There is no doubt that the war in Gaza has placed Australia’s multiculturalism and social cohesion under strain. Continue reading »
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The ACT’s prison is run by a clique, with detainee bashings covered up, staff bullied into silence and the library better labelled “a supermarket” where any drug desired was freely available. This is the picture that is being inked in by former detainees and staff who have shown the courage to come forward after recent Continue reading »
My insight into corporate legal disputes is as meaningful as my opinion on Quantum Mechanics. What I do know is that, when given the chance this week to leave my job with half a year’s salary paid in advance, I chose to stay at Automattic. Listen, I’m struggling with medical debts and financial obligations incurred […]
The post I stayed. appeared first on Zeldman on Web and Interaction Design.
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 »
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 »
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 »
Pearls and Irritations has been a source of enlightenment since its foundation in 2013. It has progressively increased in importance. What began as an interesting addition to the Australian media landscape has become an irreplaceable source of ideas and distinctive interpretations provided by a large collection of authoritative experts few of whom have access to Continue reading »
Pearls and Irritations has long been Australia’s best public policy site and it is now even more important. Pearls and Irritations has long been Australia’s best public policy site and it is now even more important as the regular media have replaced policy analysis with pontification and point-scoring. P&I presents the knowledge and expertise of Continue reading »
“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. Sitting on a beautiful Australian beach with his partner, my friend Graeme was reading St. Augustine. Not a usual beach practice but seemingly providential. Reading a section in which Continue reading »
It was quite a surprise when I noticed last week that we had posted so many articles over 13 years. The 20,000 articles (listed here) include over 700 of my own. A selection of these, about 100, is now published in an eBook, ‘Summing Up’. When we launched Pearls and Irritations I wrote all the Continue reading »