Percy Allan AM, a regular contributor to Pearls & Irritations, and a supporter of its role as a leading public policy voice, died on Tuesday (Oct. 22) after a battle with lymphoma. His offerings were broad and deep: China, politics, Gaza and Israel, the markets, public administration, economic analysis, and human rights. He was Pearls & Irritations most enthusiastic unpaid proselytizer - always forwarding articles of interest, usually with slabs of text marked up in yellow highlighter.