Warren Report: Musk leveraged government access for personal gain
Eloise Goldsmith

Warren Report: Musk leveraged government access for personal gain

Since Election Day, Musk's staggering net worth has increased by over $100 billion, the report states.

Build-up to the ultimate surveillance state has just begun
Alison Broinowski

Build-up to the ultimate surveillance state has just begun

china politics usa world

While most of us are transfixed daily by more horrific atrocities, potentially deadlier operations are likely to far outlast the genocide in Gaza.

Albanese should remember his childhood – and the rhymes he learnt
Patricia Edgar

Albanese should remember his childhood – and the rhymes he learnt

There is much wisdom to be had in what was learnt in the first years of life,


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For the month of June Pearls and Irritations is running a fundraising campaign through the Australian Cultural Fund. Your donation will support the development of content for topics of particular of interest to Australia - Palestine, China, Climate Change and Immigration Policy and the development of a Young Writer's Handbook to encourage new young writers.

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Ukraine attack will have no effect on outcome of war
Ray McGovern

Ukraine attack will have no effect on outcome of war

The black eye given Russian security services will eventually heal while the artful destruction of a handful of bombers — like earlier high-profile, but misguided operations — will have zero effect on the war in Ukraine.

US military waste contractor with flawed safety record backing Australian N-waste dump
Jorgen Doyle

US military waste contractor with flawed safety record backing Australian N-waste dump

A US military mega-contractor assisting an Australian company to develop a proposal for a nuclear waste dump in Central Australia has a flawed safety record in handling nuclear waste storage.

Talk of a two-state solution may not go much further
Andrew Thomas

Talk of a two-state solution may not go much further

A two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian problem has not been mentioned for ages, but was revived recently. However, it may end with just that – talk.

Australia doing nothing to attract American scientific talent
Noel Turnbull

Australia doing nothing to attract American scientific talent

Australia has an historic opportunity to expand its scientific research and reap significant benefits.

Media shortcomings in covering terrorist Netanyahu’s daily Gaza mass murders
Ralph Nader

Media shortcomings in covering terrorist Netanyahu’s daily Gaza mass murders

Opposition by former high officials in Israeli’s military and national security establishment and Israeli allies – France, England, and Germany – to the aimless killing of civilian families in Gaza is increasing.

China and the art of war
Jocelyn Chey

China and the art of war

I have a love-hate relationship with China. As a university student, I was entranced by China’s history and rich culture.

Ali Kazak and the transformation of the politics of Palestine in Australia
David Spratt

Ali Kazak and the transformation of the politics of Palestine in Australia

It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing on 17 May of Ali Kazak, at the age of 78. Over five decades, Ali dedicated his enormous energy to building understanding and support for Palestine, the land of his birth.

Inequality in an age of weather extremes
Barry Gittins

Inequality in an age of weather extremes

In tropical climes there are certain times of day When all the citizens retire to tear their clothes off and perspire. It’s one of the rules that the greatest fools obey, Because the sun is much too sultry And one must avoid its ultry-violet ray…

Latest on Palestine and Israel

Talk of a two-state solution may not go much further
Andrew Thomas

Talk of a two-state solution may not go much further

A two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian problem has not been mentioned for ages, but was revived recently. However, it may end with just that – talk.

Media shortcomings in covering terrorist Netanyahu’s daily Gaza mass murders
Ralph Nader

Media shortcomings in covering terrorist Netanyahu’s daily Gaza mass murders

Opposition by former high officials in Israeli’s military and national security establishment and Israeli allies – France, England, and Germany – to the aimless killing of civilian families in Gaza is increasing.

Ali Kazak and the transformation of the politics of Palestine in Australia
David Spratt

Ali Kazak and the transformation of the politics of Palestine in Australia

It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing on 17 May of Ali Kazak, at the age of 78. Over five decades, Ali dedicated his enormous energy to building understanding and support for Palestine, the land of his birth.

Bogus charges of antisemitism are the new McCarthyism
Jeremy Rose

Bogus charges of antisemitism are the new McCarthyism

The word antisemitism has become so debased that depending on who is using it, I might well take it as a sign that the accused is worth listening to.

'These could be our children': Israeli women opposing the war, an interview
Ibrahim Quraishi

'These could be our children': Israeli women opposing the war, an interview

Not only abroad, but also within his own country, Israel's Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu is finally facing growing and substantial protests against his war in Gaza.

When education funds genocide: students raise their voices in defiance
Refaat Ibrahim

When education funds genocide: students raise their voices in defiance

For more than a year, the world has been witnessing the genocidal massacres committed by Israel against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands have been killed, including university students and teachers, and academic institutions have been completely destroyed.

We must confound the Zionist Lobby
Richard Llewellyn

We must confound the Zionist Lobby

The recent article by John Menadue recounts how far the Zionist Lobby has managed to exercise the leverage — and it is undeniably powerful leverage — of the malignant scourge of antisemitism to further its geopolitical strategy of creating Eretz Israel and thus grasping the rewards that would flow from it.

Freedom flotilla sets sail for Gaza carrying aid and demands: 'End the blockade. End the genocide'
Brett Wilkins

Freedom flotilla sets sail for Gaza carrying aid and demands: 'End the blockade. End the genocide'

No matter how dangerous this mission is, it's nowhere near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the live-streamed genocide, said climate activist Greta Thunberg, who is aboard the Madleen.


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

Build-up to the ultimate surveillance state has just begun
Alison Broinowski

Build-up to the ultimate surveillance state has just begun

china politics usa world

While most of us are transfixed daily by more horrific atrocities, potentially deadlier operations are likely to far outlast the genocide in Gaza.

China and the art of war
Jocelyn Chey

China and the art of war

I have a love-hate relationship with China. As a university student, I was entranced by China’s history and rich culture.

Shangri-la is not Shangri-la
Daryl Guppy

Shangri-la is not Shangri-la

china politics usa world

Asia, and China's relationship with Asia, is a more complex environment than that understood by Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump and many in the West. This Shangri-la dialogue sought false friendship, and portended little peace and tranquillity.


John Menadue

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More from Pearls and Irritations


Latest letters to the editor

When critique sounds suspiciously like conspiracy

Adam Slonim — St Kilda East

John Menadue’s platform has become a staging ground for increasingly toxic screeds masquerading as foreign policy critique. Two recent pieces — Weaponisation of Antisemitism... and We Must Confound the Zionist Lobby— cross the line from criticism into crude conspiracy. The claim that antisemitism is “weaponised” to silence debate collapses under scrutiny. Israel is one of the most criticised nations on earth – by the UN, media, academics, and NGOs. If there is a Zionist conspiracy to suppress criticism, it’s doing a remarkably poor job. Every cause has its advocates, but only Jewish advocacy is routinely framed as shadowy...
US won’t stop the murders of the hungry in Gaza

Geoff Taylor — Perth

A great article from Ralph Nader, a man who ran four times to be US president himself. We watch on in utter disbelief as UN Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea votes against a ceasefire in Gaza, knowing that that means more mass murders by Israeli forces, because US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he wants Hamas totally eliminated, so there is “not an ember”.
Pre-1978 progress in China

Les Macdonald — Balmain NSW 2041

Firstly, I should say that I agree with Jocelyn about the guidance that Sun Tzu's The Art of War could give to the West as it already does to China. A very good article that summarises well the issues confronting China and the region. One area that I think may need further exploration is the progress that China made prior to opening up. Whilst it is undoubtedly true that Mao made some massive mistakes, I think it is also important to recognise the successes of that period. In 1949, China's life expectancy was 35 years. That put it...
One month in, the honeymoon is over

Bob Pearce — Adelaide SA

I could not agree more with this letter. Unfortunately, less than two weeks into the new government, we are finding out why so many people had difficulty deciding whom to vote for and left it until the last minute to choose the best of a bad bunch. The speed with which the WA gas contract was approved tells a story of how the WA votes were bought. With more to come, unfortunately. Sadly, the old saying in politics — You can’t make changes if you're not in government — only applies if you're prepared to do something once...



Latest from Al Jazeera

Interpol red notice issued for Ghana’s former finance minister
Ken Ofori-Atta skipped prosecutor summons over corruption claims, including multimillion-dollar cathedral project.
US economy adds 139,000 jobs as growth slows
The biggest gains were in healthcare, which added 62,000 jobs, while the economy lost 22,000 federal government jobs.
The Netherlands to hold election on October 29 after government collapse
Polls indicate a close race between Dutch far-right PVV party and the Labour/Green Left alliance.
US-backed GHF says Gaza aid sites remain shut as Israeli attacks kill 22
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which began distributing aid last week, has closed all its centres.
US-backed GHF says Gaza aid sites remain shut as Israeli attacks kill 34
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which began distributing aid last week, has closed all its centres.
US-backed GHF says Gaza aid sites remain shut as Israeli attacks kill 42
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which began distributing aid last week, has closed all its centres.