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| Contributed
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Our newest poll relates to the refusal by British ministers and the Scottish prison doctor who would have been responsible for looking after the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset ali al Megrahi, to testify to a Senate Committee. Shold they testify?
Background:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-10727266 .
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/scotland/7915173/Lockerbie-inquiry-widened-to-stop-stonewalling.html .
Please vote.
****************
In our poll that closed on 28 July we discussed Israeli Deputy Ambassador to the UK Talya Lador Frescher being nearly physically attacked by angry demonstrators at Manchester University on 28 April. Anger at Israel is high in the UK. Should Israel be shunned and boycotted until a peace accord is reached?
Poll results:
No - 83.6%
Yes - 16.3%
Total votes: 49
Background:
http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/31165/israel-deputy-ambassador-shocked-manchester-attack .
***********
Our poll that closed on 12 May looked at the wide range of candidates who will lead a new British government after the current Parliament is dissolved on April 12th.
Background:
http://www.libdems.org.uk/splash.aspx .
http://www.plaidcymru.org/ .
http://www.ukip.org/ .
http://www.greenparty.org.uk/leadership-elections .
http://www2.labour.org.uk/home .
http://www.conservatives.com/join/ .
http://bnp.org.uk/ .
Results:
Nick Clegg - Liberal Democrat -- 55%
Gordon Brown - Labour - 16.6%
David Cameron - Conservative - 11.1%
Caroline Lucas - Green - 11.1%
Lord Pearson - UKIP - 5.5%
Total votes - 18
****************
Our poll that closed on April 9th looked at the incendiary rhetoric on the website of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK. They complain about 'Zionists' writing in to them but have blocked our editor, Carol Gould, from entering into any sort of meaningful discussion for four years.
Here are some of their current editorials:
http://www.mpacuk.org/story/050909/zionist-scam-most-muslim-groups-are-simply-too-stupid-understand.html#ixzz0iD31MOSd .
http://www.mpacuk.org/story/140310/your-mp-zionist.html .
Should incendiary websites be shut down?
Poll results:
Yes - 71.4%
No - 28.5%
Total votes - 14
*********************
Our poll that closed on 15 March looked at the topic of climate change. Is the current winter crisis a result of global warming?
Here is a background article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8447262.stm .
Poll results:
Is the current cold spell a natural sequence of events?
yes -- 76.3%
no- it is a result of climate change - 23%
Total votes - 13
**************************
Our poll that closed on 10 January looked at the controversy over the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to American President Barack Obama. Many feel he has done nothing to deserve such an august honour. What did you think?
Did he merit the award?
Poll results:
No - 77.7%
Yes - 22.2%
Total votes - 36
***************
Our poll that ended 2 November looked at the scandalous mis-selling of endowmment policies that left millions of Britons with insufficient funds to repay their interest-only mortgages. Should lenders now forgive these mortgages?
Background:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091009/ap_on_re_eu/eu_nobel_peace .
http://www.endowmentrisk.co.uk/misselling.php
Poll results:
Yes - 65.3%
No - 34.6%
Total votes - 26
************
Our poll that closed on 7th September looked at the burgeoning controversy surrounding the compassionate release by the Scottish authorities of ailing prisoner Abdelbaset Ali al Megrahi, convicted of the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in December, 1988. Many around the world, including many in Scotland, feel his release was uncalled for and insults the memory of every victim of the atrocity.
Background:
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/cotswolds/cotswoldsnews/Lockerbie-father-support-release-plea/article-1251716-detail/article.html .
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6807889.ece .
Should al Megrahi have been released?
Poll results:
No - 75%
Yes - 25%
Total votes: 12
************************
Our poll that closed on 24th August looked at an incident in London in the week of 6th July that has worldwide implications for Jews. Jonathan Hoffman, Vice Chair of the Zionist Federation of Great Britain, was officially banned from attending the launch of a book by Ben White, 'Israeli Apartheid: a Beginner's Guide' at London's Toynbee Hall. We at CurrentViewpoint consider this an ugly turn in the continuing rise of anti-Semitism in Europe. Are we over-reacting?
Poll results:
This was an unprecedented banning of an attendee at a public event because he expressed Zionist views -- 82.3%
This was the pro-Palestinian Left being chldish and 'banning' someone to get attention;
17.6%
Total votes : 34
Background articles:
http://www.hurryupharry.org/2009/07/10/ben-white-at-war-on-want/ .
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443769098&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull .
***************
Our poll that closed on 11th July looked at the British MP expenses scandal that had rocked Westminster: BBC commentator Andrew Neil calls the events of May 'monumental.' Apparently Her Majesty the Queen is 'livid' about the allegations against scores of MPs. Should Parliament be dissolved and elections called?
(For background please read Carol Gould's article.)
Poll results:
Yes- 83.7%
No- 16.2%
Total votes: 43
**********************
In our poll that closed on 21 May we looked at our editor Carol Gould, who suddenly finds herself in penury at age 55 because her pension and endowment policies all collapsed between 2003 and her bank stopped her from drawing equity from her home during the boom. Weakened from a series of illnesses she has not been able to get a loan or a penny of financial help from any of the multi-millionare friends or contacts in her faith community. The British Chief Rabbi Joanthan Sacks recently said he will travel the country to urge the Jewish community to open its pockets to the poor. Should the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Christian communities start a campaign to insist its wealthiest members to help not just charities but individuals in need?
Poll results:
Yes - 71.1%
No - 28.2%
Total votes - 46
**************
Our poll that ended 28 March looked at the future of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks now that a Right-wing government is being formed. Is this the end of dialogue?
Would a right-winger be better at achieving peace than a Left-wing government?
No -- 47.5%
Yes -- 28.5%
It will make no difference: 23.8%
Total votes: 42
Background:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1233304835900&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Poll results:
*********************
The Centre for Social Cohesion has released a report about Muslim Public Affairs Committe UK spokesman Asghar Bukhari, who is quoted as saying 'any Muslim who fights against Israel and dies is a martyr and will be granted paradise.'
On the MPACUK website blog there are scores of incendiary comments about Jewish and Zionist issues and public figures, some bordering on incitement. Should acitivist websites like these be shut down by government authorities or should they flourish in the great British tradition of free expression?
Poll results:
Sites that incite should be shut down - 58.6%
In a democracy free speech should reign - 41.3%
Total votes: 46
Background:
http://www.socialcohesion.co.uk/home .
http://www.mpacuk.org/content/view/5174/102/ .
***************
Our poll that closed on 7th January looked at the appalling situation in Zimbabwe, which as Rhodesia was the magical, magnificent Bread Basket of Africa. It is now experiencing 2 million per cent inflation, a cholera outbreak and massive poverty and violence. Should its leader Robert Mugabe be overthrown in a military invasion coordinated by other African nations?
Please vote.
Background:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/3660739/Zimbabwes-cholera-victims-ten-times-more-likely-to-die.html .
Should there be a military invasion of Zimbabwe to remove Mugabe?
Poll results:
Yes - 65%
No - 35%
Total votes -21
********************
In our poll that closed 7th December we looked at issues raised by American publisher Roger Kimball about President-Elect Barack Obama in an editorial in the London 'Evening Standard' newspaper of 4 November: 'Obama's original birth certificate has not been released. His records at Occidental College, where he started college, are not available. His records from Columbia University, where he was a student in the 1980s, are sealed..' Do these issues worry you now that Obama is President-elect? Do these issues worry you?
://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23581778-details/Why+millions+won't+be+voting+for+Barack+today/article.do .
Poll results:
yes - 61.2%
No - 38.7%
Total votes - 49
**************
In our poll that closed 5 November we asked 'For whom would you be voting in the US Presidential election?'
Results:
John McCain 49.1%
Barack Obama 47.3%
Raplh nader 3.5 %
Total votes: 57
Background article:
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1853025,00.html?cnn=yes .
******************************
In our poll that closed 22 October we looked at the money wasted by millions on 'endowment mortgages.' Carol Gould received passionate support when she said on live BBC Radio that she was outraged to find 'Friends Provident' plastered all over Lord's Cricket Ground whilst the insurance company had informed thousands of customers that they would not be able to repay their endowment mortgages due to a substantial shortfall in funds. Carol believes that customers who have paid in to these interest-only mortgage for more than fifteen years should be given 100% possession of their homes and that further interest payments duly terminated. What do you think? A person who then owns their own home outright can sell it and the proceeds go back into the economy. Or they can stay in their homes and avoid repossession, whilst having extra cash to spend.
Should homeowners who have paid in to endowment (interest-only) mortgages for more than fifteen years and whose endowment policies have collapsed be allowed to take possession of their homes, with the banks forgiiving any further interest payments?
Results:
Yes - 66%
No- 33%
Total votes - 22
**************
In our poll that closed 25 September we discussed former Beatle and internationally acclaimed musician Paul McCartney, who has received death threats from Sheikh Omar Bakri and other extremists because he planned to give a concert in Israel. Should he have cancelled or, as he has stated, gone ahead regardless of threats?
Please vote.
No-- 73.6%
Yes -- 26.6%
Total votes - 19
Background:
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/61355/We-ll-kill-Sir-Paul-if-he-plays-in-Israel .
********************
Our poll that closed on 15 September looked at the turbulent world that is Pakistan, born in violence -- one million dies during Partition in 1947-48. Former President Pervez Musharraf was an ally to the United States but even President Bush could not stop his impensding impeachment and forced resignation. Some see the radical elements now taking hold in Pakistan and the 'war on terror' becoming impossible to contain. Some feel the party of the late Benazir Bhutto, whose views on issues like Israel were the same as Musharraf's, will lead in peace and unity now that he is gone.
Poll results:
The resignation of Musharraf will lead to a Taliban-style Islamic Revolution:
66.6%
There will be a peaceful transition:
33.3 %
Total votes: 42
Background:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7567451.stm .
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/268637.php .
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1218710389668&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull .
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/928287.html .
**************
In our poll thsat closed 18 August we looked at the contentious issue of gay clergy. American Bishop Gene Robinson is in Britain for the summer and has already received death threats and a ban on attending the Lambeth Conference in London. His elevation to Bishop has caused consternation and even threats by Anglicans to leave the church. Should he be spurned and repudiated this way?
Background:
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/16/church.conference/index.html .
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gay-bishop-defies-his-lambeth-conference-ban-866487.html .
Poll results : (Should homosexuals be banned from holding high office in the Episcopal Church in the USA and in and in the worldwide Anglican Church ?
No - 68.9%
Yes - 31%
Total votes - 29
*********************
In our poll that closed 15 July, we remembered Tim Russert, host of 'Meet the Press' on NBC in the United States and a national institution, who died on 13 June at work after flying back from Italy. Doctors and the coroner have ruled out a thrombosis, and have indicated that Russert had an enlarged heart, diabetes and severely clogged arteries. He was also seriously obese.
Carol Gould, our editor, remarks: 'My thin and otherwise fit grandfather died at 56 of a heart attack. My lean and athletic cousin Merton died of a heart attack at 58. I am heavier than I would like but recently had a complete cardiac MOT check-up and the cardiologist said my carotid artery ( the one in the neck that can cause strokes) is clear and that my heart sounds healthy to her. She did not recommend an echo-cardiogram or an angiogram. My blood sugar is high but that is because I do nosh on Walker's Nonsuch toffees for a treat.
'Who is to know when the grim reaper will take us to our Maker? I watched Tim a fortnight ago grilling former White House Press Secretary Scott McLellan and he was peuce with stress. I even wondered if Tim might be heading for a stroke or hear attack, as he was so florid, breathless and sweaty. I myself have been under inordinate stress in recent years but this week had my blood pressure and stress level measured at a health and well-being festival. My levels were very low. However, I continue to diet and take my cholesterol pills. Should employers provide a yearly cardiac check to all employees? I think so.'
Poll results:
No, because Tim passed a treadmill test on 29 April and these 'cardiac checkups' are useless.
38%
No, it would be too costly and many people would shirk it anyway.
33.3%
Yes, whatever the cost and provided one is not penalised for refusing the test
28.5%
Total Votes: 21
Background:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25145431/
****************
Our poll that closed 15 June looked at the new move by the British University and College Union to boycott Israeli academic contact and, for the first time, to vet Jewish academics on their views with the intention being to bar them from university work if they support Israel. Notwithstanding Jimmy Carter's statement this weekend at the Hay Festival in Wales that the Palestinian situation is the 'worst human rights catastrophe in recent history' and Israel's fault, is this boycott not a form of Mccarthyism ? Here is the motion, provided to Current Viewpoint by Academic Friends of Israel:
'This Wednesday 28 May, the UCU Congress will debate a motion which not only calls yet again for an academic boycott of Israel but demands of Jewish and Israeli academics that they explain their politics as a pre-condition to normal academic contact .The motion asks colleagues “to consider the moral and political implications of educational links with Israeli institutions, and to discuss the occupation with individuals and institutions concerned, including Israeli colleagues with whom they are collaborating”. If Jewish
and Israeli academics support the Palestinian point of view they will beprotected from further action, if they are against it or non-committal
then they may be considered unsuitable for continued association.'
We asked you to vote on this proposition:
'The UK University College Union, in the context of its pending Boycott Israel motion, is proposing at its conference that Jewish as well as Israeli academics be vetted for their attitudes towards the Palestinian issue with a view to terminating association with pro-Israel personnel. Should the British Parliament step in to stop this move, which many see as racist and McCarthyite?'
Results:
Yes - 73.1%
No - 26.8%
Total votes - 41
****************
Our poll that closed on 27 May looked at the stark situation in Zimbabwe. President Robert Mugabe has refused to accept that the elections held in 29 March showed him trailing Movement for Demicratic Changer leader Morgan Tsvangarai. The nation is on its knees. What should be done? Shock and awe as the USA delivered in Iraq in 2003? United Nations intervention?
Background information:
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/05/10/zimbabwe.tsvangirai/ .
Poll results:
A new election should be held and the popular winner declared President -- 43.3%
The UN should step in and forcefully remove Mugabe - 36.6%
The foreign intelligence services such as the CIA should encourage an insurrection and overthrow him -- 20%
total votes: 30
**********************
Our poll that closed on 10 May looked at the field of United States Presidential candidates, with six long months left to go before the general election. Of the three main contenders left in the race, whom would you prefer as President of the United States?
Poll result:
Hillary Clinton - 61.7%
John McCain - 34%
Barack Obama - 4.2%
Total votes - 47
***************************
Our poll that closed 10 April dealt with the subject of torture. Presidential candidate Senator John McCain soent five years under torture in a Vietnamese POW camp. He wants to close Guantanamo Bay, where the present administration feels certain methods of iunterrogation have prevented another 9/11 and have produced leads that have resulted in the capture of top terrorists. The Geneva Conventions prohibit torture but many countries ignore this edict.
But should torture be banned worldwide?
Poll results:
Yes - 50%
No - 50%
Total votes - 14
*****************************
In our poll that ended 1st April we looked at the British ban on military servicemen and women wearing unforms off-base. Because troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have found themselves at the receiving end of abuse in the streets of Britain, they are advised not to go out into public areas in uniform. This is similar to the plight of American servicemen and women during the Vietnam War, who were subjected to similar harassment. In recent years American men and women in uniform have walked about in public unmolested, although army recruiters have been threatened with being banned from some college and high school campuses. Anyon who lives in Washington, DC will be familiar with the constant sight of ubiquitous uniformed personnel. In Britain this was banned due tio the threat from the IRA, but now the soldiers and airmen and women are being taunted by the general public.
Should the British military ban those in active service from wearing uniforms in public?
Results:
No - 93%
Yes - 6.9%
Total votes: 43
related article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/03/09/do0909.xml .
***************
Britain has seen an increase in street crime in recent years that has involved children as young as nine. Gary Newlove was kicked to death 'like a football' by a gang of three teens in Warrington, Cheshire as his three daughters looked on in shock. His widow Helen would like to see them executed. Should the death penalty be restored?
Poll results:
Yes -- 73.5%
No -- 26.4%
Total votes: 64
Background:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/11/nnewlove211.xml .
****************
Our poll that closed on 12 February looked at the confusion arising over the circumstances around the death of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Background:
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1298653,00.html .
We asked our readers to speculate on the identity of those they suspect were responsible for the assassination of Mrs Bhutto.
Results:
al Qaeda: 39.1%
a non-al Qaeda Islamic terror group : 31.8%
the Pakistani government : 23.1%
the CIA: 5.7%
Total votes: 69
********************
Our poll that closed 19 December addressed the issue of President Bush imposing further sanctions on Iran in October. Opinion around the world leans in favour of peaceful resolution of Iran's nuclear sabre-rattling. Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP has suggested a carrot and stick approach, with the possibility of an attack on Iran's nuclear facilit(ies) but economic aid to follow, as was the case with Libya.
Should Iran's nuclear facility be attacked?
Poll results: 66.6% Yes
33.3 % No
Total votes : 51
Related article:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article2753953.ece .
What do you think?
Please vote.
*****************
Our poll that closed 28 October looked at the turmoil in Pakistan. On29 September it was being reported that ruling Gen Musharraf had cracked down on all opposition. Lawyers and journalists are protesting the Supreme Court's ruling that he may run again for President. Various opponents have a popular base, including former cricketer Imran Khan, and former Prime Ministers Bhutto and Sharif. The following articles give background. In our poll we asked readers who they thought would succeed Musharraf if he was forced out of power.
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jason_burke/2007/10/muddling_through.html .
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/10/02/musharraf.protests/index.html .
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6959782.stm .
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/09/29/musharraf.protests/index.html .
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/29/wpak129.xml .
Poll results:
Former cricketer Imran Khan - 555.%
Former PM Banzir Bhutto - 33.3%
Former PM Nawaz Sharif - 11.1%
Total votes - 19
******************
Our poll that closed 29 September addressed the current fury over post-war Iraq policy. Two retired British generals, Tim Cross and Sir Mike Jackson, have roundly criticised American policy as just short of disastrous, and Sir Mike has called former Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's policy 'intellectually bankrupt,' focussing on Rumsfeld's comment 'We don't do nation-building.'
Inasmuch as the President is the Commander in Chief of the American Armed Forces, is Rumsfeld really to blame or being made a scapegoat for White House incompetence?
The late Pres. Harry Truman said 'The buck stops here.' Now two senior British Generals, (ret.) Sir Mike Jackson and Tim Cross, have condemned US Iraq war policy, with particular focus on Donald Rumsfeld. Should blame be heaped on him or on the Commander-in-Chief, President Bush?
Related links:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2160947,00.html .
Results:
Pres. Bush -74.2%
Donald Rumsfeld - 25.7%
Related links:
Total votes: 35
**************
Our poll thsat closed on 2 September addresses the wisdom of the parents of Madeleine McCann, the little four-year-old who disappeared from a holiday villa in Portugal on 3 May. It has been reported that the geenral sentiment amongst the Portuguese people is that it was unacceptable for three little children to be left alone whilst the parents dined out with friends. What did you think? Would you have left your toddlers unattended?
Poll results:
No - 97%
Yes - 2.9%
Total votes: 34
Background articles:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/exclusions/madeleine/nosplit/madeleine.xml .
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=474644&in_page_id=1770&ct=5 .
http://www.currentviewpoint.com/cgibin/news.cgi?id=11&command=shownews&newsid=939
Please vote.
***************
Our poll that closed on 11 August looked at an incident on 18 July 2007 when a group of women in burkhas protested outside the Old Bailey in London because four young Muslim men had been sent to prison for incitement as a result of protests outside the Danish Embassy in February 2006. The women carried placards denouncing the police and some feel they should be prosecuted for this. Their faces were concealed and they cannot therefore be 'ID'd.' Should the burkha be banned in non-Muslim countries?
Results:
Yes - 81%
No-18.9@
Total votes: 37
Additional background:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/cartoonprotests/story/0,,2129725,00.html .
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/017436.php .
*********************
In our poll that closed on 24 July we looked at the Queen's Borthday Honours List; it has been proposed that Salman Rushdie, author of 'The Satanic Verses,' be knighted. He was the subject of a fatwa in 1989 and has lived for many years under strict security protection. Muslim leaders around the world have protested that this honour provokes their sensibilities and is offensive. Others say it will cause terror attacks to be perpetrated against British interests and that Rushdie himself is in danger. How do you feel about this issue? Should his knighthood be withdrawn so as not to provoke terrorist attacks on Britain?
Background:
http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2110225,00.html .
http://books.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2109834,00.html .
Poll results:
96.3% - No
3% - Yes
Total votes - 33
************************
Our poll that closed on 25 June dealt with ourEditor, Carol Gould, who was interviewed last year for a Canadian documentary being made for the BBC 'Storyville' series about anti-Semitism. Apparently it has evolved into a 'road movie' with some controversial views and scenes devised by its Director, Jamie Kastner. Carol Gould is not happy about the title 'Kike Like Me.'
Here is some background:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/features/columns/international/e3i24f58f9705c1a288503afa265f3cb09c .
Does the title offend you?
Results:
Yes - 60%
No -40%
Total votes - 16
****************
Our poll that closed on 8 June looked at the conference planned for Iranian-US talks on regional affairs. Should the USA have met with a regime that calls for the annihilation of Israel and that holds a Holocaust Denial Conference?
Background here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/16/AR2007051601288.html .
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/860903.html
.
Results:
No - 88.2%
Yes - 11.2 %
Total votes - 34
**************
Our poll that closed 17 May looksed at rhe expulsion of the American Embassy from Grosvenor Square after 221 years by its hostile Mayfair neighbours. They claim is it a major terror target and will cause them mortal danger. Are they right?
Poll results:
No - 80.9%
Yes- 19%
Total votes: 43
***************
In our poll that closed on 26 April we looked at British art critic Brian Sewell, who has never been a friend of Israel and at times has shown bitter anger at the Jewish community ( he had an outburst a few years ago in a column about the 'greedy Jews' of Manchester wanting a Holocaust museum,); he has come out with a comment on Holocaust remembrance. Some members of Anglo-Jewry have suggested others are over-reacting and that making a fuss about his latest comment will 'stir up more anti-Semitism.'
In his column about William Wilberforce, the slave abolitionist, Sewell says :
From 'Where is Wilberforce in all this?' by Brian Sewell - Friday 2 March 2007 'The Evening Standard.'
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/arts/Brian%20Sewell-critic-42-archive.do
'..The historical slave trade was a business at least as appalling as the Holocaust, with many, many more victims, and like the Holocaust its memory has been hijacked by the descendants of those victims and turned into a scourge with which to whip guilt into society. The twaddle, jargon and political correctitude of what must be the feeblest exhibition I have ever seen must make the sane man rage..''
Is he right about the Holocaust being 'hijacked?'
Results:
No - 86.1%
Yes - 13.8%
Total votes - 65
**************************
In our poll that closed 7 March we discussed the role of family , religion and sport in the upbringing of children.
When our Editor Carol Gould was on BBC Radio Four 'Any Questions?' she said the presence of well-funded organised sport was of enormous benefit to American children. However a new UNICEF research prject reveals that American children are near the bottom of the list for 'child wellbeing.' At the very bottom is Great Britain. In Britain church attendance is very low; in the USA it is very high and is creidted with getting many inner city children away from crime. Sport is a major activity in USA schools and colleges but no longer a major activity for British children. Yet both countries are failing miserably. UNICEF found that countries in which families ate together had less child misbehaviour.
Here is some background informstion:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6359363.stm
http://www.unicef.org/sowc07/
What did you think was most important in the upbringing of children?
Results:
Eating a meal with family at least four times a week 55.5%
Sport activity - 25%
Religious services - 19.4%
Total votes: 37
.
************
Our poll that closed on 13 February addressed the uncomfortable issue of the police investigation of Prime Minister Tony Blair's inner circle, alleged to have asked for loans to the Labour Party in exchange for seats in the House of Lords. This practice is illlegal under a 1925 law. It seems beyond belief that barristers, lawyers and businessmen of the calibre of Blair, Michael Howard and Lord Levy might be under suspicion, but a long list of eminent and immesnelt wealthy individuals is under a cloud. Many feel Blair is not paying attention to the country's presssing problems. Inasmuch as this scandal is not limited to Blair's Labour Party, should he step down?
Further background:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5173860.stm
Poll results:
Should Tony Blair resign?
Yes - 59%
No - 40.9%
Total votes - 22
***********
Our poll that closed on 3 February looked at the troubling issues surrounding the 'Big Brother' programme created by EnDeMol, a Dutch company. Our Editor, Carol Gould, worked in 1991-92 for the EnDeMol predecessor company, JE Entertainment, before they fell out because she had objected to their hostile attitude towards her black secretary. British Channel Four and EndeMol have allowed Indian film star Shilpa Shetty to be verbally abused and to be referred to as 'Poppadom' by British housemates. 36,000 viewer complaints have been logged. Carphone Warehouse has withdrawn sponsorship.
Please read:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6277875.stm
Should the programme be cancelled?
Poll results:
Yes - 77.4%
No - 22.5%
Total votes - 31
**********
Our poll that closed 19 January looked at the lack of leadership in the Arab history of the Middle East conflict. Israel has had inspired and legendary leaders but not the Palestinians. One could also say that when a peacemaker emerged he was destroyed: the most eminent having been Anwar Sadat and Yitzhak Rabin, both assassinated.
Do the Palestinians need a great leader or is Israeli policy the problem?
Poll results:
64.5% - a great leader is needed.
35.4% - Israel is at the root of Palestinian problems.
Total votes: 31
****************
Our poll that ended on 18 December focussed on the London 2012 Olympics.
There is a considerable amount of public wrangling in Britain because the budget for the 2012 Olympics is spiralling out of control before even one brick has been laid. London has serious problems with sewage and drainage, mass transit and gridlocked motorways.
The two profit-making Olympics were 1932 and 1984 (both Los Angeles) but the facilities were already in existence because of the phenomenal pre-existing high school, college and professional stadia available for the event.
Should London forfeit the Olympics?
Here is a background article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1959475,00.html
Poll results:
Should London hand back the Olympics?
Yes - 58%
No - 41.9%
Total votes - 31
******************
Our poll that ended 29 November looked at the results of an ICM-Guardian Poll. 70% of Britons polled said President George W Bush is a greater threat to world peace than is Ahamdinejad of Iran or Kim Jong Il of North Korea.
Did you agree?
Results:
No - 64.1%
Yes- 35.8%
Total votes: 78
**************************
Our poll that ended 8 November looked at the elections in the United States on 7 November.
Here are background articles:
http://us.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/02/clean.campaign.ap/index.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15535924/from/id/15530334/
For whom would you vote?\
Results:
Democrat: 58.6%
Republican: 41.3%
Total votes: 29
******************
In our poll that closed on 3 November we looked at the comments British General Sir Richard Dannatt made about the presence of British troops being provocative and encouraging the insurgency in Iraq. Over 65% of Americans consider the Iraq war a disaster and this view could result in a huge defeat for the Republican Party on 7 November.
Here is some background material:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1930687,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6046888.stm
Should Coalition troops vacate Iraq now?
Results:
Yes - 62.2%
No - 37.7%
Total votes: 45
***********
Our poll that ended 20 October addressed the storm of controversy surrounding the comments made by former British Foreigh Secretary Jack Straw in which he expressed his desire to see the black veil removed by Muslim women.
Related story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/5415478.stm
Jakc Straw is right
Yes 100%
No 0%
Total votes: 14
********************
Our poll that closed on 7 October looked at the controversy caused by Pope Benedict's lecture about Islam.
On the day after the fifth anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the United States, the Pope delivered a paper to his university in Regensburg, Germany.
He quoted from a fourteenth-century Byzantine emperor who suggested that Islam was filled with things evil and inhuman.
The Muslim world has condemned his speech. The Vatican went into crisis mode.
A related article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1874786,00.html
Poll results:
The Pope was right to make the speech
90%
The Pope should resign
9%
Total votes: 22
**************
Our poll that ended on 16 September looked at the conspiracy theories already filling the airwaves: that the British airline terror plot is a trumped-up scare perpetrated by the Bush and Blair regimes to drum up support for Israel and for the war on terror.
What did you think?
The arrests are a ruse to generate support for the War on terror :
Yes - 15.2%
No - 84.2% - No
Total votes: 20
Please vote.
***********
Our poll that closed 19 August looked at the decades-old turmoil in the Middle East. Bill Clinton was passionately involved with the Oslo peace process, which ended in tragedy when Israeli Prime Minister Yotzhak Rabin was assassinated by a religious Israeli, who felt he was handing back hard-won lands to the Palestinians. When Rabin was shot, Boris Yeltsin said, 'The Middle East will niow be bathed in rivers of blood.' He may have been right. President Bush has not been involved in intensive peace talks and now a war is raging. Does American involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict make any difference?
Results:
Yes: 54.1%
No: 45.8%
Total votes : 25
******************
Our poll that closed 2nd August addressed the issue of Israel's operations in Lebanon.
Israel, having withdrawn from Lebanon in 2000 has responded to the kidnapping and unprovoked killing of its soldiers by Hezbollah, and the lobbing of missiles into Isralei cities with a massive offensive inside Lebanon. Liberal newspapers and commentators feel the Israeli response is disproportionate to the original offense. Hezbollah shot 500 Katyusha rockets into Kiryat Shimona in 1996, resulting in Operation Grapes of Wrath, in which one-hundred Lebanese civilians were killed at Cana refugee camp. Shimon Peres was promptly labelled a murderer. Is Israel at fault in 2006?
Results:
No - 92.3%
Yes - 7.6%
Total votes: 40
*************
Our poll that closed on 19 Julu looked at the limits of the Internet. On 19 June a page appeared on the MPACUK website that criticised journalist Melanie Phillips. Bloggers responded with enthusiasm, and one even suggested the Germans got rid of the 'unclean' Jews the right way. The message was removed a day later but its damage and hurt was done. Interestingly, one of our writers wrote in to MAPACUK on several topics, but the messages were not entered on any of the MPAC blogs. Should there be a world regulatory body that monitors all websites for fairness and for inflammatory material or is this a violation of the concept of free expression?
Here is the link:
http://www.mpacuk.org/content/view/2242/1/
This is the June 19 blog entry that was later removed:
'
...Mad Mel does not remove her body hair? ? despite her claims to being
"Jewish" and with the billions in donations that she collects from Zionist
institutions for her rants and raves against Muslims ---that is disgusting
Mad Mel....no wonder you stink from a mile away !
That is especially enlightening since that other deluded Zionist pervert
liar Danial Pipes has accused Muslims as a racial group " "lacking basic
Germanic standards of hygiene"---which sounds rich coming from those who do
not even clean their bodies and from those whose own standards of hygiene
were so low that the Germans got rid of them the right way !
Perverse low-lifes like Melanie Phipps think that they will get the Great
Unwashed on their side by warning them about Muslims who wash and keep
clean. Holocaust-deniers like Daniel Pipes think they will garner a lot of
sympathy by claiming that "Germans" are superor to Muslims---well they
possibly are---but that does not change the fact that so many of the Germans
sent so many of Mr Pipes's types to their resting place in hell.
It is time not only for the Daily Mail to be shut down but also for the
permanent job that a third-rate columnist like Mad Mel has to be taken from
her. I have read her columns many times. She is so utterly shallow & crudely
mediocre that even when she is not talking Muslims but on other topics she
is talking rubbish. It is just an unfortunately tragic fact of British
society that someone like Mad Mel can exhibit her badly done hair , her
rotting teeth, her appalling lack of hygiene, her unverifiable claims to
ancestry and her improbable sexual orientation can still keep her job in a
toilet-roll edition of the Daily Mail....'
**********************************
Poll results:
63.3% -Such sites should be closed down
36.6% - Closing down sites is a violation of free speech.
Total votes: 31
****************
Our poll that closed 28 June looked at the possibility of the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, attending the soccer World Cup in Germany. Many feel his presence in Germany would be an insult to Holocaust survivors and to the memory of victims.
Should he be allowed to attend?
Poll results:
90.0% - No
9% - Yes
Total votes - 23
****************
In our poll that closed on 29 May we looked at the Israeli 'expulsion of settlers' issue. Many Muslim countries are Judenrein, or without any Jews, they having been expelled over the past six decades. Israelis may not enter Dubai and when Daniel Pearl went to Pakistan he was beheaded. It is reported to be a crime punishable by death to possess a Jewish or Christian Bible in some Arab nations. If Jews are forbidden from living inside historic Judea and Samaria and Gaza as well as East Jerusalem, -- all so meaningful to 5,766 years of Jewish history -- should the million-plus Arabs of Israel be asked to emigrate to Palestine?
Poll results:
82.3 % - yes
17.6% - no
Total votes - 18
**********************************
May 24 2006: Here is the latest twist in this story:
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/05/24/canada.iran.reut/index.html
******************
Our poll that closed May 25 looked at the reports this weekend, now being called an urban myth, that the Iranian Parliament has approved a measure requiring Jews and Christians to wear coloured badges and clothes so that Muslims do not risk touching them and being soiled. Press reports say this measure had first been mooted by the previous leader, President Khatemei, but has been pushed through by the new leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The Nazis made Jews wear yellow stars and armbands across occupied Europe.
If this report is true, how should the world community respond?
Background articles:
http://www.infoisrael.net/cgi-local/text.pl?source=2/a/iv/210520062
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Iran-Dress-Code.html?pagewanted=print
Results:
51.2% - miltary action
47.7% - sanctions
Total votes - 7
*************
Our poll that closed on 21 May looked at the direction of the British Cabinet. Tony Blair's Labour Party suffered a crushing defeat in the local council elections in England on May 4th. He then removed Jack Straw as Foreign Secretary and Charles Clarke as Home Secretary. Many thought, however, that the first head to roll would be that of Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, whose two-year extramarital affair with Tracey Temple, his secretary (she has been engaged to be married for some time during the affair) has upset many in the country. Some feel he compromised his office by using public moneys and facilities to entertain her. Other women have come forward complaining about his behavour.
Bill Clinton's legacy was damaged by his infidelities and some feel he should have resigned. Should John Prescott leave office?
Background article:
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/labour/story/0,,1768251,00.html
Should Prescott resign?
Results:
66.6% - yes
33.3% - no
Total votes - 12
*************
Our poll that ended 5 May examined the question of whether a person can be executed for not telling the authorities about an impending murder.
Zacarious Mossaoui, on trial in the United States for being a member of an al Qaeda cell that included the nineteen 9/11/01 hijackers, is eligible for the death penalty.
The jury decided this past week that if goes to to jail for life. He was arrrested before 9/11 when he told a vigilant American flight instructor he only wanted to learn how to do 'turns' on a jumbo jet.
He has wavered between wanting martyrdom to accusing his own lawyers of working to get him executed. Many feel his execution would have made him a martyr and caused much bigger terror attacks.
What did you think?
Results:
Death Penalty - 60%
Life in Prison - 40%
Votes: 26
*******************
Our poll that closed on 14 April looked at the extent of free speech in a dynamic democracy like Great Britain. On ITN a representative of a Muslim anti-war group told the reporters. 'Condoleezza Rice should be sent to Iraq, tried for war crimes and executed.'
Was he threatening her life?
Is he exceeding the bounds of free speech?
Results:
Yes - 94.1%
No - 5.8%
Total votes 17
******************************
In our poll that closed 5th April, we referred to the following:
On Saturday 18 March, at a large London rally to condemn the Iraq War but that, as would be expected, degenerated into an Israel/Zionist/USA-bashing fest, Mayor Ken Livingstone announced that Hugo Chavez would be appearing in Trafalgar Square in the summer and that Venezuela's and South America's defiance of American oil needs should be an inspiration to the Arab peoples of the world to cut off the tap.
One cannot imagine the Mayor of a major American city calling on Arabs to cut off oil to the UK.
What do you think of Livingstone's behaviour?
Readers should be reminded that Mayor Livingstone refused to attend Her Majesty the Queen's State Banquet in 2003 for President and Mrs Bush when they visited London.
Results:
96.1% - It is unseemly for the London Mayor to call on America's oil to be cut off.
3.8% - It is acceptable for the London Mayoe to call on America's oil to be cut off.
Total votes: 27
***********************
Our poll that closed on 21 March dealt with the issue of the suspension of London's Mayor, Ken Livingstone, known to his detractors as 'Red Ken' for his Left-wing views in the past. He called a Jewish reporter a 'concentration camp guard' and a complaint was raised by the Jewsih Board of Deputies. The complaint was upheld by a Standards Authority Tribunal and the Mayor was suspended from office for a month last Friday 24 February.
Many commentators in Great Britain have condemned the suspension, and Prime Minister Blair has expressed his reservations about the punishment. Even normally anti-Livingstone opinion makers have been appalled by the case. The issue has caused an ugly public debate that bares the divide between the majority non-Jewish population and the small Anglo-Jewish community, which includes many Holocaust survivors, refugees and Kindertransporte.
Here are some links:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1718627,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,1717476,00.html
Results:
80% - the Mayor was wrong and deserved to have been censured and suspended.
20% - the Mayor should never have been censured.
Total votes: 21
*****************
Our poll that ended on 2nd March addressed the Muslim rage worldwide that erupted over the publication last September, and recent re-publication, of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.
Should the papers in question have published these cartoons?
Results:
Yes - 93.7%
No - 6.2%
Total votes - 17
******************
Our poll that ended 14 February referred to the series that recently ran on British television presented by Prof Richard Dawkins, an avowed atheist.
His visceral hostility to organised religion can barely be contained on the programme.
Do you feel he is right to say religion is at the root of all evil?
Results:
No - 70.3%
Yes - 29.6%
Total votes : 30
******************
Our poll that closed on 15 January looked at the endless debate about the fairness of the BBC when it reports from the Middle East. Much criticism has been levelled at Orla Geurin, who is seen by many as showing a 'natural slant' towards the Palestinian cause. Her voice has been noted to take on a tone of sorrow whenever she reports from the West Bank. The BBC spends countless broadcast hours reporting on injuustices committed by the Israeli government, by the army and by the builders of the separation wall. It rarely if ever reports from within Israel. British viewers think Israel is a small army installation filled with menacing-looking men in tanks carrying machine guns, and have never seen the Mann Auditorium, the Jaffa market or the excavations in Caesarea.
A paper on the issue may be found here:
http://www.jcpa.org/jl/vp511.htm
Our poll asked readers if they thought Israel was unfairly portrayed on the BBC.
Results:
Yes - 97.6%
No - 2.3%
Total votes: 43
******************
Our poll that closed 28 December looked at a recent attempt by British Prime Minister Tony Blair to lead an effort to allow the authotities to shut down mosques that are suspected of harbouring terrorists or terror groups.
Sir Iqbal Sacranie of the Muslim Council of Britain expressed outrage at this proposed policy at the Global Peace and Unity Conference (see our report, 'This Shameful Ranting Must stop') in London on 4 December.
Considering that the shoe bomber, Richard Reid, the 9/11 suspect Zacharious Massoui and various other radical figures spent considerable time at British mosques, what did you think?
Results:
92.8% - such a law is justified
7.1% - such a law should not be allowed to pass
Total votes: `15
****************
In our poll that closed 16 December we looked at the upheaval in Israeli politics. Israel's Labour Party has elected a new leader, ousting stalwart octogenarian Shimon Peres. The new leader is Amir Peretz, whose first act was to take Labour out of a coalition with Ariel Sharon's Likud; he is the first North African leader of Labour, traditionally the party of Israelis of European/Ashkenazi ancestry. With elections likely for March 2006, Sharon has decided to leave Likud and start his own party. It is generally believed that Benjamin Netanyahu would lead Likud and would not continue with disengagement from what the media refer to as the Palestinian territories.
related link:
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/648595.html
For whom would you vote were you an Israeli?
Results:
52.1% - Ariel Sharon
43.4% - Benjamin Netanyahu
4.3% - Amir Peretz
Total votes: 24
*************
Our poll that closed today looked at the threat posed to free and liberal Western societies by religious fundamentalists. On a recent BBC 'Question Time' an evangelical Christian was ridiculed and browbeaten by both panel and audience every time he opened his mouth. Extremist Imams have had far more courtesy and airtime on the BBC. Did you feel Christian fundamentalism is more dangerous than its Islamic equivalent ?
Results:
No - 92.8%
Yes - 7.1%
Total votes: 14
***********
Our poll that closed 26 October looked at the suggestion by Muslims on British Prime Minister Tony Blair's advisory council on interfaith affairs that Holocaust Memorial Day be changed to Genocide Memorial Day.
Results:
100% - The name of the commemoration must not be changed.
Total votes: 14
****************
Our poll that closed 21 September looked at the appalling lack of coordination and resources in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the Southern United States.
There has been speculation in the UK that our extensive socialised medical and relief system would have kicked in immediately. The 'haves' and 'have nots' in the USA inlcude the 45 million who do not have health insurance.
related article:
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FQP/is_4626_132/ai_98696026
Should the USA have European style universal health care?
Poll results:
Yes - 50%
No - 50%
Total votes: 14
***********
Our most recent poll closed on 5 September. It examined the issue of President Bush and his Secretary of State visiting Libya.
Many Americans and Britons will never forgive Muammar Gaddafy for the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher outside the London Embassy of Libya ain 1984 and for the tragedy of Lockerbie in 1988. Republican Senator Richard Lugar has completed a visit to Libya and has returned with an invitation to the American President and Secretary of State to the North African nation. Should old bitterness be put aside or would this be an insult to the memories of the innocent victims of Libyan terrorism?
Should Bush and Rice visit Gaddafy?
Poll results:
No -75%
Yes - 25%
Total votes 29
************************
Our poll that closed on 21 August dealt with the issue of the causes of terrorism.
Many British newspapers and electronic media are already speculating that anger amongst young British Muslims about the Iraq war and Abu Ghraib inspired their acts of terror. The Amercian Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, however, in a thoughtful editorial in the London 'Financial Times' newspaper (August 1, 2005) pointed out that the Muslim world has been at war at one time or another with the West for centuries and that 9/11 happened before Iraq. The bombings of the American Embassies in Africa occurred in 1998.
Do you think the Iraq War angered these men or is this part of a worldwide jihad?
Poll results:
100% it is a worldwide jihad
0% it is inspired by Iraq
Total votes: 28
The Rumsfeld article appears below.
USINFO 02 August 2005
(This op-ed by Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Defense, appeared August 1 in the Financial Times and is in the public domain. There are no republication restrictions.)
There Can Be No Moderate Solutions To Extremism
By Donald Rumsfeld
Last month Britain was twice attacked by an enemy that takes advantage of the openness of free societies to kill and terrorise from within. Shortly after the July 7 massacre, one American, summarising the sentiments of his countrymen, wrote to the British embassy in Washington: "Anyone who would attack London must not know history. The people who did this will find that while you can never have a better friend than the British, you can also never have a more fearsome enemy."
In the wake of such an atrocity it is essential that we take care in understanding what motivates -- and does not motivate -- extremists to commit mass murder. As they have in previous attacks, the extremists and their sympathisers will offer the usual empty justifications. In the past, these have included a range of real and imagined affronts going back centuries, including, but not limited to: US troops stationed in Saudi Arabia after 1991 to deter an attack by Saddam Hussein; the founding of Israel in 1948; the break-up of the Ottoman Empire some 80 years ago; the reconquest of Spain from the Moors in 1492; and the Crusades, the first of which was in 1095.
Chief among these today is the coalition's campaign against extremists worldwide and the so-called "occupation" of Muslim countries by the west. In fact, coalition forces operate in Afghanistan and Iraq at the request of democratically elected governments. It is the extremists, not the coalition, who are intentionally targeting and killing countless Muslim civilians in a series of barbaric attacks in recent months.
Some seem to believe that accommodating extremists' demands -- including retreating from Afghanistan and Iraq -- might put an end to their grievances, and, with them, future attacks. But consider that when terrorists struck America on September 11, 2001, a radical Islamist government ruled Afghanistan and harboured al-Qaeda leaders, virtually undisturbed by the international community. And Saddam Hussein tightly clung to power in Iraq, and appeared to be winning support for his efforts to end United Nations sanctions.
In reality, Islamic extremists have long demonstrated an interest in attacking Britain. In January 2003, British police thwarted a likely planned attack using ricin -- a poisonous agent -- two months before Operation Iraqi Freedom began.
And in the two decades before September 11, long before coalition involvement in Afghanistan or Iraq, extremists killed or kidnapped hundreds of innocent civilians in places such as Tehran, Beirut, Saudi Arabia, Berlin, New York, on ships in the Mediterranean and a jet over Scotland.
The extremists do not seek a negotiated settlement with the west. They want America and Britain and other coalition allies to surrender our principles and commitment to Muslim friends around the world. In 2002, Osama bin Laden advocated the overthrow of moderate Muslim governments. And the fantasies of al-Qaeda and its ilk to impose intolerance and indoctrination extend far beyond the Middle East. In particular, the extremists are enraged by equality for women and the freedom of expression that are the hallmarks of free societies.
Just a few days after the first London attack, an extremist accused of murdering a Dutch filmmaker over a film deemed offensive to Islam stated openly that he would kill again if given the chance. There is no "separate peace" to be had with such an enemy.
The attacks of September 11 roused a nation and a civilisation to anger and action. Since then, the extremists have lost sanctuaries and popular support in Afghanistan and Iraq, and are being hunted down on every continent by an unprecedented global coalition.
They have struck back using everything from knapsacks to cars to kill hundreds of innocent people in places such as Spain, Turkey, Kenya, Indonesia, Russia and, now, London. They seek to destroy things they could never build in 1,000 years and kill people they could never persuade.
They failed on September 11. They are failing in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, knowing what we know about the British people, in attacking London the extremists have no doubt failed again.
[The writer is U.S. defense secretary.]
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.
**************
A nationwide poll sponsored by various US media groups last month resulted in Ronald Reagan being voted 'the Greatest American of all time.' As we are a British-based website we would like to know our readers' views on the Greatest Briton of all time.
Emmeline Pankhurst was the pioneer of women's rights and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson the first woman doctor. Mragaret Thatcher was a partner in a conservative revolution with Ronald Reagan, and Tony Blair brought the Labour party back from the brink. Winston Churchill led Britain through its Finest Hour and William Shakespeare is considered the greatest playwright of all time. Sir Isaac Newton was a legendary scientist and mathematician whose studies influence the world to this day.
Results of our poll that closed 1 August 2005:
Winston Churchill - 66.6 %
Sir Isaac Newton - 21.7%
William Shakespeare - 4.4%
Emmeline Pankhurst - 4.3%
No votes for Tony Blair or Elizabeth Garrett Anderson.
Total votes: 24
*******************
Our poll that closed 28 June addressed the issue of Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Galzer's purchase of the legendary British soccer team Manchester United. This has caused rage in the United Kingdom and even death threats against him.
See:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7913897/
Aside from the anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism that seems to be running rampant in the UK these days, and about which we have written for years now, Glazer is perceived as a ruthless speculator who has attached his own debts to the assets of Manchester United. Fans have threatened to boycott games and merchandise.
One of the comments made by a British soccer fan was quoted in 'The New York Times:'
'Even better, Mr. Glazer should dispense with his "Quiet American" arrogance, fast, according to John Solly, 59, a retired school principal. "Perhaps he doesn't fully understand the passion that this club generates," Mr. Solly said.
In the present climate of US-hatred abroad, should Americans be involved in European sport management?
Poll results:
87.5% - Yes
12.5% - No
Total votes - 17
*********************************
Our poll that closed May 19th addressed the ugly situation that has developed in Great Britain in the academic world. Many universities have active anti-Zionist groups and now there is a debate in the university teacher's union to table a motion to boycott Israeli academics and cut off all ties with Israeli research and scholarship.
Is this a fair way to express disapproval of a country's policies?
Results:
No - 94.1%
Yes - 5.8%
Total votes: 35
****************
Our poll that ended on 21 April addressed the painful issue of the right to life of gravely ill and severely disabled patients. The United States was gripped by the much-media-hyped case of Terri Schiavo, the young Florida woman whose husband wanted her feeding tube removed. Numerous attempts by Florida Governor Jeb Bush and her parents to prevent this were rejected by the courts. Congress and the President intervened in a specially-convened weekend session, but the courts were not moved even by a Presidential decree. President Bush's popularity has since suffered. Do you think Washington should have intervened?
Results:
Yes - 50%
No - 50%
Votes: 5
********************
Our poll that ended 7 April addressed the controversial nomination of Dr. Paul Wolfowitz to head the World Bank. It is a tradition for the United States to select a nominee for this post. Dr. Wolfowitz, like Richard Perle and Douglas Feith, has been demonised in the European media as a Zionist neoconservative who lobbied for the Iraq war. Those who know him well see a brilliant, compassionate and accomplished man of immense experience in world affairs who has not spent much time lobbying for Israel.
For background:
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/03/30/eu.wolfowitz/index.html
http://www.lemonde.fr/web/imprimer_element/0,40-0@2-3222,50-631775,0.html
http://www.ucmessenger.com/cgi- bin/LiveIQue.acgi$rec=39718?frontnews
Because of a problem on our site we were not able to register the complete number of votes but out of 6 votes registered the result was:
83.3% for the nomination
16.6% against the nomination.
******************
Our poll that closed on 28 March dealt with the explosive issue of restricting the much-cherished freedoms of British democracy to arrest and apprehend suspected terrorists. The House of Lords rejected the anti-Terror Bill in its original reading and passed it only after many changes were inserted, including an autumn review of its content.
For background please read:
http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1174075,00.html
Poll results:
Would you support a bill that 'throws away the key' for suspected terrorists in custody?
Yes-71.4%
No 28.5%
Total votes - 15
*********************
Our poll that closed on 10 March dealt with the disturbing news from the Middle East that Iran and Syria are forming an alliance in the wake of the US recalling its Ambassador to Syria. Following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, there has been much debate on the identity of the perpetrators of the killing.
The articles on these links provide background:
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/542126.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1416263,00.html
Our poll asked readers if they felt Syria was instrumental in the assassination of Rafik Hariri.
Results:
Yes - 78.9%
No - 21%
Total votes: 20
********************
Our poll that closed on 17 February looked at the events in London in late January at a debate on the efficacy of Zionism. The very idea that a debate could be staged to debate the idea that Zionism is an 'enemy' of the Jewish people caused consternation and rage amongst many. Please read Melanie Phillips on the event:
http://www.melaniephillips.com
Our poll results:
Zionism is the Jews' worst enemy:
No - 92.3%
Yes - 7.6%
Total votes - 53
********************
Our most recent poll looked at the controversy over the film. Paper Clips,' which is playing to packed houses in one cinema in Washington, DC. It has come under heavy criticism because of the sentimentality of the scenario and the use of paper clips by the children to represent the dead of the Shoah. However, the Anti-Defamation League has urged the public to see the film.
http://www.adl.org/paperclips/
The story of Whitwell village in Tennessee where the paper clip project originated has been published in many papers, so one does not need to have seen the film to assess the wisdom of the school exercise. In Norway during the second World War citizens wore paper clips to signify solidarity against Nazi tyranny. However, several film critics have found the use of paper clips to signify a human life deeply disturbing.
Please also visit:
http://www.miramax.com/paperclips/
Results of poll:
The concept of this film is a worthy remembrance of the victims of the Nazi Holocaust - 80%
The concept of this film is disrespectful to the memory of the dead and is in bad taste: 20%
Total votes: 31
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Our poll that closed on 8 January asked your views on a Person of the Year. We compiled a list from readers' suggestions.
Our person of the year is Margaret Hassan, who devoted thirty years of her life to helping the poor and sick in Iraq. She was kidnapped in October and is believed to have been murdered in November, although her remains have not yet been recovered. A dignified and moving memorial service was held at a London Cathedral last week.
Please go to:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4017515.stm
http://www.islamic-relief.com/submenu/About%20Us/visits/iraq.htm
Other nominees:
Michael Moore directed 'Fahrenheit 911' and is either loved or loathed depending on one's p
 
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