US election: The ignored topics in the presidential debates

8 Oct 2012, 12:00 pm   -   Source: The Conversation
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The Conversation

There are some important topics that are likely to be ignored in the series of three presidential debates this month, but that do deserve attention.

By Brendon O'Connor, University of Sydney

Some issues, like drone strikes and incarceration levels, will not rate a mention during the three presidential debates this month. EPA/Rick Wilking

There are some important topics that are likely to be ignored in the series of three presidential debates this month, but that do deserve attention:

American drone attacks: “Democrats spent several days at their convention two weeks ago wildly cheering and chanting whenever President Obama’s use of violence and force was heralded. They’re celebrating a leader who is terrorizing several parts of the Muslim world, repeatedly killing children, targeting rescuers and mourners, and entrenching the authority to exert the most extreme powers in full secrecy and without any accountability – all while he increases, not decreases, the likelihood of future attacks.”

Incarceration: “America imprisons more of its citizens than any other nation on earth by far, including countries with far greater populations. As the New York Times reported in April 2008: the United States has less than 5% of the world’s population. But it has almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners.”

Inequality:

James Galbraith

Timothy Noah

Joseph Stiglitz

Chris Hedges

Brendon O'Connor does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations.

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Your Comments

How about the mentioning the seemingly unmentionable?

Jane Doe - from Reality, 8 months ago

That there are actually third-party candidates, which the mainstream media consistently ignores. And, SBS, really I expected so much better from you. A significant and fast-growing movement amongst the people of the US is pushing the third-party candidacy quite significantly. Of course few in Australia get to hear names like Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, because the mainstream media in Australia seems to have an agenda to keep folk 'selectively informed'.

Obama's Eligibility to Run for Office

Pete - from Brisbane, 8 months ago

A police investigation found the birth certificate that Obama declared to be real, was found to be a fake, and his social security number a fraud. Why aren't we hearing about this ???????

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