Lack of China capability can only do harm to society: Our current situation is a disgrace
Colin Mackerras

Lack of China capability can only do harm to society: Our current situation is a disgrace

In March 2023, the Australian Academy of the Humanities sounded the alarm on the decline in our understanding and knowledge of China through a report on “Australia’s China Knowledge Capability”.

Message from the editor
Catriona Jackson

Message from the editor

This month we are working hard on a new initiative, a P&I podcast series called Pearlcast. Pearlcast will kick off with a topic close to our hearts, the 50th anniversary of the dismissal of the Whitlam Government.

These are fighting words
Jeff McMullen

These are fighting words

As political violence escalates in the United States, chaos is spreading and democracy itself is under threat. The words of anger, ill-considered and increasingly crude, are accelerant on the American bonfire.


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Ignorance is complicity: Australia must end its arms trade with those committing crimes
Rayana Ajam

YOUNG GLOBAL LEADERS

Ignorance is complicity: Australia must end its arms trade with those committing crimes

Rayana Ajam is one of six talented young Australians who will travel to the UN General Assembly in New York next week as part of the Global Voices project.

How anti-China witch hunts in Canada and the UK ruin lives
Alex Lo

How anti-China witch hunts in Canada and the UK ruin lives

Security services such as London’s MI5 and Ottawa’s RCMP appear to be going after individuals and organisations out of pure antagonism and distrust against Beijing rather than having actual evidence.

Fifty years of political economics at Sydney University – what has it meant for us?
Evan Jones

Fifty years of political economics at Sydney University – what has it meant for us?

Earlier this year The Journal of Australian Political Economy published a special issue devoted to recollections and implications of 50 years of Political Economy courses at Sydney University.

Who would be a carer?
Tony Smith

Who would be a carer?

Whether because of temporary disability or permanent need, the demand for accessible holiday accommodation is growing with our ageing population.

Dying in prison
Jane Anderson,  Kelvin Quartermaine

Dying in prison

The political predilection for punishment is contributing to yet another stressor on prisons. As Australia’s prison population ages, so, too, do inmates risk dying inside.

South Korea's caution on US Iran aims
Jeffrey Robertson

South Korea's caution on US Iran aims

Just last month in New York, South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister.

Childhood on hold: Growing up too soon in Gaza and beyond
Meg Schwarz

Childhood on hold: Growing up too soon in Gaza and beyond

UNICEF has called Gaza the “most dangerous place in the world to be a child.” It estimates every single child in Gaza will need mental health support.

Is this the moment that will define cricket's future?
Chas Keys

Is this the moment that will define cricket's future?

On 8 October, what may turn out to be a huge moment for the game of cricket hit the news: Australian Test captain Pat Cummins and all-format Australian player Travis Head were reported to have been offered nearly $10 million each a few months ago to join cricket’s international T20 circuit.

Latest on Palestine and Israel

Childhood on hold: Growing up too soon in Gaza and beyond
Meg Schwarz

Childhood on hold: Growing up too soon in Gaza and beyond

UNICEF has called Gaza the “most dangerous place in the world to be a child.” It estimates every single child in Gaza will need mental health support.

Celebrate the ceasefire, but don’t forget: Gaza survived on its own
Ahmad Ibsais

Celebrate the ceasefire, but don’t forget: Gaza survived on its own

Western leaders now claim credit for peace, but Gaza’s survival belongs to its people alone.

‘We must keep the pressure on’: Humanitarians say ceasefire doesn’t erase Gaza genocide
Stephen Prager

‘We must keep the pressure on’: Humanitarians say ceasefire doesn’t erase Gaza genocide

“This much-needed and welcomed ceasefire does not change the simple fact that Israel has just committed a genocide in Gaza,” wrote the co-founder of European Jews for Palestine.

Van Jones and the moral vacancy of American commentary on Gaza
Ziyad Motala

Van Jones and the moral vacancy of American commentary on Gaza

The US pundit’s dead Gaza baby joke was not a slip of the tongue, but a window into a media culture that trivialises Palestinian suffering and deflects responsibility.

How the West will package the genocide after Netanyahu
Jaron Sutton

How the West will package the genocide after Netanyahu

In the not-too-distant future, the Netanyahu Government will fall. When this happens, it will become politically fashionable (and indeed necessary) for Western leaders outside the US to intellectually “package” the genocide in Gaza.

Trump says Israel and Hamas sign off on first phase of Gaza ceasefire plan
Al Jazeera and news agencies

Trump says Israel and Hamas sign off on first phase of Gaza ceasefire plan

Mediator Qatar said more details of the agreement would be announced at a later date.

Jeffrey Sachs: Twenty-point plan minus the US-UK colonialism
Jeffrey D. Sachs,  Sybil Fares

Jeffrey Sachs: Twenty-point plan minus the US-UK colonialism

Jeffrey D. Sachs and Sybil Fares offer a revised version of the Trump plan for an end of the war in Gaza and the occupation of the West Bank.

Is Greta Thunberg the lone voice for justice in our world?
Wayne McMillan

Is Greta Thunberg the lone voice for justice in our world?

As the world moves from one crisis to another and our politicians ignore the immense injustices that are happening in their nation and in the world, what do ordinary non-violent citizens do to let their politicians know they aren’t happy with their lack of moral and ethical fortitude?


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

Lack of China capability can only do harm to society: Our current situation is a disgrace
Colin Mackerras

Lack of China capability can only do harm to society: Our current situation is a disgrace

In March 2023, the Australian Academy of the Humanities sounded the alarm on the decline in our understanding and knowledge of China through a report on “Australia’s China Knowledge Capability”.

How anti-China witch hunts in Canada and the UK ruin lives
Alex Lo

How anti-China witch hunts in Canada and the UK ruin lives

Security services such as London’s MI5 and Ottawa’s RCMP appear to be going after individuals and organisations out of pure antagonism and distrust against Beijing rather than having actual evidence.

Almost no Australians study Chinese any more. That’s a problem
Michael Read

Almost no Australians study Chinese any more. That’s a problem

Fewer than five Australians per year are graduating from honours programs in Chinese studies with language, raising fears the nation is losing the expertise needed to navigate its most complex foreign relationship.


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


Latest letters to the editor

Singapore does it right

Les Macdonald — Balmain NSW 2041

Singapore has been getting it right for many decades now, standing up for yourself, not unnecessarily making enemies and dealing with all on an equal basis. If we could only stop learning our lessons on power, diplomacy and geopolitics from the dying empire and get with the rising one!
Security through diplomacy

Les Macdonald — Balmain NSW 2041

Security for Australia within Asia is really quite simple. Join BRICS and the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation. We already have membership in the New Development Bank and the Reserve Contingent Arrangement. This will integrate us into the region which will dominate the world this century. Membership of all these guarantees our security in the region. Then all we have to do is navigate the US covert and criminal efforts, as in 1975 with Gough, to overturn our government and bring us back into being another bitch for the US!
Shark nets save lives

John Dengate — Sydney

Graeme Stewart is absolutely right on shark nets. My long career as an environmentalist has convinced me that sharks don’t want to eat you. But attacks do happen – with terrifying results. It concerns me that nets are a blunt instrument that catches other sea creatures as well as sharks. But it also concerns me that people are killed by sharks. The current orchestrated campaign against nets claims they don’t work and even that nets attract sharks. Professor Stewart has cut through this debate with an excellent summary of the scientific evidence – which clearly shows that shark nets...
Graffiti is a hate crime too

Simon Tatz — Melbourne

Jerry Cartwright thinks pro-terrorist graffiti is a trivial matter. Imagine if, after the Bali bombings, similar messages supporting those who killed many Australians were sprayed around our cities? Perhaps Cartwright would find it confected outrage if messages supporting domestic violence and killing of women were painted near his home, or support for child sexual abuse. Would that elicit confected outrage too? Here's a truth bomb – it's only people who will never experience antisemitism, Islamophobia or racism who dismiss vilification as trivial.



Latest from Al Jazeera

Israel expects to receive all living captives from Gaza on Monday
Once Israel confirms all 20 living captives in Israeli territory, it says it will start releasing Palestinian prisoners.
Madagascar president warns of attempt to ‘seize power’: What to know
An elite military unit that installed the president in 2009 has joined Gen Z protesters calling for his resignation.
Mali imposes retaliatory visa bond fees on US travellers
The measure comes after the US added Mali to its list of African countries required to post bonds of $5,000 and $10,000.
Week in Pictures: From ceasefire in Gaza to floods in Mexico
A global roundup of some of last week’s events.
Bangladesh rolls out typhoid immunisation drive for 50 million children
The campaign aims to protect the children from the drug-resistant disease spreading across South Asia.
Madagascar soldiers join protesters amid coup allegation
Soldiers join mass antigovernment protests, urging no violence, as unrest over shortages and political divisions grows.