Being Informed (1 Viewer)

[*10#]

Does anyone know any good books, websites or articles to read about politics and current affairs???

 

[AGB]

if you are meaning with your post how can you be informed, then just reading the daily papers (not daily telegraph... ) will easily accomplish that.


i dont know about books, because when they are published, they aren't up to date, so people dont tend to publish books about current affairs/news...

 

[spice girl]

www.smh.com.au

 

[AGB]

btw, i recommend the autralian and smh for newspapers

 

[hipsta_jess]

i try to read newspapers and watch decent current affairs programs and news and stuff, but the Telling The Truth module in English this year screwed it all up for me, I can't even read SMH and stuff anymore without being totally cynical
i still only 30% believe that it is Sadaam that they've captured (i know dna tests and stuff have been done, but if america is willing to exagerate the weopans claims, surely they would be willing to exagerrate and lie about this)

 

[piccaninny]

just watch news.
during school time i was so addicted to news and current affairs, day was a waste for me if i didnt watch news, but now i dont care

 

[jayz]

Watch ABC's 7:30 report, 'sunday' program on channel 9 on sundays and 'meet the press' on sundays too, i fink

 

[Butterfly_Wings]

Originally posted by hipsta_jess

i still only 30% believe that it is Sadaam that they've captured (i know dna tests and stuff have been done, but if america is willing to exagerate the weopans claims, surely they would be willing to exagerrate and lie about this)

Especially with an election looming.
I would not be at all surprised.

 

[piccaninny]

i wish that Bush will lose next year's election. it is so obvious that war in iraq was organised not for political but for personal reasons. Bush junior revenging for his father.

 

[hipsta_jess]

Originally posted by piccaninny
i wish that Bush will lose next year's election. it is so obvious that war in iraq was organised not for political but for personal reasons. Bush junior revenging for his father.

exactly, ive said that all along, there was only two reasons they went for iraq:
1) dubya was trying to do what daddy couldnt
2) oil

if it really was about WoMD, then they shoulda been after N.Korea before Iraq (sorry anyone offended by this)

 

[psycho_mushy]

u can try the bullentin, times magazine and all that stuff..

but the best one is still the internet...

 

[*10#]

Thanx for that guys - i am pretty cynical about the whole saddam capture
i watched the press conference and was fully cracking up at the american melodramatics "we've got him"
and then the Iraqi's crying when they saw footage of suddam having a medical check - it was so lame i was thinking how much have they been paid to pull that stunt

anyway i was just wonderin what people thought of a possible death sentence if it really is suddam

personally im opposed to capital punishment even in extreme cases such as this
i thought it was such a cop out for latham to say he was opposed to the death penalty in Australia and for Australian's overseas - but he supported suddam being executed if thats what a trial concluded
this was a chance for him to take a stand against howard and show voters that the labor party can think for itself - a wasted opportunity for latham i mean even tony blair's government said they were against the death penalty

 

[hipsta_jess]

i think the death penalty has its place in certain circumstances...
like with murders, crimes against humanity, etc
however, i dont think execution should be automatic (i know there is an automatic appeal)...i think there should be a certain timeframe between the conviction and the execution (say 5 yrs- i dunno how long the appeal process and stuff takes) but just to give time to be pretty sure that the conviction was right...like there have been a few cases that people have been jailed then after a few years it comes out they were actually innocent

and a lot of the people who 'deserve' to be executed want to die, so it wouldnt be punishment to kill them, giving them life imprisonment with no parole would be a better option for them

so i guess im in mixed minds about the whole thing.

i just dont think the judicial system is strong enough to warrant executions, theres too many people getting a few years for killing other people, so what would people have to do to warrant execution, if murderers are virtually getting a slap on the wrist currently

 

[rubylotus11]

Some of the best information around is in The Guardian London which can be accessed online and the New Statesmen. I highly recommend this website too;
http://pilger.carlton.com
It provides a really interesting view of the world and the events that have shaped it in sections on the media, Iraq and Vietnam. Also I recommend John Pilger's The New Rulers of the World.

 

[Rorix]

Somehow we've gone from talking about the best web sites to keep up with the news to criticising the Coalition (which, by the way, includes other countries such as Britian - is Blair committing troops to 'make up for what Bush Snr failed to do'?). Take it away, Ted.

Originally posted by Theodore Kaczynski
Leftists tend to hate anything that has an image of being strong, good and successful. They hate America, they hate Western civilization, they hate white males, they hate rationality. The reasons that leftists give for hating the West, etc. clearly do not correspond with their real motives. They SAY they hate the West because it is warlike, imperialistic, sexist, ethnocentric and so forth, but where these same faults appear in socialist countries or in primitive cultures, the leftist finds excuses for them, or at best he GRUDGINGLY admits that they exist; whereas he ENTHUSIASTICALLY points out (and often greatly exaggerates) these faults where they appear in Western civilization. Thus it is clear that these faults are not the leftist's real motive for hating America and the West. He hates America and the West because they are strong and successful.

 

[rubylotus11]

"He hates America because they are strong and successful". I am not sure what your definition of "Leftists" is but perhaps you should look at what most would consider a "leftist" organisation such as Amnesty international. Most within this organisation would openly criticise China for its Human rights abuses in Tibet and towards its own people ie Falun Gong. And from my memory China is a Communist country. Wouldn't this tend to disprove your sweeping quote which is a very generalised image of the world

 

[Rorix]

You obviously haven't read it.

 

[mic]

I've read through this definition of leftism, and like rubylotus, find it completely flawed. I most certainly do not hate America, but rather am alarmed at the power its government wields. Nor do I hate Western civilisation, white males or rationality.

whatever "socialist" countries are out there more than likely do not reflect the principles of socialism.

These are blanket statements only.

 

[Rorix]

Nono, I'm referring to the original document that I jokingly quoted out of (his manifesto, in case you couldn't tell). It's stated many times in it that he doesn't assume that all leftists are like this.