With no peaceful options left in the Israel-Palestine conflict, the pendulum swings back to the war already being fought by the ‘axis of resistance’ and likely to widen into a regional war at any moment. There is no coming back from this. Tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians murdered, half of them children, thousands of Continue reading »
politics
Independent candidates affiliated with the jailed former prime minister’s party staged a shock upset despite allegations of widespread electoral fraud led by Pakistan’s military. In what many observers called a “shock” result, candidates affiliated with imprisoned former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party won the most National Assembly seats in a general election that raised Continue reading »
David Brooks describes himself as a moderate-conservative. Born in Canada but long resident in America, he is a respected, outspoken columnist for the New York Times and a range of other outlets. He has now explained what he believes is devastating America. Brooks recently published a rousing, extended article in The Atlantic arguing that: “Chicken Continue reading »
This level of dislike for Morrison among Chinese Australians should come as no surprise, given that the roughest patch in Australia-China relations happened during his reign. But now he’s gone, can Peter Dutton begin to mend fences? Following the announcement of Scott Morrison’s decision to quit politics, Sydney Today, Australia’s most popular Chinese-language digital media outlet, conducted Continue reading »
In the first of Pearls and Irritations’ new podcast series, Peter Martin interviews Ross Gittins on 50 years at the Sydney Morning Herald and the radical tax reform necessary to address climate change and Australia’s housing affordability crisis. Click on our logo below to listen to the podcast. (Intro and outro music is Orbiting A Continue reading »
I had been assuming that Julian Assange, whose case comes up for adjudication in the British Courts soon, was a shoo-in for being Australia’s prisoner of conscience of the decade, but a late entry into the competition is Michael Pezzullo, who appears to have been condemned by an Australian Star Chamber convening in secret, without Continue reading »
On 14 February, Indonesia holds simultaneous elections for the presidency and national and regional legislatures. The runes suggest the current Defence Minister, Prabowo Subianto is on track to be the next President. He will not be boring. To win a presidential election, a presidential/vice-presidential ticket must gain more than 50% of the vote. If none Continue reading »
The Australian Parliament failed to recognise its responsibilities last week when Greens Leader Adam Bandt, responding to the International Court of Justice interim ruling to prevent genocide, initiated a vote for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Australians are indebted to human rights champions Adam Bandt, Elizabeth Watson Brown, Stephen Bates, Max Chandler-Mather, Helen Haines and Continue reading »
The hottest January ever recorded in human history has passed, with barely a nod from governments worldwide and international media. For a full year, the Earth has now exceeded the +1.5 degrees danger level set by the Paris Agreement in 2015. And 2024 may be hotter still, US scientists are warning. Wildfires rage unchecked over Continue reading »