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POPSIs the Catholic Church a Force for Good in the World? I saw this debate on BBC yesterday and it was really good. They poll people both before and after the debate about how they see the Catholic Church and the results were a bit surprising, but then again, not. Make up your own mind. (5 parts)
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POPSIn Memory of the Berlin Wall Today, 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, 57 percent, or an absolute majority, of eastern Germans defend the former East Germany. "The GDR had more good sides than bad sides. There were some problems, but life was good there," say 49 percent of those polled. Eight percent of eastern Germans flatly oppose all criticism of their former home and agree with the statement: "The GDR had, for the most part, good sides. Life there was happier and better than in reunified Germany today." Something in the water perhaps?
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POPSThe EU's New Stealth Tax "But in return Britain would be expected to give up its £4.1billion a year rebate, first agreed by Mrs Thatcher in 1984. Other options being considered include taxes on communications and banks and a carbon tax which would push up the cost of fuel, flights and heating."
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POPSRussia Reconsiders "There's no question that Stalin is undergoing a sort of renaissance in Russia. Despite the many millions killed or sent to labor camps during his reign, many now view his rule with a sort of hazy nostalgia. "The cynical position of the Stalinphobes is that only innocent people were kept in the gulag," he said. "Criminals who violated the law were kept in the gulag. And let the Western reader ask himself, should criminals be kept in spas or resort hotels?" Meanwhile, Stalin's image and name, systematically bleached out as the waning Soviet empire began to grapple with its bloody past, are creeping back into Russian life. His name was restored this fall to a Moscow metro station. His unmistakable mustached face beams from the wall of Soviet Meatpies, a kitschy diner downtown."
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POPSKarzai vows to clamp down on corruption Why should he be the only one that has to run a corruption free government. Don't have to dig too deep in our own countries to find plenty. Where there are humans, there is greed. Where there is greed, there is corruption.
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POPSIllegal downloaders 'spend the most on music', says poll "The latest approach from the Government will not help prop up an ailing music industry. Politicians and music companies need to recognise that the nature of music consumption has changed, and consumers are demanding lower prices and easier access," said Peter Bradwell, from the think-tank Demos, which commissioned the new poll conducted by Ipsos Mori.
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POPSHope-n-Change Futures Are Down Across The Board When asked about Obama’s policy agenda, in November 2008 the responses split 43/45 (Liberal/Moderate) while recently the split was 54/34 (Liberal/Moderate). These are just a couple of highlights of the questions and I encourage you to check out the interactive data for the suprising shifts in the publics attitudes, especially the priorities and the policy expectations. But based on the results it’s becoming clearer that the public perception of Obama 1 year ago is vastly different from the President the public has come to know. In fact, to use the formula of the President himself, the public thinking is, “This is not the Obama we thought we elected.” >>Read more http://powip.com/2009/10/hope-n-change-futures-are-down-across-the-board/
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POPSRepublicans Hit Poll Bottom, again The withering slide in support for Republicans continues, now down to 19-20% in this latest poll. (Only our corrosive and toxic media might make it seem otherwise). The party deserves to be driven into extinction, due to misleading nations into a false war based on deliberate lies, endorsing the use of torture, violating civil and Constitutional rights, and for being nothing more than a Smear Machine trying to win votes based on fear and hate. The new president (despite the ceaseless rabble and rabid critics) continues to also live up to his campaign promises and has set the nation back on the right track in many important ways. The "Dark Side," is losing; as it should. GOP elephants going extinct. 80% of the nation turned off to their drivel.
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POPSThe Biggest Risk To US Physicians: The AMA 
The following is a posting I presented along with the poll to the Sermo physician community on July 1st, 2009 First posted to the Sermo physician community on July 01, 2009: From the Founder: The Biggest Risk to US Physicians: The AMA As physicians, our first step in the health care debate needs to be clearing the air about who speaks for us on what topics. Today, I am joining the increasing waves of physicians who believe that the AMA no longer speaks for us. As the founder and CEO of Sermo, this is a considerable change of heart, given the high hopes that I had when we first partnered with the AMA over two years ago. The sad fact is that the AMA membership has now shrunk to the point where the organization should no longer claim that it represents physicians in this country. The AMA has drawn its power from the support of the physician community. The waning membership reflects our objection as the AMA has failed us consistently for over 50 years.
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POPSEnding death penalty could save US millions More: Dieter says that keeping execution while reducing its costs is not realistic. If less money is spent on appeals, he argues, the risk of executing an innocent person will increase. He said that ultimately, execution does not deter crime as its supporters hope. Capital punishment has been abolished in most western democracies, and after it was eliminated in the US state of New Jersey in 2007, the state saw its murder rate decline. Dieter cites a poll of 500 local police chiefs, which was paid for by the DPIC and released on Tuesday, showing support for ending capital punishment. The survey found that the police chiefs see the death penalty as the least effective tool in deterring crime. They suggest more efficient use of resources -- such as boosting funding for drug and alcohol abuse programs.
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POPSPolling Americans It's not about what the American public thinks, I agree with Barbara Boxer, Science will win the day. No only if the climate change folks, previously known as the Global Warming folks, will be able to clearly reason through the facts and understand that the Earth is currently cooling. . . not warming.