Pearls and Irritations — Feed Items
Primary tabs
Four in 10 Palestinian men spend time in Israel jails. Hamas says it wants to exchange captured Israelis for them. In golf carts, vans and on motorbikes, Hamas fighters have taken dozens of Israeli civilians and soldiers back to the Gaza Strip after their attack on Israel on Saturday. As Israel’s fighter jets bomb the Continue reading »
Israel and Hamas have reportedly agreed to a four-day ceasefire which will entail the release of 50 hostages held by Hamas in exchange for 150 hostages held by Israeli forces. In an article titled “Biden admin officials see proof their strategy is working in hostage deal,” Politico describes the deal as “the administration’s biggest diplomatic Continue reading »
What a feast of anti-China stories we have had again from the Coalition and our media over the incident between HMAS Toowoomba and a Chinese PLA-N destroyer. The whole issue really looks to be overblown – and seeded by some in the Sinophobia school who are worried about where Prime Minister Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Continue reading »
After a succession of record-breaking months of record heat including 1.8°C in September, global warming for 2023 as a whole will likely tip 1.5°C, with 2024 even hotter as the effect of the building El Nino is felt more fully. Already hundreds of thousands have died and millions displaced, primarily in countries least responsible for Continue reading »
Israel’s military campaign to rout the war machine and government authority of Hamas in the Gaza Strip has entered its sixth week. Its steady physical destruction of the terrorist organisation’s military capabilities above and below ground has left a trail of physical ruin and a growing humanitarian tragedy as hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinian Continue reading »
Living standards have fallen recently. The Albanese Government has responded with targeted assistance, but the policy options to alleviate the damage for working families are limited, especially in the short run. However, one readily available policy option would be to reshape the Stage 3 tax cuts due to take effect next July. All the evidence Continue reading »
The traditional parties of compassion – Labor in Australia, Labour in Britain, Liberals in Canada and the Democrats in the US – have come under attack from the left and the right for abandoning workers. The critique from the left, particularly the Marxist left, is that the parties of compassion have become preoccupied with socially Continue reading »
For a former cricketer (one time Port Melbourne Cricket Club thirds all-rounder) and keen participant in politics it was immensely satisfying to see Australia winning the ICC World Cup while the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi was there in the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad to witness it. In case you were wondering of the Continue reading »
Being part of the global supply network that supplies parts for the Israeli F-35 jet fighters used over Gaza implicates Australia in their alleged war crimes. Australian-equipped Israeli Air Force F-35 Joint Strike Fighters are being used to commit what amounts to war crimes in Gaza by bombing civilians and providing aerial support for a murderous ground Continue reading »