Our white man’s media shuns Asia
John Menadue

Australia in Our Region

Our white man’s media shuns Asia

We talk glibly about our future in Asia, but we are stuck in a US and UK media cul de sac.

The plan to bomb Iran
Peter Cronau

The plan to bomb Iran

The war strategy towards Iran was published in a policy paper outlining how the United States could use Israel to fight the war against Iran, while justifying it with a false narrative of failed negotiations.

As political violence rises in the US, only Americans can save themselves
Rob York

As political violence rises in the US, only Americans can save themselves

The protests against Trump and his policies evoke memories of South Korea’s April Revolution, but no outside actors look likely to step in to help.


Donate

In June, support independent media with a one-off tax-deductible donation

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.

Please make your tax deductible one-off donation here.

Donate

Trump's overblown rhetoric cannot be taken seriously
Patrick Lawrence

Trump's overblown rhetoric cannot be taken seriously

The Iraq invasion and the bombing of Iran are acts of desperation — the conduct of a wounded, uncertain nation that went on the defensive when the Twin Towers went down and history arrived on its shores.

Banning social media for kids is not the answer. Jonathan Haidt is wrong
Patricia Edgar

Banning social media for kids is not the answer. Jonathan Haidt is wrong

Jonathan Haidt is described as a modern-day prophet who claims to have the cure for the epidemic of anxiety afflicting young kids today.

Let one version win – ours
Duncan Graham

Let one version win – ours

The Church burned translators of the Latin Bible into English in the late 14th century and forbade its teachings, to ensure only one narrative ruled. Australian sinophobes want their version of what the People's Republic of China is doing, thinking and planning to prevail.

'It changes everything': Plunging costs of PV and batteries mean 24-hour solar a growing reality
Giles Parkinson

'It changes everything': Plunging costs of PV and batteries mean 24-hour solar a growing reality

The plunging cost of solar PV and battery storage has opened up a new frontier in the transition to green energy, according to a new report, with cities and industries around the world now able to access low-cost, 24-hour solar generation.

Faster than forecast, accelerated warming creates a climate time-bomb for the Albanese government
David Spratt

Faster than forecast, accelerated warming creates a climate time-bomb for the Albanese government

The physical reality of accelerating climate heating and faster-than-forecast impacts have mugged climate policymaking, which now needs to be rebuilt with up-to-date scientific observations and understandings, and a risk-management approach that gives particular attention to the most-damaging, plausible high-end scenarios.

The legacy of Pope Francis in an unjust world – Part 1
Bruce Duncan

The legacy of Pope Francis in an unjust world – Part 1

Pope Francis endeavoured not just to evaluate the burning global issues; he strove to mobilise decisive action to transform our world to improve living standards and well-being for everyone. He spoke as a voice from the Third World, challenging the conscience of the richer countries.

Americans don't want Trump's illegal war on Iran
William J. Barber II,  Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove

Americans don't want Trump's illegal war on Iran

We will all pay the costs of this war, though we can’t yet know how high they will be.

Regime change and blowback in Iran
Scott Burchill

Regime change and blowback in Iran

According to US political scientist Chalmers Johnson, in the 1950s the CIA coined the term “blowback” to refer to “the unintended and unexpected negative consequences of covert special operations that have been kept secret from the American people and, in most cases, from their elected representatives.

Latest on Palestine and Israel

IDF actions in Gaza directly contradict Jewish ethical tradition
Paul Komesaroff,  Jeremiah Kenner

IDF actions in Gaza directly contradict Jewish ethical tradition

The Israeli response to the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 has been massive and all-encompassing.

Speaking out from within: Jewish voices confront Israeli aggression
Raghid Nahhas

Speaking out from within: Jewish voices confront Israeli aggression

As Israel's military campaign in Gaza reaches unprecedented levels of destruction, a global wave of protest has emerged.

Now is the time for humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza
Mara Kronenfeld

Now is the time for humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza

Israel recently launched a brutal new offensive in Gaza, followed by an expanded ground offensive, killing and injuring thousands of beleaguered Palestinians.

Stop Netanyahu before he gets us all killed
Jeffrey D. Sachs,  Sybil Fares

Stop Netanyahu before he gets us all killed

We could soon see several nuclear powers pitted against each other and dragging the world closer to nuclear annihilation.

Imposing meaningful sanctions against Israel is not difficult
Margaret Cassar

Imposing meaningful sanctions against Israel is not difficult

For decades, the Israeli Government has revealed itself impervious to pressure from international bodies like the United Nations and the International Criminal Court of Justice.

Why targeted measures on Israeli officials won’t stop the war in Gaza
Raghid Nahhas

Why targeted measures on Israeli officials won’t stop the war in Gaza

On 14 June 2025, five Western nations — Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Norway, and the United Kingdom — jointly imposed sanctions on two senior Israeli ministers: Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

Australian society and the conflict for Palestine
Bob Bowker

Australian society and the conflict for Palestine

Australia’s symbolic actions on Palestine may not change the course of the conflict, but they matter deeply at home.

Sanctioning Ben-Gvir and Smotrich is but a tiny, sad step in ending the Gaza massacre
Gideon Levy

Sanctioning Ben-Gvir and Smotrich is but a tiny, sad step in ending the Gaza massacre

Alas and alack! Woe be unto us, for we have sinned: Five countries have imposed sanctions on Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. The war in Gaza will now stop immediately, and maybe the occupation, too, certainly the apartheid.


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

Aboriginal-Chinese roots of reconciliation: China’s first cultural envoys in Australia
Marina Yue Zhang

Aboriginal-Chinese roots of reconciliation: China’s first cultural envoys in Australia

As Australia marked Reconciliation Week (27 May – 3 June ), a landmark exhibition at the National Museum of Australia reminds us that Indigenous–Chinese bonds helped forge the links between the two peoples long before Canberra and Beijing formalised diplomacy in 1972.

News Corp’s China obsession: why beating the drum is easier than thinking
Fred Zhang

Anti-China Media Watch

News Corp’s China obsession: why beating the drum is easier than thinking

Introducing our new columnist Fred Zhang, who brings you his take on the way the Australian media reports and/or mis- and under- reports on China.

People of Pacific Rim say 'no' to US-China war
Bevan Ramsden

People of Pacific Rim say 'no' to US-China war

The Pacific and Pacific Rim countries have a geographical commonality. They are encircled by, or have a border with, the vast, blue, peaceful Pacific Ocean.


John Menadue

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.

Donate

More from Pearls and Irritations


Latest letters to the editor

Meanwhile. back in Australia...

Bob Pearce — Adelaide SA

I don’t know what the statistics tell us about Australia, but I’m pretty sure Australians don’t want to go marching in lockstep with the US off to yet another illegal war. They don’t want to make our country go broke buying or building submarines that will be obsolete before they arrive and will probably never be delivered. They also don’t want to keep handing more land/bases over to the US for target practice. Australians don’t want to be in the frontline when the elephants fight and our grass is damaged. I’m sure that Australians are disappointed with...
Iranians may be guided by Ferdowsi on Fordow

Geoff Taylor — Borlu (Perth)

I note the article by Tom Hussain on Iran’s options. Will Iranians be guided by their tenth century epic poet Hakim Ferdowsi, who wrote: “چو ایران مباشد تن من مباد بدین بوم و بر زنده یک تن مباد اگر سر به سر تن به کشتن دهیم ازآن به که کشور به دشمن دهیم “If there is no Iran, let my body not be; If only one live body is in this world, let it be me. If we put head to head and body to slaughter, Let it be to protect our...
Breach of international law

Brian Bycroft — Evans Head NSW

Let’s see if I have got this right: Australia fails to condemn the US attacks on Iran despite them being a clear breach of international law. However, when Iran attacks US bases in response, Australia condemns Iran although, in this instance, it seems to me, that there is a case to be made by Iran under international law for an action in self-defence.
Torturing the definition of Liberal Democratic

Les Macdonald — Balmain NSW 2041

It tortures language beyond its capacity to suggest that the G7 was always a group of like-minded states that promoted liberal democratic values and supported democratic policy actions. Several of the countries involved, not excluding that US, have long since become oligarchies that rarely, if ever, reflect democratic values. Indeed, the US drafters of their Constitution deliberately set out, as they explained themselves, to limit democracy as far as they could. Public opinion poll after public opinion poll reflect what vanishingly small effect public opinion has on public policy. Democracy in the US is generally a performative art...



Latest from Al Jazeera

Travel disruptions still hit Middle East in wake of US-Israel-Iran conflict
The conflict has prompted airlines to reroute or cancel flights, affecting major hubs like Doha and Dubai.
‘It’s not peace – it’s a pause’: Iranians sceptical ceasefire will hold
From Tehran to Yazd, Iranians are wary of the truce with Israel holding as officials trade accusations and threats.
Powell says US Fed to wait to reduce rates even as Trump demands cuts
The US central bank chair said that data will soon show the impact of inflation, and decisions will be based on that.
Iran’s Pezeshkian expresses ‘regret’ to the emir of Qatar
Iranian president says neither Qatar nor its people were targets of attack on US base in the gas-rich Gulf nation.
What is Iran’s right to resist regime change?
The focus on Iran’s nuclear programme masks the US and Israel’s hunger for regime change.
Israel-Iran ceasefire off to rocky start, drawing Trump’s ire after fanfare
Trump slams Netanyahu for truce violation, says it is still in effect and that he is not seeking regime change in Iran.