Missing Link Friday – Sluts, set-top boxes, taxes and more

In this week’s Missing Link Friday bloggers discuss slutwalking, teenage pregnancy, the demise of the book, typical Australian incomes and the problem of men who don’t work.

Sex, lies and slutwalking. Slutwalking is what happens when "when the political passions of the second-wave fantastically crash into the third-wave’s warm embrace of sexuality performed in all its spectacular, confronting and revealing glory". writes Lauren Rosewarne at The Conversation.

Look at that slut. A new member of congress flaunts their half-naked body on the cover of a glossy magazine. Should we be shocked?

Shunning for your own good. Blue Milk on teenage pregnancy.

But what about when boys call me “foxy”? According to a report in Canada’s National Post: "Animal ethicists are calling for a new vocabulary about animals, shunning words such as ‘pets,’ ‘wildlife,’ and ‘vermin’ as derogatory". At Feministe, Jill’s post begins: "Sorry, this probably makes me insensitive to the feelings of non-human animals … but …"

Do Libraries Need Books Anymore? Matt Yglesias thinks libraries can save money by abandoning paper and moving to ebooks and electronic readers. But as eGov AU’s Craig Thomler explains, some publishers don’t intend selling ebooks to libraries — they plan to lease them:

Harper Collins has locked ebooks sold (via the OverDrive service) to libraries in the US and Canada. After 26 lends each ebook becomes unusable and the library must repurchase it to keep lending it out.

Why the ‘set-top boxes for pensioners’ budget allocation might not be as big as it sounds. At iTWire, Stephen Withers argues that the government’s Household Assistance Scheme isn’t as outrageous as it looks.

Monday’s medical myth: drink eight glasses of water a day. How can you tell if you’re drinking enough water? At The Conversation, Tim Crowe offers this advice: "If your urine is lightly coloured or clear, you’re drinking enough. If it’s dark, then you should drink more."

What is the typical Australian’s income? Is the Gillard government mercilessly assaulting ordinary working families struggling on $150,000 a year? Matt Cowgill looks at the data and concludes that $150,000 plus is hardly typical for a couple with two kids. According to Mr Denmore: "the problem is 98 percent of journalists are innumerate."

David Brooks On High “Structural” Unemployment. Fewer prime age men are working for a living, writes New York Times Columnist David Brooks. Brooks argues that this is a structural problem that requires greater investments in human capital. Rortybomb’s Mike Konczal disagrees.

Taxes and work. Do differences in tax rates account explain why people in some countries work more than others? Edward C. Prescott of the Minneapolis Fed says yes (pdf). At Consider the Evidence Lane Kenworthy looks at the data and concludes that: "the overall tax level doesn’t seem to be an important determinant of differences in employment hours across the world’s rich countries."

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murph the surf.
murph the surf.
12 years ago

As this resembles an open thread , and I apologise if I’m wrong , what is the story with regard to QE3 from the Federal Reserve?
Is this being considered in a specific time frame or is the situation that we need to wait and see a bit longer?
Is it basically a plan to inflate the US’ debt to manageable levels/away?

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