Pearlcasts
As we review 2025, the temptation is to look for neat summaries and settled conclusions.
Go to Pearlcasts
14 February 2026
Genocide is the story, not antisemitism
The Australian government’s response to Gaza, and its handling of President Isaac Herzog’s visit, has blurred the line between antisemitism and criticism of Israel. The result is deeper division, weaker democracy and greater risk to Jewish communities.
14 February 2026
Message from the Editor
We've had a huge response this week to the news that John is stepping back from daily involvement in running Pearls and Irritations in order to write and enjoy life more.
14 February 2026
Lai sentenced, Beijing doubles down on HK security – Asian Media Report
China’s ‘zero tolerance’ white paper to Takaichi’s all-powerful supermajority, opposite views on India-US trade deal, why BYD is beating Tesla, Cambodia war a key to Thai PM’s victory, and the K-pop path for Bad Bunny – news, opinion and analysis from across our region
14 February 2026
How did the Liberals’ first female leader find herself on the mat in under a year?
Sussan Ley’s rapid collapse as Liberal leader reflects her own limitations – but also a party struggling with factional dominance, ideological fracture and relentless polling panic.
14 February 2026
Victoria’s school funding deal locks in inequality
Victoria’s latest school funding agreement freezes public schools below the Schooling Resource Standard, formalising stagnation while preserving the language of reform. Delay is not neutral – it compounds disadvantage and entrenches inequality.
14 February 2026
From pride to fear – how police violence changed how we see Australia
Toya Adams and Laurie Shears describe attending the Sydney protest against President Herzog’s visit – and how police violence left them fearful, shocked and questioning Australia’s democratic foundations.
14 February 2026
Judge rebukes US defence secretary over bid to silence retired veteran
A federal judge has blocked an attempt by the US defence secretary to punish a retired naval officer and senator for speaking out, delivering a sharp rebuke to efforts to narrow constitutional protections for veterans.
13 February 2026
Grace Tame, free speech and the return of political punishment
Calls to strip Grace Tame of her Australian of the Year award over her protest speech highlight a troubling slide towards political punishment and selective free speech.
13 February 2026
An incomparable job, an honoured place as Founder
John Menadue, and the late Susie Menadue, did an incomparable job in conceiving, establishing, growing and nurturing Pearls and Irritations as a brave and independent alternative to the conformity of Australia’s legacy media.
13 February 2026
Angus Taylor looks like a leader on paper – but the job is bigger than that
Angus Taylor has all the on-paper qualifications to be opposition leader. But what's needed now is a miracle worker to lift the struggling Liberal Party from its existential crisis.
13 February 2026
Iran’s comprehensive peace proposal to the United States
A regional peace settlement grounded in Palestinian statehood, international law and mutual security guarantees offers a real alternative to perpetual conflict.
Read our series
Latest on Palestine and Israel
13 February 2026
Iran’s comprehensive peace proposal to the United States
A regional peace settlement grounded in Palestinian statehood, international law and mutual security guarantees offers a real alternative to perpetual conflict.
12 February 2026
The Herzog visit and the Israelisation of antisemitism
Inviting Israel’s president to Australia in the wake of the Bondi attack has blurred the line between antisemitism and legitimate criticism of Israel, weakening rather than strengthening social cohesion.
12 February 2026
Cowardice dressed up as authority on Sydney’s streets
The violence surrounding protests against the visit of Israel’s president was not an accident of crowd control. It reflects a deeper political failure – where authority suppresses dissent rather than confronting uncomfortable truths about Gaza, protest rights and democratic responsibility.
11 February 2026
When peaceful protest is allowed to work, democracy works
Melbourne’s mass protest against the visit of Israel President Isaac Herzog showed how large, diverse crowds can assemble peacefully when police exercise restraint and common sense. Sydney’s response points to a deeper failure of judgment about protest, power and democracy.
11 February 2026
Salt, light and the visit of Isaac Herzog
As controversy surrounds the visit of Israel’s president, Frank Brennan reflects on how Australians might respond with moral seriousness, legal clarity and a commitment to justice for all.
11 February 2026
Herzog greeted by mass protest despite limits on marching
Denied permission to march, thousands still gathered in central Sydney to protest the visit of Israel’s president. The demonstration revealed both the scale of public anger and the state’s increasingly fraught response to dissent.
11 February 2026
Inviting a foreign president to Bondi’s commemoration divides rather than unites
Inviting a foreign head of state to commemorate an Australian tragedy blurs citizenship, religion and geopolitics – and risks undermining social cohesion at a moment that demands unity.
10 February 2026
Antisemitism laws, double standards and Australia’s unfinished reckoning
Proposals to legislate new antisemitism definitions raise hard questions about identity, equality before the law, and why Australia continues to avoid confronting its most entrenched forms of racism.
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 PDFLatest on China
9 February 2026
Confucianism, not coercion – China’s long export of a governance philosophy
Claims that China is exporting authoritarianism rest on a shallow reading of both Chinese political tradition and how governance ideas actually travel. A longer historical view points instead to Confucianism – a philosophy that has shaped governance across East Asia for centuries.
7 February 2026
Australia unlikely to follow US downgrade on China threat
The US National Defense Strategy signals a softer, more pragmatic approach to China. Australia’s silence on the shift exposes how detached its defence posture has become from both reality and its own national interests.
6 February 2026
The China AI panic misses what history keeps teaching us
Warnings that China must be cut off from advanced AI chips echo a familiar pattern. History suggests technology bans rarely slow China down – and often do the opposite.
Support our independent media with your donation
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.
DonateMore from Pearls and Irritations
13 February 2026
Saving Meanjin is a victory – sustaining it is the real test
12 February 2026
Is Hanson planning to copy Trump on mass deportation?
11 February 2026
When peaceful protest is allowed to work, democracy works
Latest letters to the editor
Don't mention the root causes
Hal Duell — Alice Springs
Increase taxes
John tons — adelaide
AUKUS vs India: a strategy and cost critique
Ravin Nair — Canberra, ACT
Menadue understands power of lobbyists
Simon Tatz — Melbourne