, down 0.5 per cent.

When contacted, RWS declined to say how many people have visited the IR so far, saying it would reveal numbers later. What is known is that more than 149,000 people visited the casino in its first full week of operations.

When asked to comment on the response to the IR to date, RWS spokesman Robin Goh said it is still ‘early days’, with the hotels opened for less than two months and the casino for less than a month, but there have been many bouquets about the resort thus far.

‘We are encouraged by the responses, and guests do have a good time at the resort. We have received many compliments about the overall design of the resort, as well as the mounting excitement about Universal Studios Singapore’s opening next week. The valuable feedback we have received will help us improve further.’

Meanwhile, analysts are also divided about whether Singapore is big enough for two casinos. The first real indication of this, they say, will come on April 27, when Marina Bay Sands (MBS) will also welcome gamblers, thus splitting the market.

Estimates for gaming revenue range from as low as $724 million to as high as $3.5 billion.

Las Vegas Sands chief operating officer Michael Leven had said recently that he expects MBS to generate as much revenue as the company’s operations in Macau.

Among those who share his optimism is brokerage CLSA. But firms like Nomura Securities beg to differ. Its analysts said: ‘Unlike Macau, where the government has been promoting Macau as a gambling hub, the Singapore Government has no plans to make Singapore a gambling hub, in our view.’ Their forecast is that the casinos here will do half as well as Macau’s – where each table nets HK$22,000 (S$4,000) a day – at best.

weichean@sph.com.sg

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Open up

Despite a growing backlash, the boom in migration has been mostly good for both sending and recipient countries, says Adam Roberts (interviewed here)

Jan 3rd 2008 | From The Economist print edition

Eyevine

ENOCH POWELL had a point. The Conservative British politician gave warning, nearly four decades ago, that immigrants were causing such strife that “like the Roman, I seem to see the River Tiber foaming with much blood.” That proved to be nonsense, as did his advice that migrants should be encouraged to leave. Had they done so, Britain and other rich countries that depend heavily on foreign labour would be in a dreadful state. But one prediction he made was spot on: that by about now, one in ten people in Britain would be migrants. And indeed, at the last count in 2005, the foreign-born made up 9.7% of the British population.

By historical standards, that is high. It is a lot more than a decade ago, and the trend is resolutely upwards. Yet it is not dissimilar to that in many other rich countries, which have mostly seen equally rapid increases. And it is still lower than in America, where the proportion is now about 13%, not far off the 15% peak reached just before the first world war, in the previous great era of migration. What is particularly striking in Europe is that many countries which until recently had known only emigration, such as Ireland or Greece, are now seeing the sort of influx more typical of countries such as Australia and America.

This special report will argue that both emigration and immigration countries, as well as the migrants themselves, have been coping remarkably well with this new force that is reshaping our world. Yet there are now signs of a serious backlash against immigration on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2007 activists in America smashed a bill to make immigration easier that had the backing of the president and the leaders of both big parties in Congress. In France, Nicolas Sarkozy won the presidential elections partly thanks to his anti-migrant rhetoric. But this is still a far cry from Mr Powell’s doom-mongering.

Politicians in rich countries may tinker with migration policies. They will certainly, under public pressure, put extra resources and energy into building more fences and walls to keep people out. And by making a connection between immigration and terrorism, they may cause their societies to become more heavily policed. But the basic forces driving migration are unlikely to ebb.

Counting the ways

People who cross international borders are often categorised by their motives, and some of these categories are seen as less desirable than others. Most migrants move for economic reasons, many in search of jobs, some to be united with relatives. Most appear to be doing so legally. America in 2002-06 allowed in an average of just over 1m legal immigrants a year who planned to settle permanently, more than half of them sponsored by relatives. Another 320,000 a year entered temporarily.

The number of illegal migrants is by definition hard to ascertain, but likely to be smaller than the legal sort. The illegals also go for economic reasons, and they probably make up the bulk of people seen floating on rafts in the Mediterranean or scrabbling over the fence from Mexico to America. Many illegal migrants do not risk the high seas or physical borders but instead enter under some other guise, perhaps as tourists, and then stay on. In that same period of 2002-06, America’s population is thought to have seen a net gain of 500,000 illegal migrants every year. Within the European Union it has become impossible to keep a tally because people can move legally among most of the member countries without asking anyone. Britain, as an island, should find it easier than most to know how many foreigners it has allowed in, but its statistics on migrants have recently turned out to be way off the mark.

Lastly, there are refugees and asylum-seekers, strictly defined as those escaping persecution but often including anybody forced to flee, for example from a war. According to the UN’s refugee agency, at the close of 2006 some 10m people fell into this category. Many go through legal channels, applying for refugee status and then asylum. But others join illegal migrants in trying to reach host countries by raft or by jumping over a fence. Genuine refugees may have no alternative.

The 200m question

The number of migrants in the world today, both legal and illegal, is thought to total perhaps 200m (though many of the figures, even those used by governments, are at best educated guesses). That sounds a lot, but it adds up to only 3% of the world’s population, so there is great potential for growth. Migration has turned out to be a successful strategy for the world’s poor to make their lives a little better. Nor is it the very poorest who travel. You need money to move to another part of the world. Thus as Africa, China and other emerging countries become less poor, many more people can aspire to travel in search of a better life.

In the 100 years to 1920, such prospects encouraged some 60m Europeans to uproot themselves and move to the New World. A European who crossed the Atlantic could expect to double his income. Today the incentives are even more enticing. Those who move from a poor country to a rich one can expect to see their income rise fivefold or more. As long as such differentials persist, the draw will continue.

These days, too, demography is playing a big part in migration. Not every migrant is aiming for America or Europe: perhaps two in every five move to another poor or middle-income country. But those who go to the richest parts of the world do their inhabitants a favour. Without migrants, the greying and increasingly choosy populations in much of the rich world would already be on the decline today. That matters for their fast-changing economies, which increasingly demand either highly skilled workers or people willing to do unpleasant and tiring jobs.

One reason why much of the world has enjoyed a sustained economic boom with low inflation in the past decade is that the effective global workforce is expanding so fast. The IMF says it has quadrupled since 1980 as China and India have plugged their huge young populations into the world economy. It is likely to keep on growing, though at a slower pace, with a 40% increase in the world’s working-age population forecast by 2050. According to the UN, the global stock of migrants has more than doubled in the past four decades. Not enough young natives have the right skills or motivation, so the rich must hope that outsiders will keep coming.

And they will. Luckily for Europe and America, there are huge pools of eager workers ready to jump on the next plane, train or leaking raft to work abroad. This can be beneficial for their home countries as well, at least as long as the population is growing fast. The IMF says that emigration from Belize, El Salvador, Guyana and Jamaica, for example, may have led to higher wages and less poverty. Some Chinese from the heavily populated east coast are moving out, despite a fast-growing economy. Researchers in Africa report a recent rapid inflow of Chinese workers.

If exporting brawn generally makes sense for a poor country, sending its better brains away may not. Most, perhaps all, poor and middle-income countries face chronic shortages of skilled workers. In South Africa, although universities churn out graduates at a fast clip, many well-qualified people promptly depart for Britain or Australia, leaving tens of thousands of jobs unfilled at home. In Morocco those with science and engineering degrees, computer skills and languages go to France, the Netherlands and Canada, whereas the students of literature and public administration stay at home. Professor Mohamed Khachami, of AMERM, a migration think-tank in Rabat, laments that his country lacks people to build better internet connections, yet Paris now has an association for Moroccan IT engineers. Hospitals and clinics in southern Africa struggle to cope with huge public-health problems as doctors and nurses pack their bags for jobs in the Gulf, Europe and elsewhere. It is a similar story for schools.

Those in demand abroad are the hardest people to keep at home. Some European countries tried, and failed, to stop artisans emigrating to America in the early 19th century. In fact it is almost impossible to block the exit for the highly skilled if the lure is strong enough. Small countries such as Jamaica, Trinidad and Senegal have seen half to three-quarters of all their graduates move abroad.

Rich countries have taken in more highly skilled migrants than ever before. The World Bank looked at a sample drawn from 52m migrants in 20 rich countries in 2000 and found that 36% of them had a college education, a sharp rise on a decade earlier. Yet emigration of skilled workers may be a consequence rather than a cause of problems in the sending country. For example, nurses may be quitting Malawi because their salaries are not being paid or because hospitals are crumbling; entrepreneurs may be moving abroad because the business climate back home is wretched. Stopping emigration, even if you could, would not solve the problems. The nurses might still leave their jobs, the would-be entrepreneur might sit on his hands.

Indeed, some argue that emigration can help to add to the stock of brainpower. Migrants who go abroad may spend more time studying, pick up more skills and experience and then bring them all home again. Remittances are often used to fund schooling. And the prospect of emigration and prosperity abroad may be an inducement for many more to get an education. All this suggests that the consequences of skilled emigration are difficult to calculate, even if they are not negligible.

Governments of sending countries would do well to tackle whatever factors are pushing their skilled people out in the first place. Malawi, which exports a lot of nurses, should of course worry that it lacks medical staff. It is said that there are more Malawian nurses in Manchester than back home. But, perhaps with donors’ help, more investment in public health could be combined with a strategy of training many more nurses than are needed, allowing for future emigration and the other benefits that brings. If migrants can be tempted back home, even for short spells, all the better. Ghana, for example, has raised wages for some medical staff and offered incentives to the highest-skilled to come back. Money is not the only concern: staff are also allowed parts of the year to work abroad, giving a boost to their careers.

There is no guarantee that migration will carry on at record rates. It is possible to seal borders tightly enough to keep more people out if those inside are ready to pay the price. An earlier period of great migration came to an end, for example, when America some 90 years ago shut its doors to immigrants for a while.

But easier movement of capital and goods has helped to make the world a much richer place in the past decade or two, and more human mobility has both created wealth and helped to share it out more equally. The billions sent around the world in remittances each year is testimony to that. The price of keeping people out would be high.

And unexpected things keep happening. Wars can suddenly displace millions of people who may start off as refugees but end up as migrants. Some people think that climate change might force tens of millions of people to get moving within just a few decades. Misguided policies, a backlash over terrorism or a failure to integrate migrants could all cause serious problems. All the same, it seems clear, 40 years on, that Mr Powell got everything but his sums completely wrong.

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