Links - 28th April 2009

"Cynically speaking, one could say that it is true to life to be cynical about it." - Paul Tillich

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HENTAI dictionary: japanese perversions, fetishes, and AV terms - "[The salariman is] wearing an Airline Stewardess uniform and boxing gloves, watching a DVD of broccoli being put up someone's butt. Let's face it, Japanese porn consumers are so utterly perverted that the industry can't invent new kinks fast enough. Why are Japanese so enthusiastic about giving names to every possible kinky act or combination of acts? In general, Japanese are much more SINGLEMINDED and focused in persuit of their hobbies. For instance, if you're a good Japanese pervert, you don't want to walk into some porno store and just get any old panty-fetish DVD, you specifically want to get a DVD of panties being 'flossed' between the lady's pudenda in a sort of labial tug-of-war. And you want ALL the DVDs of this fetish EVER MADE. Since you don't want to spend 5 minutes explaining that to the drunk grandmother behind the counter, isn't it handy to be able to simply say, "kuikomi, please?""

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Barack Obama's progress | Coming down to earth - "All presidents run for office promising to change Washington and end up becoming its captives. But few have reversed themselves as quickly as the Hope-meister... Mr Obama is now enthusiastically engaged in something that he foreswore as a candidate: the art of the permanent campaign... Mr Obama is squandering his political capital doing exactly what Mr Clinton did so often in his presidency: justifying his mistakes, trying to get the better of the 24-hour news cycle, and demonising opponents... To add to the impression of business as usual, Mr Obama is continuing the long-standing trend of amassing ever more power in the White House."

The end of American labour mobility? | The road not taken - "A decade ago Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick in Britain argued that excessive home-ownership kills jobs. He observed that, in Europe, nations with high rates of home-ownership, such as Spain, had much higher unemployment rates than those where more people rented, such as Switzerland. He found this effect was stronger than tax rates or employment law. If there are few homes to rent, he argued, jobless youngsters living with their parents find it harder to move out and get work. Immobile workers become stuck in jobs for which they are ill-suited, which is inefficient: it raises prices, reduces incomes and makes some jobs uneconomic. Areas with high home-ownership often have a strong “not-in-my-backyard” ethos, with residents objecting to new development. Homeowners commute farther than renters, which causes congestion and makes getting to work more time-consuming and costly for everyone. Mr Oswald urged governments to stop subsidising home-ownership. Few listened."

School's 'halal zone' ruling causes stir - "A PRIMARY school in Jurong West that upset non-Muslim parents by insisting that only halal food could be eaten or taken into its canteen will now overturn its policy. The Ministry of Education (MOE) told The Straits Times yesterday that Boon Lay Garden Primary had made a mistake, and would let its pupils' parents know. In a letter to all parents last Friday, principal Wan Imran Woojdy said that since the school canteen had been certified halal, children would not be allowed to bring non-halal food onto the premises. The school security guard and discipline master had also been checking lunch boxes since last week to ensure pupils complied... Madam Esther Chia, 36, who has two daughters in the school, said one of them resorted to hiding a pork floss bun in her pocket last week to avoid being caught for flouting the new rule... 'We decided to make the whole canteen halal to provide a common eating space for all our children, whatever their race,' he said... A spokesman for Muis clarified yesterday that the council certifies only the food stalls in a school canteen, not the premises as a whole."
Evidently they don't have any Sikhs

Careers And Marriage - "Professional women are more likely to get divorced, more likely to cheat and less likely to have children. And if they do have kids, they are more likely to be unhappy about it. A recent study in Social Forces, a research journal, found that women--even those with a "feminist" outlook--are happier when their husband is the primary breadwinner... the more successful she is, the more likely she is to grow dissatisfied with you. Sound familiar?... If a host of studies are to be believed, marrying these women is asking for trouble. If they quit their jobs and stay home with the kids, they will be unhappy ( Journal of Marriage and Family, 2003). They will be unhappy if they make more money than you do ( Social Forces, 2006). You will be unhappy if they make more money than you do ( Journal of Marriage and Family, 2001). You will be more likely to fall ill ( American Journal of Sociology). Even your house will be dirtier ( Institute for Social Research)... Women's work hours consistently increase divorce, whereas increases in men's work hours often have no statistical effect... So why not just stay single?... a good marriage is associated with a higher income, a longer, healthier life and better-adjusted kids."
Interestingly, while the man who says you shouldn't marry career women has loads of statistics and studies to suport him, the woman who tells men to "own up to their responsibilities, too" has only anecdotes and rhetoric
[Addendum: Response showing that most of the points made by the guy in "Don't Marry A Career Woman" were flawed]