Zone 3- Euro-Americas Summary, Week # 97

Dated 6th – 12th Dec. 09'

EAST EUROPE
Global Economic Crisis Is Personal for Russians
Gallup's survey, conducted in April through June, shows Russians' confidence in their nation's economy faltered as it entered recession this year accompanied by unemployment and inflation. Reflecting on their own communities and themselves, Russians' optimism about the local job market, their personal standard of living, and the local economy -- three of four items that make up the index -- withered to less than half of last year's levels.
December 11, 2009

WEST EUROPE
Britons Remain Opposed to Afghanistan Mission
Public support for the military operation in Afghanistan remains low in Britain, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 56 per cent of respondents oppose the mission, and 56 per cent reject a plan to deploy an additional 500 soldiers in the next few weeks.
December 09, 2009

Germans Mount Pressure on Afghan Withdrawal
The proportion of people in Germany wanting a full withdrawal of troops serving in Afghanistan has significantly increased, according to a poll by Infratest-Dimap released by ARD. 69 per cent of respondents support bringing all the troops back from Afghanistan, up 12 points since September.
December 06, 2009

EU Company Forecasts Vary Widely
In July 2009, across the European Union, nearly half of managers surveyed predicted growth for their companies in the next 2 to 3 years and about 3 in 10 thought their annual revenue would remain the same. More than one in six EU company managers said they expected their annual income to decrease in that time frame.
December 9, 2009

NORTH AMERICA
After Brief Uptick, Obama Approval Slips to 47%
Barack Obama's presidential job approval rating is 47% in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update, a new low for his administration to date. His approval rating has been below 50% for much of the time since mid-November, but briefly rose to 52% last week after he announced his new Afghanistan policy.
December 7, 2009

Most People Know the Dollar Is Weak and Believe This Is Bad for the Economy, Consumers, the Reputation and Influence of the U.S. and for Exports
A new Harris Poll finds that most adults are aware that the dollar has become weaker against most other major currencies over the last few years, and they think that is a bad thing. Substantial majorities believe that a weak dollar is bad for consumers, and for the reputation and influence of the United States.
December 06, 2009

Big Drop in Those Who Believe That Global Warming Is Coming
A new Harris Poll finds that those who believe that the release of carbon dioxide and other gases will lead to global warming has dropped from 71% two years ago to only 51% now. While many people are not sure, those who do not believe that carbon dioxide emissions will cause global warming have increased from 23% to 29% since 2007.
December 07, 2009

More Americans Have Little or No Concern About Climate Change
A new Zogby Interactive survey shows nearly half of Americans -- 49% -- say they are only slightly or not at all concerned about climate change, while 35% are somewhat or highly concerned.
December 12, 2009

Religious Intensity Remains Powerful Predictor of Politics
Americans' religious intensity continues to be a major predictor of party identification. A new analysis of more than 29,000 interviews Gallup conducted in November finds that Republicans outnumber Democrats by 12 percentage points among Americans who are classified as highly religious, while Democrats outnumber Republicans by 30 points among those who are not religious.
December 11, 2009

Honesty and Ethics Poll Finds Congress’ Image Tarnished
For the first time in Gallup's annual Honesty and Ethics of Professions poll, a majority of Americans -- 55% -- say the honesty and ethical standards of "members of Congress" are low or very low -- slightly worse than "senators," whose ethics are rated low by 49%. By contrast, 83% of Americans say nurses have either very high or high ethical standards, positioning them at the top of Gallup's 2009 ranking of various professions.
December 9, 2009

U.S. Clergy, Bankers See New Lows in Honesty/Ethics Ratings
The percentage of Americans rating the honesty and ethics rating of clergy as very high or high is down to 50% in 2009, the lowest percentage it has been in the 32 years Gallup has measured it.
December 9, 2009

Most Americans Support Legalizing Marijuana
Many adults in the United States are willing to legalize marijuana, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 53 per cent of respondents support this notion, while 43 per cent are opposed.
December 10, 2009

Americans Ponder New National Tea Party
A third of adults in the United States appear satisfied with the proposal to establish a third political party, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 32 per cent of respondents think the National Tea Party would be a good thing for the country.
December 09, 2009

LATIN AMERICA
Dominicans Review Prospective Candidates
The majority of people in the Dominican Republic want Miguel Vargas Maldonado to represent the opposition Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) in the next presidential election, according to a poll by Gallup published in Hoy. 62 per cent of respondents say the PRD president should run for office in the 2012 ballot.
December 11, 2009

Mexicans Reject Re-election of Legislators
Most adults in Mexico believe the members of the Chamber of Deputies should not be eligible for re-election, according to a poll by Reforma. 68 per cent of respondents reject this possibility, while only 19 per cent would endorse it.
December 08, 2009

Nicaraguans Dread Potential Ortega Re-Election
Most people in Nicaragua think the re-election of Daniel Ortega would be a negative development in the country, according to a poll by CID-Gallup published in La Prensa. 58 per cent of respondents share this opinion, while 36 per cent say a new Ortega term would be positive.
December 07, 2009

MULTI-COUNTRY POLLS
Poll Finds Most Publics Around the World Want Their Governments to Be More Cooperative
A WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of people in 21 nations around the world finds that publics in 14 of them think their governments should be more ready to cooperate with others to achieve mutual gains.
December 9, 2009

Climate Concerns Continue to Increase: Global Poll
Public concern about climate change is at its highest level since GlobeScan began international tracking in 1998, according to a new GlobeScan/BBC World Service poll conducted in 23 countries. Nearly two thirds of those polled now say climate change is a “very serious” problem. However, concern has fallen in China and the USA.
December 08, 2009
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The complete detailed weekly reports of the project can be found on theGilani Research Foundation website.