Scoop: Top Scoops + Just Politics

Monday, 30 January 2006, 1:10 pm
Article: Alastair Thompson

Scoop: Top Scoops + Just Politics

TODAY’S TOP SCOOPS:
Hostages: Kidnappers Release Video Of Harmeet Sooden & Other Hostages
Intelligence: Top Spook Richard Woods To Retire Oct 2006
Foreign Affairs: Peters - Hamas Win Reflects Will Of Palestinian People
Scoop Report: Mown Down By The Public - Wazzup With The Ex MPs?
Society: Otago Uni Finds Physical Punishment Rife In NZ
MORE HEADLINES
Palestine: Preliminary Results Show Hamas Wins Election
India: victims of Gujarat pogrom found in mass grave
MORE INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

SCOOP COLUMNS:
Debate: Roger Kerr Argues Why Scrapping Carbon Tax Is Good
Uri Avnery on the Palestinian Elections
Ian Henshall: Notes on the Oxford Union 911 Forum
MORE COMMENTARY

OTHER NEWS (Just Politics):
Fitzsimons at Green Conference
Cullen on Education 2006
Britain Hopes for NZ in Afghanistan, National Hopes for Explanation
MORE POLITICAL HEADLINES

Hostages: Kidnappers Release Video Of Harmeet Sooden & Other Hostages

Scoop Link: Aljazeera reports that kidnappers holding four Western peace activists hostage in Iraq, including Harmeet Sooden, have said they are giving US-led forces one final chance to free Iraqi prisoners or they would kill their hostages. In a new video shown by Aljazeera on Saturday and dated 21 January, the four hostages were shown standing against a wall in an unknown location. The hostages include: Canadian citizen, New Zealand resident and Auckland University student, Harmeet Sooden (32). See... Iraqi Group Releases New Video Of Harmeet Sooden [1] ALSO:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00214.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00165.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00401.htm
[4] - http://today.reuters.co.uk/tv/videoStory.aspx?isSummitStory=False
&storyId=82e795cce40e3fd8934aa0d0538cca89bd2e1e27
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00216.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00038.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00072.htm
[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00071.htm

Intelligence: Top Spook Richard Woods To Retire Oct 2006

- Scoop Report: Kevin List writes that come 31 October 2006 dapper public servant Richard Woods will be able to really get stuck into enjoying classical music, skiiing and spending quality time with his wife and Labrador dog. The Brahms loving son of a clergyman will be stepping down from his role as the Director of New Zealand's Security Intelligence Service after seven years in the hotseat. Appointed by National's Jenny Shipley (with Helen Clark's blessing) Mr Woods has however spent most of his time answering to Ms Clark and the other members of the Parliament's intelligence committee. See... Dapper SIS Head Seeks More Relaxing Times [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00202.htm

Foreign Affairs: Peters - Hamas Win Reflects Will Of Palestinian People

- Peters on Palestinian Elections The election of Palestinian Islamic militant group Hamas to the Palestinian legislative council reflects the will of the Palestinian people and must be respected, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said today. See... Peters on Palestinian Elections [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00144.htm

Scoop Report: Mown Down By The Public - Wazzup With The Ex MPs?

- Kevin List writes that during the movie Dead Poet's Society a teacher gets his class to listen to the voices of the past emanating from the old photos of former students. While Dead Poets Society ends in tragedy and death, voices from the past do not always lead to carnage. After blowing the phone budget hunting Ex MPs, scattered all over NZ by the cruel winds of fate, Scoop is able to update readers on what these discarded politicians are now up to. Did they "seize the day" during the last electoral cycle or is now the time to work out what "Carpe Diem" really means? See... What Are Those Ex MPs Up To Now? [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00197.htm

Society: Otago Uni Finds Physical Punishment Rife In NZ

- Four out of five New Zealand children have been physically punished, with one in two still hit in adolescence, according to a new University of Otago study examining experiences of physical punishment and discipline in the home in the 1970s and 80s. See... Physical Punishment of NZ Children Common [1] ALSO:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED0601/S00028.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED0601/S00027.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00146.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00151.htm

MORE HEADLINES:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00145.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0601/S00199.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0601/S00049.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0601/S00103.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0601/S00118.htm

Palestine: Preliminary Results Show Hamas Wins Election

- With vote counting nearing conclusion, exit polls in the Palestinian elections indicate Hamas has beaten Fatah pushing aside earlier reports that the Late Yasser Arafat's party Fatah had retaken control of Palestine. Hamas, the party that has risen from a bloody resistance movement, is looking at how it can lead parliament and form a government. Shortly after voting ended on Wednesday, a Fatah official estimated that Fatah had won 46% of the vote, beating an estimated vote of more than 30% for Hamas. However as vote counting continued, it became clear Hamas had taken the lead. See... CEC Announces Palestine Preliminary Results [1] ALSO:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00375.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00374.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00388.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00383.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00373.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00371.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00372.htm
[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00368.htm
[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00356.htm
[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00355.htm
[11] - http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/audio/0601/Palestinian_elections_06.m3u
[12] - http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/audio/0601/UN_Brief_26_Jan_06.m3u

India: victims of Gujarat pogrom found in mass grave

- Some of the many missing victims of the anti-Muslim pogrom in the Indian state of Gujarat in 2002 were uncovered in a mass grave late last month in the village of Pandharwada. Relatives of the victims dug up the remains of about 20 bodies that had been dumped and buried in an unmarked pit. Nearly four years after the communal violence, the villagers are still seeking to expose what happened. No one has been convicted for any of the killings that took place. The relatives of the dead are accusing the police of hiding evidence and protecting the perpetrators. See... India: victims of Gujarat pogrom found in mass grave [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00351.htm

MORE INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00370.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00369.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00366.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00362.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00359.htm

Debate: Roger Kerr Argues Why Scrapping Carbon Tax Is Good

- The government’s decision to scrap the proposed carbon tax marks another (and more positive) phase in a sorry saga of policy making on climate change. Neither of the main political parties nor the public service comes out of it with credit. National’s minister for the environment Simon Upton was a leading evangelist on climate change in the 1990s. His enthusiasm for action ran far ahead of the scientific evidence and the economic case for governmental action to combat warming. He attacked the Business Roundtable for bringing distinguished scientist Richard Lindzen to New Zealand to balance up the scientific debate. See... Reality Breaks Through With Axing of Carbon Tax [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0601/S00201.htm

Uri Avnery on the Palestinian Elections

- Like two very tired wrestlers who clasp each other, unable to separate, the Israeli and Palestinian societies are glued to each other. The Palestinian elections this week took place in the shadow of the Israeli elections. Who is Ehud Olmert? Has the Labor Party really changed? Will the next Israeli government really be prepared to negotiate? Which Palestinian leadership stands a better chance of liberating us from the occupation? The Israeli elections, in exactly two months, will take place in the shadow of the Palestinian elections. See... Uri Avnery: To Talk With Hamas [1] ALSO:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00223.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00222.htm

Ian Henshall: Notes on the Oxford Union 911 Forum

- The meeting took the form not of a traditional debate but of a forum, partly because the US Embassy had refused to send a speaker. It attracted a turnout of over 300, vastly more than similar events. Oxford Union President Sapona Agrawal said afterwards that she had had many messages congratulating the Union on holding the debate. See... Report on Oxford Union 911 Meeting [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00211.htm

More Commentary:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00213.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00208.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00221.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00220.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00219.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00210.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00209.htm
[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00207.htm
[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00206.htm
[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00205.htm
[11] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00204.htm
[12] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00203.htm
[13] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00201.htm

Fitzsimons at Green Conference

- I hope you are all emerging from the summer break refreshed, healed and re-inspired. We need to be all those things, to face the challenges 2006 presents us with. It challenges us to work effectively for sustainability, peace and justice with just 6 MPs where we had 9; with fewer staff and less resource; and without the energy Rod used to contribute. The election was a reminder that 5% is never guaranteed and the party has to be in a condition that it can carry on and fight another campaign even if at some time we lose all our MPs. See... Jeanette Fitzsimons: The Challenges of 2006 [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00162.htm

Cullen on Education 2006

- When I became Minister for Tertiary Education late last year there was an immediate burst of enthusiasm in some parts of the sector. The perception was that having a minister who is also the Finance Minister would surely provide the tertiary education sector with inside running on any matters to do with the Budget and additional funding. See... Cullen - Address to NZUSA Annual Conference [1] ALSO:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00156.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00138.htm

Britain Hopes for NZ in Afghanistan, National Hopes for Explanation

- The Government is being asked to explain statements made to the United Kingdom House of Commons by the Secretary of Defence John Reid that suggest New Zealand may send more troops to Afghanistan. National Party spokesman on Foreign Affairs and Defence Murray McCully today drew attention to the statements and called for an explanation. See... McCully: Please explain troop offer [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00142.htm

MORE POLITICAL HEADLINES:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00161.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00163.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00155.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00154.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00141.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00139.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00145.htm
[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00140.htm
[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00164.htm
[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00160.htm
[11] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00158.htm
[12] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00159.htm
[13] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00153.htm
[14] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00150.htm
[15] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00143.htm
[16] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00152.htm
[17] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00149.htm

POLITICAL COLUMNS:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00148.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00147.htm

© Scoop Media

Alastair Thompson

Scoop Publisher

Alastair Thompson is the co-founder of Scoop. He is of Scottish and Irish extraction and from Wellington, New Zealand. Alastair has 24 years experience in the media, at the Dominion, National Business Review, North & South magazine, Straight Furrow newspaper and online since 1997. He is the winner of several journalism awards for business and investigative work.

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