Pearls and Irritations is unmistakably the work of John Menadue, one of postwar Australia’s most distinguished, humane and indefatigable servants of the public good. I urge you to consider offering it your support.
Almost every morning the first website I turn to is Pearls and Irritations. There are several reasons why. Although the balance of Pearls and Irritations is left-of-centre, its articles are never ideological or predictable. The contributors are generally both highly experienced and genuinely knowledgeable. Maturity of judgement and something as important, the memory of recent history, are among the most obvious virtues of Pearls and Irritations. The contributors are of course often academics, but they are also frequently former diplomats and public servants who understand the complexity of the challenges facing Australia, in a way that is difficult for outside observers to equal. Not all the contributions, however, come from such “specialists”.
One of the delights of Pearls and Irritations are the insights of those authors who once were called “independent scholars”. Each day most articles follow the significant news of the day. Sometimes they go deeper. Recently Pearls and Irritations’ first two articles — Bob Carr on the implications for humankind of a war between China and the United States, inevitably nuclear; Julian Cribb on the climate change catastrophe we are now facing, God forgive us, calmly—are among the most brilliant short analyses of the most threatening issues we have ever confronted. I was blown away.
It is said that small magazines come to reflect the character of their editors. The same is true of politically engaged websites. Pearls and Irritations is unmistakably the work of John Menadue, one of postwar Australia’s most distinguished, humane and indefatigable servants of the public good. I urge you to consider offering Pearls and Irritations your support.
To make a monthly or one-off donation to Pearls and Irritations, click here.
You may be interested to read about the growth of Pearls and Irritations below:
A growing string of Pearls and just as many Irritations: P&I needs your support
