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Relatively unobserved by the media and experts, the establishment of the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) by the ECB has temporarily severely limited the power of the financial markets over national governments in the euro area. The challenge now is to make this permanent. The ECB’s PEPP is a programme for the purchase of public […]
In today’s ruling, the Federal Constitutional Court upheld several constitutional complaints against the Public Sector Purchase Programme (PSPP), stating that the ECB’s decisions on the Public Sector Purchase Programme were incompetent, as the proportionality had not been assessed: A public sector purchase programme such as the PSPP, which has significant economic policy implications, requires in […]
Das Bundesverfassungsgericht hat in seinem Urteil von heute mehreren Verfassungsbeschwerden gegen das Staatsanleihenkaufprogramm (Public Sector Purchase Programme – PSPP) stattgegeben.Die Beschlüsse der EZB zum Staatsanleihenkaufprogramm kompetenzwidrig seien kompetenzwidrig, da die Verhältnismäßigkeit nicht geprüft worden sei: Ein Programm zum Ankauf von Staatsanleihen wie das PSPP, das erhebliche wirtschaftspolitische Auswirkungen hat, setzt insbesondere voraus, dass das währungspolitische Ziel und […]
Temporary and tactical urbanism offers simple, low-cost solutions to make streets and other public spaces both safe and sociable during this time of physical distancing.
Last Tuesday we emptied our little house into the back of a removal truck. After a quick tidy and a last tearful visit to family we set off on the trail to Broken Hill. Z&JB had to wait on some repairs to their car. They followed on at a …
San Francisco is best when it is inventing utopias (executing on it sometimes goes astray, but stay with me). In our Covid/Pandemic world we are all pushed into virtual classes, virtual work, virtual relations. Lets face it, we can only … Continue reading
The global COVID reset button has been activated to coincide with our move out west. My Mum and JB have not been able to fly back to the UK. So their holiday has turned into an extended stay with us. It has been great to have them both here. JB …
This food timeline started as a way to explore the revolution in Australian food that has occurred during the baby-boomers’ lifetime, but has since expanded to include more about the previous decades (and century) as well. Also included are overseas events and trends that had an impact here. The entries are brief, but there are lots of links if you want more information.
Screenagers in the time of coronavirus. (This was originally written for OneZero.) If you’re a parent trying to corral your children into attending “school” online, you’ve probably had the joy of witnessing a complete meltdown. Tantrums are no longer the domain of two-year-olds; 15-year-olds are also kicking and screaming. Needless to say, so are the […]
The last ten years have brought Knut Wicksell, a Swedish economist born in the 19th century, closer to the spotlight. His “Interest and Prices” (1898) should be understood as the birth of a new idea of how to explain monetary systems. (I have written about this elsewhere.) While some still pretend that Wicksell was a […]
The TARDIS of UNSW was a warmly received fan filmed produced in 2019 by UNSW’s DocSoc student group, part of a long tradition of fans telling their own Doctor Who stories. The DWCA’s last such production was well over a generation ago and now a new team of film makers are looking to throw their hats into the ring. The project is being masterminded by Thomas Walder (DocSoc) and Roger Reynolds (DWCA), and they’re on the lookout for script / plot ideas, actors, gaffers, costume designers, camera operators, sound engineers, make-up artists, and anyone else who can help out. As the COVID-19 pandemic has us all physically separated at the… Continue reading
Boris Johnson’s first response was at odds with the rest of the world. But this virus does not respect his delusions of national character
There is now the terrible possibility that Britain may match or even overtake Italy and Spain as the country in Europe that suffers most from the coronavirus pandemic. This tragedy has a political, as well as a biological, epidemiology. Those seeking to trace its path may look back on a telling moment – paradoxically the one at which the government finally changed course and fell into line with most of the rest of Europe. On 20 March, Boris Johnson announced the closure of pubs, clubs and restaurants. Even as he did so, however, he made it clear that this decision was an assault on the national character.
By J.D. ALT The theme and illustrations of this essay are from the new book “Paying Ourselves to Save the Planet.” It might seem, as we observe the U.S. government “instantly” generating $2 trillion new dollars for direct payments and … Continue reading
In March 2020, the Trudeau government launched a new version of the Insured Mortgage Purchase Program (IMPP). According to CMHC’s website: “Under this program, the government will purchase up to $50 billion of insured mortgage pools through CMHC.” Here are 10 things to know: 1. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is a federally-owned crown corporation. Many of us know [...]
Stuck at home with nothing to do? Don’t worry – the DWCA has your back! We’ve just released Volume Four of Zerinza, which collects the entire Eleanor saga from the pages of Data Extract, along with new behind the scenes material. With articles, comics, stories and illustrations, this volume is a celebration of the power and originality of fan fiction in general as well as that of Eleanor and her supporting cast in particular. Eleanor Chaplette was devised by Craig Land and Dom Kelly for the Doctor Who Club of Australia’s flagship publication Data Extract and featured from issue 228 in 2015… Continue reading
Due to the health emergency of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic, the DWCA and its local groups have made the difficult decision to cancel upcoming events. As soon as it is possible to safely host events later in the year the DWCA will look to do so. The Canberra local group reports that since ACT libraries are closed so no meetings are currently scheduled. The Central West group reports they have no venues so no meetings are currently scheduled. The Newcastle local group have cancelled their meetings but are currently investigating if online meetings are viable. We wish all our… Continue reading
Canada’s most prominent progressive economist has passed. He will be sorely missed. https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/mel-watkins-a-life-well-lived
Brendel/Unsplash, CC BY-NC Warwick Smith, University of Melbourne This article was first published in The Conversation. Understandably, given we are in a crisis, the government has baulked at including superannuation contributions in the A$140 billion worth of $1,500 per … Continue reading
Monday morning at work I started running a slight temperature. My shoulders and neck ached. I work with immunocompromised patients so it was safest to go home. I am a nurse so in the interest of …