Monthly Archives: June 2012

Junior netball, gender, and statistics

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Robert Merkel

When, and how, to segregate sports by gender occasionally throws up difficult issues. At the elite level, there was the controversy surrounding Caster Semenya. But it’s a problem at junior level, too. Should boys and girls compete in separate sporting … Continue reading →

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Getting past “third-order issues” is hard when they keep coming up

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Robert Merkel

It’s easy to sympathize with foreign-policy hardheads like Hugh White when they suggest that Australian body politic should get past third-order issues like people smuggling, or even animal slaughtering practices. But what happens when an Indonesian court throws a public … Continue reading →

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How much does economic reform matter?

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Robert Merkel

For what it’s worth, I regularly disagree with material that the Grattan Institute puts out, but it does perform a valuable service in its analyses. Alan Davies has noted their latest one on “economic reform priorities for Australia”. Their goal? … Continue reading →

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Swiss cycling culture

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Robert Merkel

Warning: cycling subculture-related post coming up… The Velominati would be horrified.  It’s not quite home, but it’s certainly just around the corner from the homes of the “cycling culture” they are purportedly inspired by.  But it seems the Zurich locals … Continue reading →

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Zurich – a better model, but not perfect

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Robert Merkel

Northern Europe is sometimes seen as something of a promised land by those with a green/leftish bent, a placewhere a comfortable and pleasant urban lifestyle is maintained in harmony with admirable environmental sustainability. Zurich, like many other northern European cities, … Continue reading →

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I am away…

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Robert Merkel

I’m currently in Zurich for a conference, hence the lack of blogging. If I get some time there are a couple of blog-worthy things that I’ll try to post about, otherwise normal service will resume late next week.

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