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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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POPSAustralia's top travel destinations revealed Kakadu and Uluru have been voted Australia's top travel destinations in a survey by National Geographic Traveller. Kakadu National Park came second in the publication's annual Places Rated poll, with judges commenting on its "wonderful wildlife and unspoilt beauty".
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POPSNFL Illustrated Poll - Dirtiest Player Hines Ward Pittsburgh wide receiver Hines Ward has been indicated as NFL's Dirtiest Player by A Sports Illustrated poll of 296 players. The poll, conducted in September, represented less than 18 percent of the league's active players, but at 11.6 percent, Ward, a 12-year veteran, easily outdistanced Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and Miami Dolphins
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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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POPSIrish Accent The Irish accent just got votest number one sexiest in the world by 5000 women! All down to Colin Farrell!
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POPSHollywood film Vampire Wars: Who's the Best Evil (Yet Hot) Vampire? "And you’re what, shocked and disappointed? I’m evil." —Spike Vampire Wars continues! As we explained earlier this week, we've decided that, structurally speaking, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries are all the same show. Girl meets soft-hearted vampire, girl enters bizarre world of the occult, girl gets mixed up in some stuff, girl hooks up with hard-bodied other vampire, wackiness (and bloody good scandal) ensues. But which of those wicked, supersexy vamps is the best? It’s time to decide who’s the best evil (yet hot) TV series vampire, and you have to make the nearly impossible choice between James Marsters‘ bitingly funny Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alex Skarsgård’s Viking vampire Eric Northman on True Blood, and Ian Somerhalder’s devilish Damon on The Vampire Diaries. So…who do you love? Tell us in the poll below!
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POPSSarah Palin's high-risk, high-reward strategy Washington (CNN) -- When Sarah Palin weighed in last week on the contentious special congressional election in New York, she did so in her trademark way: unconventionally. While other potential 2012 presidential contenders largely stayed quiet on the divisive congressional race that has exposed fault lines in the party, Palin delivered a slap in the face to Republican Party leadership in Washington when she offered a full-throated endorsement of third-party conservative Doug Hoffman over the GOP's anointed candidate, Dede Scozzafava. The CNN poll also shows Palin has lost support among independent voters over the last year, drawing approval from 41 percent of them now, 10 points lower than that group's approval last year. She fares even worse with self-identified moderate voters, drawing only a 34 percent approval rating.
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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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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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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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POPSSarah Palin's high-risk, high-reward strategy Washington (CNN) -- When Sarah Palin weighed in last week on the contentious special congressional election in New York, she did so in her trademark way: unconventionally. While other potential 2012 presidential contenders largely stayed quiet on the divisive congressional race that has exposed fault lines in the party, Palin delivered a slap in the face to Republican Party leadership in Washington when she offered a full-throated endorsement of third-party conservative Doug Hoffman over the GOP's anointed candidate, Dede Scozzafava. The CNN poll also shows Palin has lost support among independent voters over the last year, drawing approval from 41 percent of them now, 10 points lower than that group's approval last year. She fares even worse with self-identified moderate voters, drawing only a 34 percent approval rating.
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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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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.