Media
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Kindergarten mentality: a higher standard required from those who govern us
Some politicians have decided to do what is better for them and their re-election and position rather than what’s good for Australia. They think the smart thing to do is trash the whole idea of the Voice. Ego, power, position and privilege have nothing to do with the Voice. It has to do with Australian Continue reading »
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Australia may ban WeChat – but for many Chinese Australians, it’s their ‘lifeline’
One morning in February 2021, I was woken by a WeChat call from my brother in China. Mum had died the previous night, he told me. I wasn’t shocked to hear about Mum’s death – she had been very ill for a couple of years. Continue reading »
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How power bleeds between politics and the big four
The Mandarin and Crikey’s ‘revolving door’ list: The PwC tax leak scandal has renewed focus on the close links between politicians, public servants and consultancy firms. Sometimes that relationship takes the form of a “revolving door” when former consultants are hired as public servants or elected to political office — or when former politicians and Continue reading »
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Racism, the ‘No’ campaign and the Americanisation of Australian politics
There may be some Coalition politicians and Murdoch employers who are motivated by genuine racism to oppose the Voice to Parliament. Some might believe First Nations Australians are unworthy. Some probably believe in “reverse racism.” That, of course, is the belief that there is a correct direction for racism to travel. Continue reading »
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An American system of “state sanctioned forced births”?
Labels have power. They shape the way we know the world. They allow people to see actions with greater clarity or distort our understanding to make things unrecognisable. Continue reading »
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Ukraine: Putin’s war or proxy war?
The claim that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a proxy war is not borne out by recent history, nor supported by Russian democrats, Ukrainians of all stripes nor most Western Russia specialists. They mostly see its roots in an authoritarian Russian state and the revanchist views of Putin and his acolytes. Continue reading »
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The real history of the war in Ukraine: A chronology of events and case for diplomacy
The American people urgently need to know the true history of the war in Ukraine and its current prospects. Unfortunately, the mainstream media ––The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, MSNBC, and CNN –– have become mere mouthpieces of the government, repeating US President Joe Biden’s lies and hiding history from the public. Continue reading »
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Thailand: Progressive leader may not become PM – Asian Media Report
In Asian media this week: Junta’s system thwarts Thai election victor. Plus: Modi ignores brutal war in Indian State; North Korea to treat South as a foreign country; Japan embraces NATO but China hits back; China’s unstated economic strategy – muddling through; Indonesia’s EV plans for Australia. Continue reading »
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AUKUS: A US device to lock Australia into the anti-China coalition
Around a week ago the Financial Review confirmed what many observers had taken for granted: the US offered nuclear propulsion technology to Australia under the AUKUS arrangements in order to lock it into the anti-China coalition. Continue reading »
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The art of vassalisation: the new middle kingdom of the United States
An EU paper explains how traditional Western allies on the continent are being turned into vassal states of the US as part of Washington’s strategy to contain the rise of China. Continue reading »
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Reporting and surviving in an age of geopolitical paranoia
Journalism is tough at a time when many topics could be seen through a political lens. Hong Kong provides an interesting case, although it is not the only place where journalism is having to navigate shifting geopolitics and social developments that divide countries and communities. Continue reading »
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Propaganda: The Western media’s “Taiwanese” airspace narrative
When it comes to propaganda the Chinese could learn a thing or two from the Western media. Continue reading »
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The Palestine question: Western media and long-term solutions
Picture the Western media’s outrage if a Russian helicopter gunship went into an occupied Crimean city neighbourhood and began shooting missiles at civilian homes, claiming a militant lived in one. “War crime” would resound. Continue reading »
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Will the New York Times apologise for its Tiananmen coverage?
The New York Times has in recent years tried to redeem its reputation with a mea-culpa admission over its coverage of the blatantly transparent Iraq Weapons of Mass Destruction myth that enabled the 2003 invasion of Iraq. But over its key role earlier in cementing the Tiananmen Square horror story we have as yet had Continue reading »
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Another great example of English hypocrisy
Why oh why is anyone surprised by English reaction to the Bairstow stumping? Continue reading »
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Silence and the horror of Jenin
Why hasn’t the devastation of almost an entire people been called out for what it is? Continue reading »
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A long war against China?
The recent visit to China by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken seemed promising, until we learned what he really had in mind: a long war with no finish line. Continue reading »
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Propaganda works: But Australians still do not want war
The latest Lowy Institute Poll reflects a range of complicated and confusing Australian reactions to our place in the world; the threats we face; and what we think we should do about them. Continue reading »
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War propaganda: Western media suspends editor for publishing facts on Ukraine
If truth is the first casualty in war, then truth-seekers are surely next. Continue reading »
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Australia keeps escalating its censorship and propaganda campaign
There’s a frenzied rush by the Australian political/media class to both propagandise Australians as quickly as possible into supporting preparations for war with China, and to ram through legislation that facilitates the censorship of online speech. Continue reading »
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The price of irresponsibility: irrational fear
The recklessness of Australian politicians and mainstream media and the damage which that has caused, is abundantly clear in the latest poll, carried out by the Lowy Institute on Australian attitudes to China. Continue reading »
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How the media do PR for Biden and Zelensky
Coverage of the destruction of the Kakhovka dam and Nord Stream pipelines shows a western media willing to prioritise anti-Russian propaganda over facts. Continue reading »
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The suffering of Snowdon and Assange
A recent article by Ben Bradley in The New Yorker magazine, ‘Daniel Ellsberg’s life beyond the Pentagon Papers’ made me think again about the fate of the two courageous anti-American whistleblowers, Edward Snowdon and Julian Assange. Continue reading »
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China, at the centre of the multipolar world
Despite the great interest in and importance of US Secretary of State Blinken’s visit to China, there have been far more interesting things happening here for China watchers. They illustrate the continuing shift in geopolitical gravity towards China as the centre of the multipolar world. Continue reading »
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Our digital Aunty
The ABC is in trouble again as it abandons its cultural role to become “fully digital” by 2028. Continue reading »
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Our law and order violate women
Every woman in Australia, and not a few men, should experience a shiver of apprehension about the Bruce Lehrmann case. Continue reading »
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The taser! Useful tool or torture weapon?
Is a taser a tool, or a torture weapon? Continue reading »
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The mainstream media’s unwillingness to challenge U.S. militarisation
The Washington Post finally conceded in an editorial recently that the United States must “spend smarter” when it comes to defence. Instead of looking for ways to cut defence spending, however, the Post simply wants to spend differently. It favours more spending on conventional and nuclear-armed submarines, despite the huge U.S. advantage in both power Continue reading »
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Ukraine: Taking leave of our senses
My first article published here at Pearls and Irritations, titled Built on a tower of lies, described how positive feedback loops have created at a societal level an enormous tower of lies that guide public discourse. I further warned that if we failed to dismantle this tower the consequences would be traumatic. Unfortunately, the horrifically Continue reading »
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China ‘giving up’ on Biden team – Asian Media Report
In Asian Media this week: Chinese see Biden Admin as ‘incompetent and ignorant’. Plus: China ready to sign no-nuke zone treaty; spending on nuclear weapons surging; Beijing, Delhi expel each other’s journalists; ambassador slams Seoul’s foreign policy; China passes 50pc non-fossil fuel power supply Continue reading »
