An important piece of journalism.
I wonder if @albomp.bsky.social is listening.
#Auspol #Iran #ForeignPolicy
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Sea levels are rising faster than expected. By the end of the century, up to a billion people living in coastal regions could see their homes and livelihoods threatened, @JulianCribb writes.
#PearlsAndIrritations #ClimateChange #SeaLevelRise #Environment #auspol
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As the US–Israeli war on Iran unfolds, Australia risks becoming entangled in American power politics while weakening its independence and regional credibility, Jack Waterford writes.
#PearlsAndIrritations #auspol #Iran #ForeignPolicy
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'These children are innocents by any standard. Their rights, and Australia’s obligations to them cannot be dismissed as sad but “unfortunate”. ' Compulsory reading is Jack Waterford in #pearlsandirritations. #auspol #Syria
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Jack Waterford is IMHO one of Australia's best, most insightful, principled, honest journalists. Oh and a brilliant writer. I will memorise this article in #pearlsandirritations so I can quote him every time I get asked 'do you think those ISIS brides should be allowed back?' #auspol #Syria
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Conflicts in Nigeria, Ethiopia and the DRC show what happens when force operates without accountability. Minnesota’s standoff with Washington reveals the same warning signs, Christopher Burke writes.
#PearlsAndIrritations #USPolitics #Federalism #Africa #RuleOfLaw #StateFailure
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The Adelaide Writers’ Week saga was about lobby groups, false equivalence and pressure on cultural institutions to bend to political demands, Louise Adler writes.
#PearlsAndIrritations #auspol #ArtsIndependence #WritersFestivals #CulturalPolitics #FreeSpeech
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Australia’s prison crisis is not accidental. Decades of punitive expansion have crowded out restorative justice – not because it fails, but because it diffuses control away from the state, Jane Anderson writes.
#PearlsAndIrritations #auspol #JusticeReform #RestorativeJustice #PrisonPolicy
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When women demand safety, economic parity and structural reform, they are often labelled “difficult”. That word shifts attention from inequality to temperament – and protects power from scrutiny, Janine Hendry writes.
#PearlsAndIrritations #auspol #GenderEquality #WomensSafety #PoliticalCulture
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In 2003 the legality of invading Iraq was fiercely debated before the bombs fell. In 2026, a potential war on Iran is threatened without even a discussion of international law, @Iranalyst writes.
#PearlsAndIrritations #auspol #InternationalLaw #Iran #IraqWar #USForeignPolicy
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Choreographed standing ovations, ejected protesters and a presidency built on spectacle. This week’s State of the Union was theatre – but theatre with consequences, P&I Editor Catriona Jackson writes.
#PearlsAndIrritations #auspol #USPolitics #StateOfTheUnion #Trump
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The US embargo on Cuba has been condemned by the UN for decades – yet Washington presses on with illegal sanctions and a starvation siege, hollowing out international law in plain sight, Eugene Doyle writes.
#PearlsAndIrritations #auspol #Cuba #InternationalLaw #HumanRights #USForeignPolicy
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The Shen Yun tour has renewed debate about Falun Gong, politics and social cohesion – and the need for careful judgment, Jocelyn Chey writes.
#PearlsAndIrritations #auspol #China #SocialCohesion
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Robert Macklin’s writing pulled no punches. From AUKUS and climate to history and power, he brought clarity, courage and moral urgency to Australian public debate. His voice will be deeply missed, writes Jessica Perini.
#PearlsAndIrritations #AustralianWriting #Vale #Journalism
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Espionage has shifted to insider access and economic policy. Treating the PwC scandal as mere misconduct misses the real danger at stake, Tom Sinkovits writes.
#PearlsAndIrritations #auspol #NationalSecurity #EconomicEspionage #PwC #ForeignInterference
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ASIO’s pre-emptive strike on Four Corners was ambiguous, lightly evidenced and ineffective. Defensive intelligence responses raise more questions than they resolve, Paddy Gourley writes.
#PearlsAndIrritations #auspol #ASIO #ABC #FourCorners #NationalSecurity #Accountability
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There will be a lot to talk about when Canadian PM Carney visits Australia in March. How will he and PM Albanese face the touted collapse of the global order, asks Ronald C. Keith.
Auspol #MarkCarney #AlboMP #worldorder #Pearlsandirritations
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Alcoholics Anonymous has helped countless people stop drinking – and start living. Ross Fitzgerald reflects on friendship, sobriety and the quiet power of recovery.
#PearlsAndIrritations #Sobriety #AlcoholicsAnonymous #Recovery
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Violence at Sydney protests was not about public safety – it was about power avoiding uncomfortable truths about Gaza, dissent and democratic rights, Stuart Rees writes.
#PearlsAndIrritations #auspol #ProtestRights #Democracy
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Western outrage depends heavily on who is acting. Many US interventions are normalised or excused, while similar actions by rivals would be condemned as intolerable, writes Paul Strutynski.
#PearlsAndIrritations #auspol #foreignpolicy #internationalrelations
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Japan’s latest landslide win papers over policy emptiness, a dangerous drift on China, population decline and militarism that should concern its neighbours, Gregory Clark writes.
#PearlsAndIrritations #Japan #IndoPacific #auspol
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From rushed protest laws to public pressure on writers’ festivals, the New South Wales Premier's interventions point to a growing intolerance of dissent and debate, Tony Smith writes.
#PearlsAndIrritations #auspol #FreeSpeech #Democracy #NSWPolitics
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Calls for a Minister for Social Cohesion risk treating exaggerated diagnoses as settled fact, while ignoring how cohesion is already shaped – for better or worse – across core areas of government, Paddy Gourley writes.
#PearlsAndIrritations #auspol #SocialCohesion #Governance
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Pearls and Irritations is entering a new phase, with John Menadue stepping back as Editor-in-Chief and new leadership appointed to guide P&I's future.
#PearlsAndIrritations #IndependentMedia
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One Nation’s pledge to deport 75,000 undocumented migrants echoes Trump’s approach, but delivering it would require billions in spending, mass detention, legal chaos and serious human harm, Abul Rizvi writes.
#PearlsAndIrritations #auspol #Immigration #OneNation
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The idea that international sport is neutral does not survive contact with reality. Participation in global tournaments like the World Cup confers legitimacy, whether intended or not, writes John Frew.
#PearlsAndIrritations #auspol #sportandpolitics
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Inviting a foreign president to commemorate an Australian tragedy confuses citizenship with geopolitics and risks deepening division at a moment meant for unity, writes Raghid Nahhas.
#PearlsAndIrritations #SocialCohesion #Australia
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Capital gains tax concessions overwhelmingly benefit wealthy, older Australians while fuelling housing speculation and higher prices. Reform could shift housing back toward its social purpose, write Jago Dodson and Liam Davies.
#PearlsAndIrritations #auspol #HousingCrisis #TaxReform
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