Watermelons in the rain
Alison Broinowski

Watermelons in the rain

We knew a thousand police couldn’t arrest 90,000 of us, so the march for Palestine was always going to happen. An 11th-hour decision by Justice Belinda Rigg just made it legal.

Open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese MP from Australian former diplomats
Former diplomats

Open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese MP from Australian former diplomats

As pressure mounts on the Australian Government over Palestine, a group of highly respected Australians, who have represented our nation overseas, have gone straight to the top with a letter to the prime minister.

Mike Burgess on the ASIO soapbox, again
Paddy Gourley

Gourley on Government

Mike Burgess on the ASIO soapbox, again

Those with a regard for their welfare would do well not to get between ASIO chief, Mike Burgess, and a soapbox.

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'Total war'
Bill Uren

'Total war'

I was just nine when World War II ended. I still have quite vivid memories of that Wednesday in August 1945.

Roundtable will fix nothing unless we can all park our self-interest
Ross Gittins

Roundtable will fix nothing unless we can all park our self-interest

I’m not sure if it’s happening by accident or design, but we may be about to convince ourselves that, though our democracy isn’t nearly as stuffed up as America’s, we’re fast making ourselves ungovernable, unable to agree on how to fix our problems.

Recognise Palestine? Then free Marwan Barghouti!
Eugene Doyle

Recognise Palestine? Then free Marwan Barghouti!

The world’s most important hostage must be released. Powerful Western countries have signalled that in the face of the genocide they may recognise the state of Palestine. States need leaders. That’s why Marwan Barghouti — often dubbed the Palestinian Mandela — must be freed.

Interfaith groups come together to call for Gaza action
Interfaith Coalition

Interfaith groups come together to call for Gaza action

A coalition of Australian interfaith and community organisations — including leading Muslim, Christian, and Jewish groups — is calling on the Albanese Government to sanction Israel and to urgently recognise Palestine as a sovereign state. Full page advertisements have appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers. The signatories represent a broad spectrum of religious, ethnic and political affiliations, united in an unprecedented show of solidarity. Their joint message is clear. The time for action is now.

The end of jobs?
Julian Cribb

The end of jobs?

By the 2040s, half to three-quarters of human society may be out of work, replaced by AI and sleepless robots.

Can Corbyn’s new party in Britain prompt a Turnbull comeback?
Paul Begley

Can Corbyn’s new party in Britain prompt a Turnbull comeback?

When former prime minister Birgitte Nyborg started a new political party in Denmark during season 3 of Borgen, her fictional initiative reflected changing times in Denmark.

Algal bloom: first peoples ngamath-sea country
Irene Watson

Algal bloom: first peoples ngamath-sea country

A civilisation that proves incapable of solving the problems it creates is a decadent civilisation. – Aime Cesaire.

Palestine recognised
Paul Heywood-Smith

Palestine recognised

We are approaching the end game. There is a movement towards recognition of Palestine by major Western nations, namely France, the UK and Canada, and including, possibly, Australia and New Zealand.

Latest on Palestine and Israel

Watermelons in the rain
Alison Broinowski

Watermelons in the rain

We knew a thousand police couldn’t arrest 90,000 of us, so the march for Palestine was always going to happen. An 11th-hour decision by Justice Belinda Rigg just made it legal.

Recognise Palestine? Then free Marwan Barghouti!
Eugene Doyle

Recognise Palestine? Then free Marwan Barghouti!

The world’s most important hostage must be released. Powerful Western countries have signalled that in the face of the genocide they may recognise the state of Palestine. States need leaders. That’s why Marwan Barghouti — often dubbed the Palestinian Mandela — must be freed.

Interfaith groups come together to call for Gaza action
Interfaith Coalition

Interfaith groups come together to call for Gaza action

A coalition of Australian interfaith and community organisations — including leading Muslim, Christian, and Jewish groups — is calling on the Albanese Government to sanction Israel and to urgently recognise Palestine as a sovereign state. Full page advertisements have appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers. The signatories represent a broad spectrum of religious, ethnic and political affiliations, united in an unprecedented show of solidarity. Their joint message is clear. The time for action is now.

Palestine recognised
Paul Heywood-Smith

Palestine recognised

We are approaching the end game. There is a movement towards recognition of Palestine by major Western nations, namely France, the UK and Canada, and including, possibly, Australia and New Zealand.

Israel activates its cells – the Kostakidis case
Joe Lauria

Israel activates its cells – the Kostakidis case

The conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism is the test in the Zionist lobby case against Australian journalist Mary Kostakidis for her Gaza reporting and the outcome will be of great international significance, says Joe Lauria.

Albo's Palestine delay an act of moral cowardice
Greg Barns

Albo's Palestine delay an act of moral cowardice

The Albanese Government’s failure to move to follow the lead of the UK, Canada and France in recognising the state of Palestine smacks of cowardice.

Urgency of Palestinian recognition
George Browning

Urgency of Palestinian recognition

Of course, Netanyahu is angry about talk of Palestinian recognition. He runs a narrative that Palestine and Palestinians do not exist.

'Stop genocide!' March across Sydney bridge for Gaza
Common Dreams staff

'Stop genocide!' March across Sydney bridge for Gaza

One has to be blind not to see that Israel has completely lost the majority of the world—including in the West.

John Menadue's book on Israel's war against Gaza

Israel's war against Gaza

Media coverage of the war in Gaza since October 2023 has spread a series of lies propagated by Israel and the United States. This publication presents information, analysis, clarification, views and perspectives largely unavailable in mainstream media in Australia and elsewhere.

Download the PDF

Latest on China

Is the ‘China threat’ real or trumped up?
Jia Qingguo

Is the ‘China threat’ real or trumped up?

In recent years, the ‘China threat’ theory has become a prominent theme in Western political discourse.

Why every China watcher must be on WeChat
Zichen Wang

Why every China watcher must be on WeChat

None of this is to glorify WeChat itself – it’s simply the reality of China’s digital ecosystem today.

China is building the world’s biggest hydropower dam. Why is India worried?
Meredith Chen

China is building the world’s biggest hydropower dam. Why is India worried?

China breaks ground on what Premier Li Qiang has called the project of the century, but some fear a water conflict and ecological effects.

John Menadue

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Pearls and Irritations leads the way in raising and analysing vital issues often neglected in mainstream media. Your contribution supports our independence and quality commentary on matters importance to Australia and our region.

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More from Pearls and Irritations

Israel activates its cells – the Kostakidis case
Joe Lauria

Israel activates its cells – the Kostakidis case

Once Australia was important to Indonesia
Duncan Graham

Once Australia was important to Indonesia

Australia should recognise Palestine. To not do so only rewards Israel’s crimes
Ben Saul

Australia should recognise Palestine. To not do so only rewards Israel’s crimes

Albo's Palestine delay an act of moral cowardice
Greg Barns

Albo's Palestine delay an act of moral cowardice

Is the ‘China threat’ real or trumped up?
Jia Qingguo

Is the ‘China threat’ real or trumped up?

Economists want a carbon price comeback – but does Australia have the political courage?
Felicity Deane

Economists want a carbon price comeback – but does Australia have the political courage?

Syria’s minorities under siege
Chris Ray

Syria’s minorities under siege

Bringing government back – but not all the way
Stewart Sweeney

Bringing government back – but not all the way

US’ deceitful tactic will have wide consequences
Richard Cullen

US’ deceitful tactic will have wide consequences

Urgency of Palestinian recognition
George Browning

Urgency of Palestinian recognition

'Stop genocide!' March across Sydney bridge for Gaza
Common Dreams staff

'Stop genocide!' March across Sydney bridge for Gaza

The time has come for a Palestinian nation
Jack Waterford

The time has come for a Palestinian nation

Latest letters to the editor

The ethics of war: What happens at the end of wars?

Jennifer Haines — Glossodia

Eighty years ago, the American bomber the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Why? The aerial bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict. During World War II, Allied air forces dropped approximately 2.7 million tons of bombs on Germany, much of the intense bombing towards the end of the war, when the Allies already knew they had won the war. Cities like Dresden and Hamburg were flattened, most of those killed were civilians. Why? War is a...
Correcting Richard Llewellyn's letter

Robert Cockburn — Sydney

I'm happy to correct Richard on the points he raised. The US Navy describes the Catalina flying boat as an antique in a wartime newsreel; The life of the Catalina was deemed over at the outbreak of WWII. Veteran Philip Dulhunty and others described it to me as doomed to the scrapyard before it was saved. For colour, which you criticise, I refer you to RAAF Catalina gunner Cyril Payne's hilarious description of his friend Lenny on an early flight using the wrong shute to poo down with the result spraying all over the interior. This...
Endloesung?

Geoff Taylor — Perth

I have admired the many pieces Paul Heywood-Smith has written on Palestine. And also the contributions of many others. I have hoped that John Menadue’s Pearls and Irritations wasn’t just an echo chamber, but that its powerful facts and writings were influencing general public opinion. But, alas, now I think we are watching Benjamin Netanyahu and the government of Israel preparing for the Endloesung (final solution) for Gaza and the West Bank. Some say the world won’t allow it. Well, it has allowed the 60,000 deaths of the last 20 or so months in Palestine to occur with no...
Aussie economists aren’t realistic about carbon

Stephen Saunders — O'Connor

Felicity Deane’s article repeats the familiar daydream of economic experts” – carbon-pricing best tackles climate change. Case by case, it’s true carbon-pricing schemes can “reduce emissions” or at least reduce the “growth rate”. Back at macro level, so what? Sure, the US has genuinely reduced emissions – largely via coal-to-gas switching. The EU has had an ETS since 2005, but it doesn’t even cover half their emissions. Their emissions-reduction factors are coal-to-gas and more renewables. The power of the ETS itself is debatable. Meanwhile, China gets an indulgent UN pass to burn far more coal than the rest...

Catch up on other sections

Arts 121 China 1165 Climate 1370 Commendations 19 Defence 2427 Economy 2741 Education 685
Employment 34 Finance 2 Health 1501 History 49 Immigration 952 Indigenous Affairs 378 Israel Palestine 1194
Media 1786 Podcast 43 Policy 179 Politics 17652 Racism 16 Religion 1222 Review 20
The Human Future 50 Our Top Five Each Week 2069 USA 489 World 1287

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