Albo, Trump and China: No one likes a loser
John Menadue

Albo, Trump and China: No one likes a loser

The first obvious takeaway is that our prime minister has been wise not to heed the Austral Americans urging him to get to Washington as soon as possible.

After ICJ ruling, can UN relief agency UNRWA resume full Gaza operations?
Simon Speakman Cordall

After ICJ ruling, can UN relief agency UNRWA resume full Gaza operations?

ICJ states that Israel must allow aid into Gaza, ensuring food, water, medicine, and shelter for the Palestinian population.

China, US or us? Australia’s Upper Path in the global minerals race
Fred Zhang

ANTI-CHINA MEDIA WATCH

China, US or us? Australia’s Upper Path in the global minerals race

The headlines are breathless: “China versus the world,” proclaimed The Australian, quoting some very important people from the sheriff's office urging allies to decouple from Beijing and unite against China's takeover of global rare earth supply chains.


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Republicans ‘holding US economy hostage’ as nearly half of states face recession
Jake Johnson

Republicans ‘holding US economy hostage’ as nearly half of states face recession

“At a time when costs are rising and tariffs are wreaking havoc on people’s pocketbooks, Republicans are doubling down on their agenda of raising healthcare costs on millions of Americans.”

Hundreds of prominent Jews and Israelis urge world powers to hold Israel accountable 'for Gaza atrocities'
Etan Nechin

Hundreds of prominent Jews and Israelis urge world powers to hold Israel accountable 'for Gaza atrocities'

An open letter, signed by at least 460 Jewish and Israeli intellectuals, celebrities and political figures, calls on the UN and heads of state to address the underlying conditions of occupation, apartheid and the denial of Palestinian rights that are absent from US President Trump's Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Australia has amongst the highest teacher shortages in the OECD
Trevor Cobbold

Australia has amongst the highest teacher shortages in the OECD

A new OECD report reveals that Australia’s education system is facing a diabolical staffing crisis. Since 2018, teacher shortages have soared leaving Australia among the worst-performing nations in the OECD.

‘We just have to be defiant’: Irrepressible environmentalist Bob Brown reflects on a life of activism
Kate Crowley

Review

‘We just have to be defiant’: Irrepressible environmentalist Bob Brown reflects on a life of activism

Hobart’s Theatre Royal was packed to the rafters on a chilly October evening when the irrepressible nature warrior Bob Brown launched his latest book Defiance.

The crumbling illusion: Why American public opinion on Israel is shifting
Jamal Kanj

The crumbling illusion: Why American public opinion on Israel is shifting

For the first time in decades, the public in the United States and across the West has begun to see Israel’s wars and occupation for what they truly are: acts of systemic injustice driven by malevolence and impunity.

Sir Keir's Maccabi outrage should get him the red card
Eugene Doyle

Sir Keir's Maccabi outrage should get him the red card

Within days of UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer attacking his own police force for banning the notorious Israeli Maccabi fans from attending an upcoming Europa League football match against Aston Villa, the Israeli police had to step in to shut down riots at a premier league match between Maccabi and Hapoel Tel Aviv fans.

Managing bullying or manufacturing shame? How neoliberal bureaucracy gets it wrong – again
John Frew

Managing bullying or manufacturing shame? How neoliberal bureaucracy gets it wrong – again

When Education Minister Jason Clare announced the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review in early 2025, he spoke with the gravity such tragedies demand.

Albanese and Rudd sold out freedom of the press this week
Greg Barns

Albanese and Rudd sold out freedom of the press this week

Many Australian journalists think Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Ambassador Kevin Rudd did a wonderful job this week in handling the corrupt narcissist who runs the United States, Donald Trump.

Latest on Palestine and Israel

After ICJ ruling, can UN relief agency UNRWA resume full Gaza operations?
Simon Speakman Cordall

After ICJ ruling, can UN relief agency UNRWA resume full Gaza operations?

ICJ states that Israel must allow aid into Gaza, ensuring food, water, medicine, and shelter for the Palestinian population.

Hundreds of prominent Jews and Israelis urge world powers to hold Israel accountable 'for Gaza atrocities'
Etan Nechin

Hundreds of prominent Jews and Israelis urge world powers to hold Israel accountable 'for Gaza atrocities'

An open letter, signed by at least 460 Jewish and Israeli intellectuals, celebrities and political figures, calls on the UN and heads of state to address the underlying conditions of occupation, apartheid and the denial of Palestinian rights that are absent from US President Trump's Gaza ceasefire agreement.

The crumbling illusion: Why American public opinion on Israel is shifting
Jamal Kanj

The crumbling illusion: Why American public opinion on Israel is shifting

For the first time in decades, the public in the United States and across the West has begun to see Israel’s wars and occupation for what they truly are: acts of systemic injustice driven by malevolence and impunity.

Women are missing from peace negotiations, from strategic decision-making
Meg Schwarz

Women are missing from peace negotiations, from strategic decision-making

There’s a new international body being set up to oversee Gaza’s future, called the “Board of Peace.” It’s part of Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, with Tony Blair already named as a leading figure.

On Israel, Zionism and being Jewish
Dennis Altman

On Israel, Zionism and being Jewish

No political conflict contains as many journalistic minefields as that between Israel and Palestine.

Chris Hedges' Edward Said memorial lecture: ‘Requiem for Gaza’
Chris Hedges

Chris Hedges' Edward Said memorial lecture: ‘Requiem for Gaza’

Journalist Chris Hedges delivers the 2025 Edward Said Memorial Lecture, “Requiem for Gaza” in Adelaide, Australia.

At best, a respite for Gazans
Peter Rodgers

At best, a respite for Gazans

Reading Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan is like venturing into the world of the eccentric early-twentieth-century British cartoonist, Heath Robinson, who unwittingly lent his name as a descriptor for any “unnecessarily complex and implausible contrivance.

After the bombing: The shape of life left by the genocide in Gaza
Refaat Ibrahim

After the bombing: The shape of life left by the genocide in Gaza

Since the ceasefire came into effect, I’ve been searching for a way out of all the horrors that surrounded us in Gaza, but I can’t find one.


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

To avert war, the West must shatter the mirror by which it views China
Weijian Shan

To avert war, the West must shatter the mirror by which it views China

The concept of the Thucydides Trap, predicting conflict between China and the US, projects the West’s conquest-driven history onto Chinese civilisation.

China’s FDI, not the BRI, drives a global green transition
Mausam Kumar

China’s FDI, not the BRI, drives a global green transition

Over the past few years, outward Chinese foreign direct investment commitments in green manufacturing have grown rapidly and now dwarf the Marshall Plan in their scale.

After decades of struggle, women in China are rewriting their future
Ren Yan

After decades of struggle, women in China are rewriting their future

The quiet revolution towards upholding women’s rights in China isn’t just about slogans, but involves the hard work of families, educators and policymakers.


John Menadue

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More from Pearls and Irritations


Latest letters to the editor

Failure of water fluoridation

Mark Diesendorf — BEROWRA HEIGHTS

Clearly, the incorporation of dental health services into Medicare is long overdue. But Lesley Russell has glossed over the obvious question: “Why isn’t dental health better in Australia, one of the most extensively fluoridated countries in the world?” The answer is given implicitly in the scientific reviews by the Cochrane Library, the gold standard in impartial systematic reviews of medications and medical procedures. Cochrane’s latest report on fluoridation, published in 2024, reviewed 157 non-randomised studies. (There are no double-blind randomised controlled trials supporting claims of enormous benefits of fluoridation.) Cochrane found that fluoridation may reduce dental caries by...
Sold out to capitalism

Bob Pearce — Adelaide SA

What we all need to learn from this latest round of arse-licking is that Trump is the end result when government sells out to capitalism. It has been obvious for a long time and Australian governments have foolishly followed the US lead like lemmings over a cliff. The Teals and the latest election result may well be an indicator that the electorate has woken up and had enough. With the LNP brawling among themselves, unlike the carbon tax and the No vote, they may not be able to get their millionaire/media mates together to win back their voters. ...
The Americanisation of Australia

Peter Bright — Tasmania

The insidiously overwhelming Americanisation of Australia is proceeding apace, but we cannot yet predict when our nation will be referred to as Southwest America (formally Australia) nor can we predict when China will be referred to as Northwest America (formally China). The increasingly despised and contemptible US has become a appalling moral wreck of a country, yet its drongo population has allowed Trumpian imbecility to worsen hourly without rejecting its administration entirely. Trump should never been elected.
No one size fits all – a lesson for the West

Les Macdonald — Balmain NSW 2041

A superb analysis of the dogged blindness of the West to the reality that their system is not only the only system, but potentially far from the best. But also a great illustration of the way history and culture determine what is best rather than having a system shoved down your throat which ignores that history and culture. This should be a text in every management and foreign policy course in the West.



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Hunger crisis in Gaza is ‘catastrophic’ despite ceasefire, WHO chief says
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