holy matrimony, for very unholy reasons

  (Another new post appears below)
In other news, it appears that my job wants to force me into holy matrimony, for very unholy reasons.  Apparently travelling with a partner around the world from posting to posting involves the employee paying for every last one of the partner's expenses.  That can be quite expensive as those of you who have bought tickets to, say, Tashkent can attest.  I'm sure the policies are designed to prevent even a whiff of an allegation that gay relationships are OK, but part of me wants to yell, "It's the 21st Century!"  New Zealand is debating a law on Civil Unions, and many of the arguments on the sanctity of marriage, the importance of the fabric of the family, etc would sound familiar to Americans.  But before I get off topic, I would like to take my current partner with me.  I can not afford that on my salary.  He could not work in the U.S. unless we were married.  Ergo, I must either marry solely for financial reasons, or "live in sin" in a foreign country!  I know it all sounds very dramatic, but with the dearth of life-threatening incidents here, I have to create my own drama. (Ooh, I do recommend, though, that you check out Hamas' recent endorsement of the New Zealand government.... What!) Wacky things are afoot down under...