Most Australians now oppose the conflict in Afghanistan. Yet, perversely, its very unpopularity has led to less rather than more public debate about the war.
Articles by Jeff Sparrow 
Afghanistan: another 30 years?
Last week, with very little fanfare, Afghanistan became the longest war in US history. Where are the mea culpas from all the experts whose earnest predictions about Afghanistan went so terribly awry?
War criminal to hero … a dangerous precedent
A campaign of assassination of local leaders thought to be loyal to the Taliban contains an obvious potential for human rights abuses, especially since it’s almost impossible for the media to monitor what undercover troops actually do.
Monckton’s Melbourne meeting: a gathering of men in Richie Benaud blazers
What’s it like to attend a Lord Monckton meeting? For the cheering crowd of Old-Australia-RSL-club climate change deniers who flocked to see him, it was like a rock concert.
Future Afghan government will include Taliban
Nine years of bloodshed and death, and billions upon billions of dollars spent on the Afghanistan occupation, we are facing negotiations on significantly worse terms than before the war began.
ASIO, not the government, calling the shots on refugees
ASIO says that five refugees from Oceanic Viking constitute a threat to national security. How can this be a healthy democratic country when a secret agency plays such a major role in a political debate, without even making its sources available?
Conroy’s filter: a nude horse
Stephen Conroy’s internet filter smells just like a campaign to put clothes upon the world’s animals. It will generate headlines about decency and families, but leave the fundamentals of society entirely untouched.
Who will claim patrimony over Tony Abbott’s ascension?
Did any of the Right-wing pundits who fostered the denialist cause ever sit down and decide that, in the wake of Howard’s defeat, the conservative movement would best counter Kevin Rudd’s steady popularity by installing the most ferociously reactionary leader the Liberal Party has ever seen?
Just like the Libs, the Republicans face the conundrum of courting crazies
The Republicans in the US understand too well the conundrum now facing the Liberals: You can’t run your party if you don’t heed the crazies — but you can’t run the country if you do.
Chilcot shines a light on Blair’s Iraq lies
A leaked contribution to the Chilcot Inquiry has revealed that Tony Blair deliberately misled parliament over his intentions in Iraq, writes Jeff Sparrow.
Beenie man is a product of entrenched homophobia in Jamaica
Beenie, the Jamaican DJ just dropped from the Big Day Out, may be a phenomenal talent. But he has, at various times, been openly, flagrantly — almost murderously — homophobic.
Capitalism cage match: Jeff Sparrow
Michael Moore aims his new movie Capitalism: A Love Story simultaneously at the head and the heart. Therein lies its biggest problem, writes Jeff Sparrow.
Asylum seekers: territorial security versus electoral suicide
Kevin Rudd repeatedly denounces traffickers as “the vilest form of people on the planet” but says nothing whatsoever about those governing Sri Lanka — almost as if it’s morally worse to smuggle victims away from atrocities than it is to perpetrate them in the first place.
Golly, the Hun should be black, white and red (faced) all over
A Melbourne toy shop has moved some of its products out of its display windows, and the Herald Sun was on hand to fan one of the oldest beat-ups in the book: “innocent children oppressed by PC killjoys”.
Texas Governor Rick Perry stalls investigation into an innocent man’s execution
In 2004, prison guards carried Todd Willingham into the death chamber, strapped him onto a gurney and injected him with sodium thiopental to paralyse him, pancuronium bromide to collapse his lungs, and potassium chloride to stop his heart. One problem: Willingham was probably innocent.
Book industry has to accept the Kindle: it may be a bumpy ride
Australian publishers may not like it, but e-books are not going away. And with the launch of the Kindle in Australia, the industry’s going to have to adapt.
Sri Lanka and its Manik approach to human rights
In Sri Lanka, an appalling human rights tragedy continues to play out. After the wake of the military defeat of the Tamil Tigers, 250,000 Tamils have been herded into detention.
A bad month on death row
It’s been a bad time for executioners in America in the last month with revelations of a botched execution in Ohio and innocent men dying. But it’s been worse still for inmates.
How the pundits got it oh so wrong on Afghanistan
Given the almost universal recognition that the Afghanistan campaign has become a bloody mess, it’s worth revisiting some of the pundits who initially sold us the war.
Video shatters polite silence in Sri Lanka’s civil war
For the most part, the world discreetly hid its eyes from exactly what took place in Sri Lanka’s civil war. Until last week.
Voting for Afghanistan. Again and again and again
The Election Complaints Commission has already received 1157 allegations of irregularities in Afghanistan. And the allegations are not just coming from disgruntled candidates.
Flat-screen TVs, conscription and the Left: dangerous liaisons?
Crikey / Jeff Sparrow / Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Given the Left-liberal orientation of most people attending the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, the Rightward slant of the topics seems distinctly odd.