In their Red Alert for War, doom laden experts assembled by the Sydney Morning Herald forecast a war with China. Preoccupied with cybersecurity, biosecurity, with the weaponry available in military alliances, the experts speak the language of militarism and war but have nothing to say about peace. Yet the language of peace can inspire, not Continue reading »
politics
Last week we witnessed some extraordinary interventions by two mainstream media mastheads, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in pursuit of both headlines and an agenda. The three part “Red Alert” series begins with a paragraph that could have been found in Edward Bernays book, Propaganda: Within 72 hours of a conflict breaking out over Taiwan, Continue reading »
In an extraordinary editorial that was labelled as warmongering by former prime minister Paul Keating, the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) called for China to be labelled a clear and present threat, argued for the reintroduction of conscription and for long range missiles armed with nuclear weapons, and urged Australia to prepare for war with China Continue reading »
The major Australian media, SMH and The Age, are crying wolf again. Whether they will lose their credibility depends on whether Australians’ rationale prevails over their prejudices. The SMH and The Age’s narrative about Australia’s complacency about a war with China over Taiwan is clearly designed to sell newspapers. For this, I quote Bruce Dover Continue reading »
A White House fact sheet released as part of publicity for Australia’s decision to spend almost $400 billion on nuclear submarines is false. It claims, “For over 60 years, the UK and the US have operated more than 500 naval nuclear reactors . . . without incident or adverse effect on human health or the Continue reading »
One of the best-known writers on public opinion, Walter Lippmann, tells us that every conflict is fought on two fronts: the battlefield and the minds of people via propaganda. ‘We must remember that in time of war what is said on the enemy’s side of the front is always propaganda, and what is said on Continue reading »
A Labor government has puts guns before butter… how extraordinary! Today, Pearls and Irritations has taken the unusual step of devoting our issue line up entirely to articles on the drive to war with China and the disastrous commitment of $368 billion dollars of Australia’s public funding to nuclear submarines. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Anthony Continue reading »
An over-zealous Fed pushed a few banks, including the big and super connected Silicon Valley Bank, over the edge. A bailout was a given.
Russell Brand’s grim trajectory shows us where politics is heading By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 10th March 2023 In 2014, the Guardian asked me to nominate my hero of the year. To some people’s surprise, I chose Russell Brand. I loved the way he energised young people who had been alienated from politics. […]
In recent weeks there have been a multitude of news items and reports emanating from various quarters indicting China has passed the United States in science and technology and this is likely an irreversible trend. According to the National Science Foundation China has overtaken the U.S. in scientific patents and published reports. The Australian Strategic Continue reading »