Top Scoop Stories - 27 August 2007 News Summary

Monday, 27 August 2007, 2:00 pm
Article: The Scoop Editor

Today's Top Scoops - August 27, 2007

LEAD STORY:

Scoop Exclusive: NZ Has Slashed Its Contributions To UN Peace Operations

NZ POLITICS:

Int'l Law: 'Laws of War' Conference to Be Held In Wellington
Environment News: Woolies tissues from illegally logged rainforests?
Horse Flu: MAF Examines Imported Equines - Do They Feel Hoarse?
Email: Cunliffe Comments On Telecom's Communication Breakdown

BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH:

Education: Teachers - Wicked And Awesome, Inspirational Too
Real Estate: Online House Sales Going, Going, Going Well

WORLD:

Something Fishy: Pacific Must Stand Strong On Cutting Fishing
The Young Ones: Youth At UN Conference To Discuss Harnessing Technology To Save Environment
Space Invaders: Violence Erupts Between West Papuan Landowners and Korindo Timber Company
The Peace Beat: Drawdown Of Peacekeepers In Liberia To Be Based On Security Benchmarks

COMMENT:

Catherine Austin Fitts: Dillon Read And The Aristocracy Of Stock Profits
First Atenco, then Oaxaca - Chiapas, You're Next
Frontline Wine: Wine Writer Or Pocket Liner?
Pacifism: Relevance of Gandhism in the Modern Polity
Economy: Globalization and terror - double bait-and-switch

LIFESTYLE:

Sport: World Croquet Championships To be Fought Out In ChCh

Scoop Exclusive: NZ Has Slashed Its Contributions To UN Peace Operations - Scoop Report: Andreas Von Warburg reports that the number of military and civilian police personnel New Zealand contributes to United Nations-led peacekeeping operations has been slashed since 2001, from 716 units to 40. More >> [1]

Other UN Issues:

• Andreas von Warburg - UN Appoints A New Zealander To New Mission In Iraq [2]
• NZ Defence - Kiwis make Big Bang In Afghanistan [3]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0708/S00303.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0708/S00296.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0708/S00307.htm

Int'l Law: 'Laws of War' Conference to Be Held In Wellington - International rules governing armed conflict, often termed the 'laws of war', will be discussed by over 100 representatives of Commonwealth governments and Red Cross National Societies in Wellington this week during the 2nd Commonwealth Red Cross and Red Crescent International Humanitarian Law conference. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0708/S00332.htm

Environment News: Woolies tissues from illegally logged rainforests? - The Green Party is calling on Woolworths to reveal whether their "Select" brand of tissues and paper products, which are marketed as from sustainable forests, are actually sourced from illegal and unsustainable rainforest clearing in Indonesia. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• ( KiwiFM Audio:): Wallace & Russell Norman on Logging [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0708/S00442.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0708/S00309.htm

Horse Flu: MAF Examines Imported Equines - Do They Feel Hoarse? - MAF Biosecurity moves quickly to trace horse imports Following confirmation from the Australian Government that a number of horses in New South Wales and Queensland have symptoms of equine influenza, MAF Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) has moved quickly to trace horses that have entered the country from Australia since 1 August 2007. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• New Zealand Veterinary Association - Veterinarians applaud MAF's rapid action [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0708/S00327.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0708/S00509.htm

Email: Cunliffe Comments On Telecom's Communication Breakdown - Communications Minister David Cunliffe has received a report from Telecom on the outage of its Yahoo!Xtra webmail service last week. The Minister understands how frustrated those affected by the outage must feel. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0708/S00447.htm

Education: Teachers - Wicked And Awesome, Inspirational Too - Students describe them as 'wicked and awesome', parents describe them as 'enthusiastic and dedicated" - they are the teachers currently being nominated in the National Excellence in Teaching and Leadership Awards. More>> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED0708/S00079.htm

Real Estate: Online House Sales Going, Going, Going Well - The online mortgage marketplace fundit.co.nz launched this morning (27 August '07), pitching home loan lenders directly against each other in live web-based auctions to offer the best deals for prospective customers. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0708/S00503.htm

Something Fishy: Pacific Must Stand Strong On Cutting Fishing - As the 3rd Regular Session Scientific Committee of the Western Central Pacific Commission (WCPFC) wrapped up its meeting yesterday in Honolulu, Hawaii, Greenpeace backed the need for Pacific solidarity to save the Pacific tuna stocks from commercial extinction. "The scientists are now saying there is a 50 percent chance that our most valuable tuna stock, yellow fin, is being exploited at unsustainable levels. It is past the time that strict effort reduction measures are implemented," said Greenpeace Australia Pacific Oceans Team Leader Nilesh Goundar. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0708/S00623.htm

The Young Ones: Youth At UN Conference To Discuss Harnessing Technology To Save Environment - More than 180 young people from 85 countries will meet in Germany next week in a United Nations-sponsored conference to discuss the ways in which technology can be used to promote environmental protection. "Our hope is that on the basis of discussions at this Conference, 180 young people will return to their communities and nations and become beacons of activities and also motivators for many others to play a part in addressing environmental challenges," UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner said today. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0708/S00620.htm

Space Invaders: Violence Erupts Between West Papuan Landowners and Korindo Timber Company - Reports of military violence and an attack by traditional landowners on the personnel and property of Korean and Indonesian owned logging and oil palm plantation project have come from sources in the southern region of West Papua. "One non-Papuan employee of Korindo the Korean and Indonesian owned logging and oil palm company, is been reported killed and four Korindo company trucks burnt after indigenous people from the Muyu tribe and company employees clashed near the remote town of Asiki, 250 kilometers north-west of Australia's Torres Strait". More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0708/S00624.htm

The Peace Beat: Drawdown Of Peacekeepers In Liberia To Be Based On Security Benchmarks - The top United Nations official in Liberia has briefed civil society leaders on the proposed phased drawdown of the UN peacekeepers who have overseen the West African country's transition to democracy after 14 years of civil war, assuring them that it will be based on regular security assessments and measurable benchmarks. "Overall the country has made sufficient progress to enable the Secretary-General to make the recommended adjustments," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative Alan Doss told the representatives yesterday. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0708/S00621.htm

Catherine Austin Fitts: Dillon Read And The Aristocracy Of Stock Profits - I made the decision to write "Dillon, Read & Co. Inc. and the Aristocracy of Stock Profits" in the middle of a vegetable garden in Montana during the summer of 2005. I had come to Montana to develop a venture capital model to support a healthier, fresher local food supply. If we want clean water, fresh food, sustainable infrastructure, and healthy communities, we are going to have to finance and govern these resources ourselves. (Part 1 of a 20 Part Serial) See... More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0708/S00302.htm

First Atenco, then Oaxaca - Chiapas, You're Next - Julie Webb-Pullman reports from Mexico: The ominous clouds looming lately over San Cristobal de las Casas, scene of the 1994 Zapatista uprising, are more than just a bad-weather warning - they portend the ratcheting up in Southern Mexico of even more rampant repression than that experienced in recent times in San Salvador Atenco, Oaxaca, and elsewhere. See... More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Narconews: Davies - Oaxaca Declines to be Governed [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0708/S00301.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0708/S00324.htm

Frontline Wine: Wine Writer Or Pocket Liner? - Paul Brannigan writes: It is important for me to read the opinions and comments of the other wine writers in this country to fathom opinion. But on too many occasions recently I've wanted to stuff my muffin into the keyboard and hurl my coffee against the nearest wall in frustration. See... More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0708/S00306.htm

Pacifism: Relevance of Gandhism in the Modern Polity - Dr. Ravindra Kumar writes: Presently a big portion of the world happens to be under Democratic system of Government. Theoretically, this system stands out to be the best up to now. This is a truth. It is the best because people are connected with it directly or indirectly at every ... See... More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0708/S00312.htm

Economy: Globalization and terror - double bait-and-switch - Toni Solo writes: Recent interventions by central banks to flush liquidity into panic-stricken financial markets have demonstrated again the wistful make-believe of the corporate "free market" fairy tale. It has no happy ending. Free markets exist no more than fairies do. On the other hand, big bad transnational wolves and carnivorous fee-fi-fo-fum financial giants abound and rig markets to catch as many victims as they can. See... More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0708/S00332.htm

Sport: World Croquet Championships To be Fought Out In ChCh - Croquet New Zealand has announced the twelve members of the New Zealand team to represent the country at the World Championships in February. The World Championships are to be held in Christchurch in February next year, and will feature the top 80 players from around the world. More>> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0708/S00306.htm

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Scoop

Scoop Independent News

Scoop is NZ's largest independent news source; respected widely in media, political, business and academic circles for being the place on the internet for publishing "what was really said", and for the quality of its analysis of issues.

Contact Scoop

• Editorial - editor@scoop.co.nz
• Twitter - @ScoopNZ
• Facebook
• YouTube
• Services - services@scoop.co.nz
• Phone - 04 910 1844