Posted on 10/16/2006 2:29:53 AM PDT by familyop
...because of where it was published.
Worse, they're something like a third of the total sample. Why such fine-grained resolution of the state of British Moslem opinion (deferring until later the question, "how British is any Moslem whose basic self-description is, 'Moslem'?") as opposed to spreading their resources more evenly around the U.K.?
Thin sample, too. They could probably get a better ballpark measure of British opinion sampling that many secondhand car-dealers in East Anglia.
I think our friend is just concerned about these straws the Telegraph is throwing our way. If the Telegraph's intention is to mislead and betray, then the only real defense is to shun their offerings or greet them with flat disbelief. We've learned to be deeply suspicious of anything thrown by The New York Times, but perhaps we're generally not as sensitive to unreliability in Fleet Street, except for the tabloids. I've known forever about the Manchester Guardian and their lefty-trendy ways, but I'd thought the Telegraph was more middle-of-the-road.
I wouldn't have suspected their purposes in throwing out that poll, either, frankly. It's worded very much like a lot of American polls and not as pushily as some (think: Al Neuharth's USA Today). I didn't see anything wrong with it. And yes, I saw that you could do the sums different ways.
And who would have thought The Scotsman was indulging in blackhearted mischaracterization of General Danatt's remarks? Evidently they were, since the first line states clearly,
"BRITAIN'S top soldier spoke out against the government's handling of the campaign in Iraq because he feared Britain was being "held hostage" by US policy in the region, friends claimed last night.
Which is refuted as to content by your later post. But I wouldn't have been on my guard, reading the first line.
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