> "One in 10 European Union citizens knows little > or nothing about the new EU constitution, a > study suggests. > > But half of the 25,000 polled by the EU said > they would vote in favour of the treaty, which > faces referenda in many of the union's 25 member > states." > > http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4216323.stm > > Huh???!!! 1. What is your question and/or point that you are "Huhing"? IF the headline said what the article also said then I can't see a problem with it. If 90% of the citizenry knows more than a little about the constitution, as it implies, then I am not overly surprised that 50% might vote for it. ie 50/90 ~= 55% of the people who know more than a little about the constitution are in favour of the treaty. 2. In fact though, the article you quote does not match its own healdline. The article says that 33% had never heard of the EU constitution. I imagine that never having heard of it constitutes knowing little or nothing about it. Either the headline or the text is wrong. (Both are referring to all EU citizens as their sample). If the text is right then (up to) 50/66 = 75% of the citizens who know something about the constitution are intending to vote in favour of the treaty. Must be seen as favourable. 3. The summary headline use the term "treaty". The full headline and body use the term "constitution". The two terms seem to be used interchangeably here. Q&A on constitution http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3825521.stm Quick guide to constitution http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/quick_guides/04/europe_european_union_constitution/html/1.stm RM -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist