Pearlcasts
As we review 2025, the temptation is to look for neat summaries and settled conclusions.
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3 March 2026
‘Insane this is legal’: Bettors make huge profits from suspiciously timed wagers on Iran war
Newly created accounts made around $1 million betting on the precise timing of US strikes on Iran, prompting calls for investigation into whether prediction markets are being used to profit from war.
3 March 2026
The Russia–Ukraine war: Australia’s unanswered questions. Part 2
As Australia backed Ukraine into a catastrophic land war with Russia, serious questions about corruption, arms diversion and governance were visible in plain sight. In part 2 of his two-part series, Michael McKinley examines what was known, what was ignored, and why it mattered.
3 March 2026
Wind farm Barnaby loves to hate sent to planning commission after 1,371 submissions
The 730MW Winterbourne wind project near Walcha has been referred to the NSW Independent Planning Commission after drawing more than 1,300 submissions – with a majority supporting its development.
2 March 2026
If Iran resists, the global economy will pay
Western governments, including Australia and New Zealand, have backed US and Israeli strikes on Iran. But the decision risks economic catastrophe, regional escalation and the further erosion of international law.
2 March 2026
Trump and Netanyahu want regime change, but Iran’s regime was built for survival. A long war is now likely
The US–Israel strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader have pushed the Middle East into open war. But regime change in Tehran is far from assured and the conflict could trigger prolonged regional instability with global consequences.
2 March 2026
Louise Adler sets the record straight on Adelaide Writers' Week
The Adelaide Writers’ Week (AWW) debacle might have served as a “life lesson” to politicians and lobbyists about the risks involved in interfering with the independence of arts organisations. But as we have seen at Newcastle and the Sydney Writers Festival some are apparently slow learners.
2 March 2026
Trump’s dangerous war without consent
The United States is now at war with Iran without congressional approval, and the costs – strategic, human and constitutional – could be catastrophic.
2 March 2026
Jeffrey Sachs on the US and Israel war with Iran
The US is fighting to maintain hegemony, in a war that will have shocking global ramifications, says Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs in conversation with Glenn Diesen.
2 March 2026
From Minneapolis to Africa – how states fracture when legitimacy fails
From Nigeria to Ethiopia, African conflicts show how federations unravel when force loses accountability. Minnesota’s standoff with Washington reveals the same warning signs.
2 March 2026
Large-scale forest thinning has limited benefits but major financial and ecological costs
Mechanical thinning is increasingly promoted as a fire control solution. But new research finds its effectiveness is mixed and the ecological, climate and financial costs often outweigh the benefits.
2 March 2026
Australia, refugees and the colonial hangover in the Asian century
From offshore detention to uneven moral outrage abroad, Australia’s political instincts still reflect an older colonial logic – one that sits uneasily in an Asian century shaped by multipolar power and shifting global authority.
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Latest on Palestine and Israel
2 March 2026
If Iran resists, the global economy will pay
Western governments, including Australia and New Zealand, have backed US and Israeli strikes on Iran. But the decision risks economic catastrophe, regional escalation and the further erosion of international law.
2 March 2026
Trump and Netanyahu want regime change, but Iran’s regime was built for survival. A long war is now likely
The US–Israel strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader have pushed the Middle East into open war. But regime change in Tehran is far from assured and the conflict could trigger prolonged regional instability with global consequences.
2 March 2026
Louise Adler sets the record straight on Adelaide Writers' Week
The Adelaide Writers’ Week (AWW) debacle might have served as a “life lesson” to politicians and lobbyists about the risks involved in interfering with the independence of arts organisations. But as we have seen at Newcastle and the Sydney Writers Festival some are apparently slow learners.
27 February 2026
No Plan B: Trump’s Gaza plan sidelines justice and law
Donald Trump’s so-called Peace Board for Gaza promises reconstruction but delivers domination. With Palestinians excluded and international law sidelined, the plan exposes the urgent need for a credible alternative grounded in justice, accountability and self-determination.
26 February 2026
Foreign fighters for Israel – beyond the reach of Australian law?
While the government vows to block the return of Australian women and children from Syria, hundreds of Australians who have served with the Israeli Defence Force face little scrutiny on their return – despite serious allegations of war crimes in Gaza.
25 February 2026
Terrorism – a blow back from western violence in Muslim countries
Terrorism dominates political debate and media coverage in Australia despite causing relatively few deaths. The deeper causes – western military violence, state power, and selective moral language – are rarely examined.
24 February 2026
Death tolls, settlements and the closing space for a two-state future
New research confirms that far more Palestinians have been killed in Gaza than first acknowledged, while settlement expansion and political rhetoric point to deeper structural realities.
23 February 2026
Globalisation of occupation: when genocide becomes an international project
Thousands of foreign nationals are serving in Israel’s military with the legal tolerance of their home states, while peaceful protest against the war is criminalised. This double standard exposes a deep failure of international law and accountability.
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
28 February 2026
Modi in Israel, Tokyo’s shift on arms, and Duterte at The Hague – Asian Media Report
India and Israel deepen ties, Japan edges towards lethal arms exports, Duterte faces crimes-against-humanity charges, Indonesia weighs its Gaza role, Bangladesh confronts rule-of-law reform, and China’s unofficial K-pop ban shows signs of strain.
27 February 2026
Shen Yun and Falun Gong – belief, propaganda and division
The evacuation of the Prime Minister over a threat linked to a Shen Yun tour has drawn attention to the Falun Gong movement and its political evolution.
25 February 2026
How a nuclear test that never happened became news
A US allegation that China conducted a secret nuclear test was widely reported despite clear evidence to the contrary, highlighting how security claims are too often treated as facts before they are proven.
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