Community
-
The LGBTQI community is not your convenient plaything
The Labor Government’s handling of possible questions about sexuality and gender identity in the 2026 has been a debacle. It is also the latest in a series. Is this just part of Labor’s slide towards timidity, or is Labor also acting in bad faith towards the LGBTQI+ community? Continue reading »
-
Poem: Intimations of mortality
Today it is hard to believe in the spiritual power of Nature, because our social behaviour is doing so much damage to it. Being obsessed with economic success and technological achievements, we live in a permanent state of stress and ambivalence, unable to make peace with Nature and with ourselves. Continue reading »
-
Retirement villages: are they really a safe haven for retirees?
The looming question for me and my partner is “where might we live as we grow older and frailer?” For us, the ideal place is likely to be a retirement village. But at what cost? Continue reading »
-
Remembering the US atomic bomb that demolished Hiroshima, killed 200,000
On 6 Aug, 1945, approximately 200,000 people in the hitherto untouched town of Hiroshima perished in the worlds first use of a nuclear weapon in anger. On 9th Aug, a somewhat smaller number in Nagasaki likewise perished. Only the authority of secretary of state Stimson, who had visited the city of Kyoto, famous for its Continue reading »
-
A dissident challenge to the West’s narrative control
Pearls and Irritations has been a source of enlightenment since its foundation in 2013. It has progressively increased in importance. Continue reading »
-
Looking to the future
Pearls and Irritations has long been Australia’s best public policy site and it is now even more important. Continue reading »
-
New Governance arrangements for Pearls and Irritations
From a private to a public company and determined to fill the void left by our monopoly and Washington focussed media. Continue reading »
-
Unleashing Australia’s potential
In 1992 I was teaching a class of year 11 students. They were concerned about climate change. I had some good news for them. The Rio de Janeiro earth summit had resolved to protect our future; Rio’s big idea quickly became known as a carbon tax. The aim was to protect earth’s future by making Continue reading »
-
Awakening: Stories of grace and inner peace
“Another world is not only possible, she’s on her way… On a quiet day, if I listen carefully, I can hear her breathing” – Arundhati Roy. Continue reading »
-
Twenty thousand articles in Pearls and Irritations and counting
It was quite a surprise when I noticed last week that we had posted so many articles over 13 years. Continue reading »
-
Defending dissent in the Jewish community
The recent report by the Community Security Group (CSG) detailing 91 Jewish community incidents on university campuses until May 31, 2024, warrants a closer examination, particularly considering its implications and the nuances it omits. Continue reading »
-
‘When a weasel makes a courtesy call on a hen’: a ‘pro-China’ Dutton and Chinese-Australian voters
When I asked Jocelyn Chey about her experience at the lunch in Parliament House in honour of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, she said, “I thought the best part of the lunch was Dutton’s speech through gritted teeth about how everyone wants relations with China to improve.” Continue reading »
-
Remembering that which holds us together
“I want my tenderness back…Give me back that soft, sacred part of myself that weeps at the corpses of children, so I can Behold the world gently again…” – Caitlin Johnstone Continue reading »
-
The Jewish community raise their voice to call out extremists
The Jewish Council of Australia, according to reports by Al Jazeera, is deeply concerned that the Australian Jewish Association is promoting the far-right Israeli politician Moshe Feiglin as a speaker at an Australian Zoom event, apparently held on 19 June, notwithstanding that Feiglin has recently quoted Adolf Hitler in reference to the wiping out of Continue reading »
-
A Catholic church responsive to the human needs of our fellow citizens
Analysing contemporary Catholicism requires a bit more knowledge than merely quoting a couple of reactionary Catholics – as does a recent New Statesman article. Continue reading »
-
The AIJAC propaganda machine
The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) is a constant presence in Australia’s mainstream media. Its predominant role is to defend the state of Israel come hell or high water. Continue reading »
-
Does self-interest necessarily rule – with inevitable destruction?
Before attempting an answer, first let us hold the mirror up to obvious signs of our dysfunction. Continue reading »
-
The media must surely act now to rebuild public confidence
Community trust in journalism is at an all-time low. Even politicians rate higher. Continue reading »
-
The song in our hearts and of our hearts
In the end as at the beginning all that really matters is how we treat one another. Continue reading »
-
Supporting independent public interest media
Government media funding supports the failing mainstream media (MSM) and right-wing advocacy groups like the Institute of Public Affairs. Continue reading »
-
John Olsen’s gift to the nation
My dear friend, the great Australian painter John Olsen was, at 77, the oldest artist to win the Archibald Prize. Continue reading »
-
Gazing at the Gorgon in Gaza
The daily witness of horrors in Gaza has provoked moral dilemmas for us all. How do we face these monstrous events, and not turn our hearts to stone? An Australian historian showed us how in 1998. Continue reading »
-
Vale Dr John Coulter
Dr John Coulter, who has died aged 93, had been suffering for months from VEXAS syndrome, an adult-onset autoinflammatory disease caused by a mutation of a gene in blood stem cells. It is perhaps ironic that he had himself worked on mutagens — the agents that cause mutations — at the Institute of Medical and Continue reading »
-
Remembering Pete Steedman
Legendary student agitator, Oz-era editor, Hawke-era Parliamentarian, union official, music industry executive and all-purpose provocateur, Pete Steedman died aged 82 on 10 July 2024 after a long battle with cancer. This is one of a number of speeches given at a memorial celebration of his life at the Melbourne Trades Hall on 7 September 2024. Continue reading »
-
An exploratory platform for thinkers and analysts
John Menadue’s website adds real value across all aspects of Australia’s governance and policy development. Continue reading »
-
Australia needs to hear its tone of voice in our conversations more than ever
Pearls & Irritations needs support at a critical time and when Australia needs to hear its tone of voice in our conversations more than ever. Continue reading »
-
AUKUS servility just one facet of poor governance
Richard Marles has the Navy out in force firing torpedoes at AUKUS critics. Continue reading »
-
A message about Noam Chomsky: an update
No doubt like many other people around the world, we have been surprised and increasingly concerned that Noam Chomsky has not commented publicly on current events for around one year; in particular, on the Israeli genocide of Palestinians. Continue reading »
-
Book hero dies
A hero of mine has died. Bernard Pivot, who did more than any other French journalist to get people to read, on Monday (6 May) joined the extinct writers he loved. A TV presenter and producer, he was 89. Continue reading »
-
Thinking about peacebuilding in Australia on St Patrick’s Day
You would think that the suffering we are now seeing, including on and after October 7, would also compel international leaders to negotiate a peaceful future. There is no future in hate. Continue reading »
