Is This What The World Really Thinks???

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060911/wl_canada_nm/canada_sept11_canada_poll_col_1

"OTTAWA (Reuters) - One in five Canadians believes the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, had nothing to do with Osama Bin Laden and were actually a plot by influential Americans, according to a poll released on Monday. "

This has to be one of the most jaw-dropping things I have read in a while. Maybe I am being naive, but I was totally not aware that this many people felt that way. 22% just seems , well, huge for lack of a better word.

What does this mean? In terms of our perceptions across the globe, I knew that most of Europe, which has seen more than its share of terrorism the last few decades, views the current administration and its actions with a jaundiced eye, to say the least.

But Canada???

Their Canada, the 51st state. They are nearly identical to Americans in terms of general quality of life and media consumption. Hell, the Prime Minister right now is a righty.

For one in five to believe that some conspiracy is the cause of the September 11th attacks means that the belief of this is spread farther than just the "crackpots and extremists." That many people believing in a conspiracy says to me that our perception just beyond our own border is being colored darkly by the actions of our goverment.

Is this conspiracy Belief ground in facts and conjecture regarding the attacks themselves, or are they more a result of the actions of an administration that requests the ability to torture suspects. An administration that wishes to convict prisoners that are unable to see evidence or confront accusers. An administration that tries to paint anyone who would dare to question its policies as unpatriotic terrorists appeasers.

....Or is it just because the beer is stronger there???