What on Earth is Going On?: A Crash Course in Current Affairs

What on Earth is Going On?: A Crash Course in Current Affairs
Arthur House

Tom Baird

Trying to determine what is going on in the world by reading newspapers is like trying to tell the time by watching the second hand of a clock. Ben HechtEvery day we are bombarded with far more information than we can possibly hope to absorb. We don't have the time, energy or patience to process it all and understand the root causes behind issues and their development. There might be areas of politics, business and international affairs which we know well, perhaps because our working lives directly involve them, but there is always so much besides which seems impenetrable, forbidding and rather scary as a result. Newspapers require a familiarity with acronyms and jargon in order to be comprehensible, not to mention considerable background knowledge.What on Earth is Going On? fills in some of this background in a clear but unpatronising style, taking the form of an alphabetical glossary which can be dipped into at convenient times. It is designed to be a gentle and amusing survival guide for people of all ages who wish they knew slightly more about what on earth is going on. This is a book for the bedside table, the morning commute or the downstairs loo, where it can be consulted by the confused dinner party guest who has taken refuge from the conversation going on next door. We hope that they will rejoin the table having flushed away some of their ignorance and feeling all the better for it.

TOM BAIRD

and ARTHUR HOUSE

What on Earth is Going On?

A Crash Course in Current Affairs

INTRODUCTION (#ulink_ce7ecb68-bc40-58a6-8247-2b206b162935)

We wrote this book with a shared conviction that a) most people’s knowledge of current affairs is a lot worse than they would like to admit, b) it wouldn’t hurt to start filling in the gaps, and c) while many of these issues are dauntingly complex, they would never-theless benefit from a clear and concise introduction.

Keeping up with the news is an interminably tall order. The media deluge us with so much content each day that by the time we’ve digested the headlines, a new day arrives and we have to start all over again. It’s not surprising that many of us choose to stick our heads in the sand and avoid it completely.

But that’s not the only alternative. The media would have us believe that events of earth-shattering importance happen every single day and that only by remaining glued to the 24-hour news cycle can we have any hope of keeping ourselves informed. Of course this isn’t true. Just as important as keeping up-to-date is understanding the root causes behind issues, and gaining some perspective on how they have developed over time.

Our hope is that What on Earth is Going On? will help achieve this. It is a book for the bedside table, the morning commute or the downstairs loo, where it can be consulted by the confused dinner party guest who has taken refuge from the conversation next door. We hope that they will rejoin the table having flushed away some of their ignorance, and feeling all the better for it.

TOM BAIRD and ARTHUR HOUSE, August 2009

Table of Contents

Cover Page (#u55690835-19b9-528e-9e09-4cb5047eb2be)

Title Page (#u334bd1f7-bee7-59d9-a83c-c227587cae3b)

Introduction (#u16b727b1-3fd4-58b2-b634-498f5d45414b)

Afghanistan (#u26e82771-16ff-544c-b7ca-047add5fc001)

Aid (#u6062591e-de8b-5b20-b2d2-ed19e1de2687)

Al-Qaeda (#u91432d46-02ba-5651-8689-ab7a96529f92)

Banking (#ucc4d8b7b-7801-5a7b-b78d-66032c1e99b1)

Basque Country/ETA (#u7d73a053-6966-5ac4-a2f9-f12116609aab)

Blogging (#ua59d140f-ae7c-56fa-9e13-0c5d205485e9)

Burma (#u19fe16e3-fd7b-5680-9adc-18d99eadf19f)

CERN (#ua1ca00ca-d8c4-5359-8d22-5fbe71fbe0e8)

Chechnya (#u49c4780f-f6fc-529f-8301-2b0c873bdb0e)

Civil Liberties (#u2cdfce3a-7a0d-509d-88c6-030b65418ec2)

Climate Change (#ub1759b3e-f083-53f4-876d-2b89b632013d)

Colombia (#u92b3dbb5-c8b5-5eac-a131-dc3aa94d6c49)

Congo (#u24c5ab65-f1c3-546e-8bbf-6ed2e4963c36)

Credit Crunch (#u0b47e544-7f9a-5000-a6d7-958447d979a1)

Cuba (#u8c15e83e-bf00-5b64-b085-fc0992b3f4cc)

Darfur (#litres_trial_promo)

Devolution (#litres_trial_promo)

Energy (#litres_trial_promo)

EU (#litres_trial_promo)

Euthanasia (#litres_trial_promo)

Fairtrade (#litres_trial_promo)

Free Trade (#litres_trial_promo)

G8/G20 (#litres_trial_promo)

Georgia (#litres_trial_promo)

GM Food (#litres_trial_promo)

Hedge Funds (#litres_trial_promo)

Hezbollah (#litres_trial_promo)

Human Rights (#litres_trial_promo)

Immigration (#litres_trial_promo)

Iran (#litres_trial_promo)

Iraq (#litres_trial_promo)

Islam (#litres_trial_promo)

Israel/Palestine (#litres_trial_promo)