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"To some extent this misperception can be attributed to repeated headlines that there has been a promising lead in the effort to find evidence of such weapons' headlines that are not counterbalanced by prominent reporting that these leads have not been fruitful. But there is also reason to believe that this misperception may be unconsciously motivated, as the mistaken belief is substantially greater among those who favored the war... As a result of having won the war with Iraq...President Bush is...in a stronger position to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."--Steven Kull, Poll May 14-18, 2003, Program on International Policy Attitudes, University of Maryland

There is no reasonable conclusion that can support important public policies from the short-term statistical results of public opinion polls and in fact, such opinion polls don't reflect the long-term resonance of what is good for people.

As an example, I just learn that a Ipsos-Reid/CTV/Globe and Mail poll shows a 71 percent support for the Canadian governmental policy to steer away from the war in Iraq while it shows a 53 percent support for the American war to 'liberate' the Iraqi people. Now I wonder how we can ever reconcile such unreasonable findings with the claimed understanding that such findings are correct to within ± 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. It takes the scientific work of our statisticians to make all of us confused.

So the saga of statistical polling continues unabated all across the spectrum of the media, left-wing, right-wing and centre-wing.

The most deceptive statistical polling has been driven by the Bush administration along with their embedded concentrated media to forge little by little and one poll at a time the opinions of Americans.

After two months after the end of the war in Iraq no weapons of mass destruction have been found and yet a recent poll finds that a third of the American public believes U.S. forces found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and 22 percent said Iraq actually used chemical or biological weapons.

I must conclude that the American people are not properly informed and that the culprit is the American concentrated media which nevertheless continues with their practice of Continuous Statistical Polling on behalf of the Bush Administration.

This leads me to understand that Continuous Statistical Polling is specifically used today by governments and their embedded concentrated media for the reason to manipulate the intelligence of people and let them conform in turn to the scientific public policies of their governments, and in this instance to support Bush's war against Iraq.

References

Ipsos-Reid/CTV/Globe and Mail SEVEN IN TEN (71%) NOW FEEL PRIME MINISTER AND CANADA JUSTIFIED IN NOT SUPPORTING U.S. COALITION IN IRAQ MILITARY ACTION June 15, 2003 http://www.ipsos-reid.com/media/dsp_displaypr_cdn.cfm?id_to_view=1845 http://www.ipsos-reid.com/pdf/media/mr030615-1.pdf

Davies, Frank Poll shows errors in beliefs on Iraq, 9/11. Many misinformed about banned weapons June 14, 2003 Knight Ridder, http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/6086632.htm

Program on International Policy Attitudes What's New June 4, 2003 http://pipa.org/whatsnew/html/new_6_04_03.html