update and upgrade programs do not work

When using apt-cache policy
replace packagename with the package you are wanting to see the output for.
Can you please pos tthe full output of the following command:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

Thanks for your bugreport.

This appears to be a configuration problem with your sudoers file:

$ sudo apt-cache policy packagename
>>> sudoers file: syntax error, line 17 <<<
sudo: parse error in /etc/sudoers near line 17

Please check line 17.

I make this a question

ray foster wrote:
> Your question #89965 on update-manager in ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/update-manager/+question/89965
>
> ray foster posted a new comment:
>
>
>
John and Michael,

No, I am not able to post the output of "sudo apt-get update && sudo
apt-get upgrade" because I simply solved the problem a non-conventional way:
I simply downloaded the new distro and burnt the CD and installed the
new version (after reformatting that partition on my hard drive - yet I
had to make a backup copy of my data and re-installed that as well).
Sorry for being such a copout!

Thanks

Ray Foster

You have been screwing with your sudoers file so you have lost the ability to use sudo

If you read the error its nothing to do with apt-get, your sudoers file is corrupted. Here is my unmodifier file:

andy@fileserver:~$ sudo cat /etc/sudoers
[sudo] password for andy:
# /etc/sudoers
#
# This file MUST be edited with the 'visudo' command as root.
#
# See the man page for details on how to write a sudoers file.
#

Defaults env_reset

# Host alias specification

# User alias specification

# Cmnd alias specification

# User privilege specification
root ALL=(ALL) ALL

# Uncomment to allow members of group sudo to not need a password
# (Note that later entries override this, so you might need to move
# it further down)
# %sudo ALL=NOPASSWD: ALL

# Members of the admin group may gain root privileges
%admin ALL=(ALL) ALL

Boot to either a liveCD or root recovery console and make your sudoers file look like mine then reboot.

You will now be able to use sudo just fine and you will be able to update, users are not allowed to update or upgrade which is why you need sudo, but you have borked your sudoers file so you can't use it.