Scoop: Top Scoops + Just Politics

Thursday, 8 June 2006, 4:26 pm
Article: Alastair Thompson

TODAY’S TOP SCOOPS:
Timor: 'Abysmal' NZ Herald Faces Flack From Former Foreign Minister
RECOMMENDED AUDIO:
Scoop Tech: Scoop Launches Audio & Video Podcast For Scoopers -
Road Watch: New Retail Centre Stops Traffic
Monetary Policy: Economy Slowing But Expected To Rebound In 2007 -
Science: Scienticians Party Up As Awards Flow Like Ectoplasm -
Crime Alert: BNZ Customers Targeted In Hoax Fraud Scam
MORE HEADLINES:
Tokelau: New Zealand Supports Fresh Referendum
Mexico: Presidential Campaign Grows Tense
MORE INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:

SCOOP COLUMNS:
American Coup: Bev Harris On Primary Election Day In California
American Coup: Ernest Partridge Defends RFK Jnr On Election Theft 2004
Unanswered Questions: Yet More Questions Around The Ownership Of 'Cocaine One'
Blood & Oil: Dr. Abbas Bakhtiar: Meanwhile In The House Of Saud
MORE COMMENT & OPINION:

OTHER NEWS (Just Politics):
Immigration: Survey Charts the Kiwi Diasporia
Politics: Lemonade-Selling Kids Ignoring Inflation According To Cullen -
Employment: Personal Grievances Up in 2006
MORE POLITICAL HEADLINES:
POLITICAL COLUMNS

Timor: 'Abysmal' NZ Herald Faces Flack From Former Foreign Minister

[1] Former Associate Foreign Affairs Minister Matt Robson was astounded by a recent NZ Herald editorial on Timor. Mr Robson describes the Herald's editorial as 'patronising cant' and 'abysmal'. Regular Scoop contributor No Right Turn is also incensed by the NZ Herald, namely a column written by senior Herald journalist John Roughan. NRT points out that Mr Roughan appears to be an apologist for the genocide and torture inflicted upon Timor by Indonesia. Mr Roughan described this state of affairs as 'rugged' in his column. See… The States That Failed East Timor [2] And also Herald Describes Genocide as 'Rugged' - A Response [3] ON THE GROUND IN TIMOR:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00084.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00084.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00083.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0606/S00069.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0606/S00070.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0606/S00068.htm

RECOMMENDED AUDIO:

Scoop Audio: Selwyn Manning and 95bFM's Simon Pound discuss: [1] how public opposition is mounting against the New Zealand Police's intent to trial the Taser gun on New Zealanders, namely the mentally ill, drunks and druggies. Is this a move toward fully arming Kiwi cops?

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00085.htm

Scoop Tech: Scoop Launches Audio & Video Podcast For Scoopers -

Scoop has today launched its audio and video podcast feed providing Scoopers with the latest and best way to stay ahead of other media and remain in-the-know. The great thing about the podcast is it allows you to listen and view the media at a time that's convenient to you. The Scoop podcast features news, views, and interviews on almost all topics including audio and video created in-house by Scoop and by our friends and radio partners here in NZ and around the globe - and you get to choose what items you want to play. See... Scoop Launches Audio and Video Podcast Feed [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00080.htm

Road Watch: New Retail Centre Stops Traffic

- Transit New Zealand advises motorists to avoid the Southern Motorway northbound in the Mt Wellington area due to continued heavy traffic flow to the new Sylvia Park shopping centre. Traffic continues to move slowly around Sylvia Park, and all northbound lanes of the Southern Motorway between East Tamaki and Mt Wellington remain congested... See... Sylvia Park traffic on Southern Motorway – Update [1] ALSO:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0606/S00057.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0606/S00060.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0606/S00059.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0606/S00056.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0606/S00103.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0606/S00054.htm

Monetary Policy: Economy Slowing But Expected To Rebound In 2007 -

Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard said: "Recent economic activity has been weaker than projected in the March Monetary Policy Statement. However, the short-term inflation outlook has worsened. "Growth is expected to remain low through 2006, before recovering in 2007. See... The Official Cash Rate (OCR) will remain at 7.25% [1] ALSO:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0606/S00094.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00106.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0606/S00107.htm

Science: Scienticians Party Up As Awards Flow Like Ectoplasm -

A PhD student developing a new cell identification technique that could help solve sex crimes has taken top honours at the 2006 MacDiarmid Young Scientists of the Year Awards, held in Auckland tonight. 25-year-old Claire French has found a method of identifying whether cells samples collected for DNA testing come from the skin, the mouth or the vagina, something that hasn’t previously been possible and has the potential to provide additional evidence in sex crimes. See...See... NZ 's Top Young Scientists Named At Awards [1] ALSO:

[1] - /stories/SC0606/S00020.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0606/S00016.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0606/S00015.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0606/S00019.htm

Crime Alert: BNZ Customers Targeted In Hoax Fraud Scam

- A hoax email distributed today seeking to trick bank customers into revealing their account and password details illustrates the changing landscape which is now commonplace for New Zealand companies and their customers, the Bank of New Zealand said today. See... Public Vigilence Needed To Combat Email Hoax [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0606/S00095.htm

MORE HEADLINES:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0606/S00023.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00095.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00094.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0606/S00063.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0606/S00063.htm

Tokelau: New Zealand Supports Fresh Referendum

- New Zealand’s foreign minister, Winston Peters, says it will support Tokelau’s decision for another referendum on self-determination. Tokelau’s assembly wants a fresh vote on the same question at the end of next year or early 2008. In February, voters chose to retain Tokelau’s status as a territory of New Zealand. Mr Peters says it will take time to organise another vote. See... New Zealand supports fresh Tokelau referendum [1] ALSO:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0606/S00173.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0606/S00169.htm

Mexico: Presidential Campaign Grows Tense

- With just under a month to go until Mexico’s July 2 presidential election, deep uncertainties have taken hold of the country. As the top two contenders, left-leaning Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD) and Felipe Calderón Hinojosa of the ruling conservative Partido de Acción Nacional (PAN), begin their final campaign drives, the two men appear to be in a virtual tie. See... COHA: Mexican Presidential Campaign Grows Tense [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0606/S00153.htm

MORE INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0606/S00190.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0606/S00176.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0606/S00174.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0606/S00163.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0606/S00161.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0606/S00158.htm

American Coup: Bev Harris On Primary Election Day In California

- We ain't seen the sunshine since, we don' know when We're stuck in Blackbox prison, this ain't democracy But that train keeps a rollin´, over you and me. See... Bev Harris: Hear The Train A'comin' [1] MORE:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00088.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00099.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00090.htm

American Coup: Ernest Partridge Defends RFK Jnr On Election Theft 2004

- Complication of the election integrity issue works to the advantage of the status quo; which is to say, the increasing use of paperless, unauditable Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines. More complications abound as critics of the status quo attempt to prove that past, and presumably future, elections were and will be fraudulent. See... Ernest Partridge: Debunking the Debunker [1] & Robert F. Kennedy Jr: Was the 2004 Election Stolen [2] RELATED:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00087.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00030.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00037.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00047.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00041.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00054.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00053.htm
[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00025.htm

Unanswered Questions: Yet More Questions Around The Ownership Of 'Cocaine One'

- Eight weeks after Mexican soldiers at a rural airport in the Yucatan discovered 5.5 tons of cocaine onboard an American-registered DC9 painted to resemble aircraft from the U.S. Dept of Homeland Security, Mexican and U.S. law enforcement officials seem no closer to publicly identifying either the owner of the plane, or the tons of cocaine. See... UQ Wire: Who Owns The DC9 "Cocaine One" [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00066.htm

Blood & Oil: Dr. Abbas Bakhtiar: Meanwhile In The House Of Saud

- “Passing over, for the present, all the evils and mischiefs which monarchy has occasioned in the world, nothing can more effectually prove its usefulness in a state of civil government than making it hereditary. Would we make any office hereditary that required wisdom and abilities to fill it? And where wisdom and abilities are not necessary, such an office, whatever it may be, is superfluous or insignificant. See... When Will The House Of Saud Feel Safe? [1] MORE:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00065.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00073.htm

MORE COMMENT & OPINION:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00097.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00078.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00095.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00094.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00093.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00092.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00091.htm
[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00089.htm
[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00086.htm
[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00076.htm
[11] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00075.htm
[12] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00071.htm
[13] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00074.htm
[14] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00072.htm
[15] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00070.htm
[16] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00069.htm
[17] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00068.htm
[18] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00067.htm
[19] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S00063.htm

Immigration: Survey Charts the Kiwi Diasporia

- Kea New Zealand's global census, Every One Counts, has discovered a large group of highly talented and engaged Kiwi expats around the world. The online survey connected with more than 29,000 New Zealanders living in 155 countries. "'The world's greatest travellers' are making New Zealand one of the most globally connected nations on earth," says Ross McConnell, Chief Executive of Kea New Zealand. See... Talented, successful Kiwis all over globe [1] ALSO:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0606/S00057.htm
[2] - http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/0606/surveyresults.pdf

Politics: Lemonade-Selling Kids Ignoring Inflation According To Cullen -

The Reserve Bank's latest monetary policy statement provides hard evidence on inflation that should make National rethink its reckless tax cut plans, Finance Minister Michael Cullen said today. The bank is forecasting inflation to nudge 4 per cent over the next year due to higher oil prices. "It's staggering that a former governor of the Reserve Bank is content to mislead the public by claiming his multi-billion dollar tax cuts are affordable. See... National ignores inflation warning [1] ALSO:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00106.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00074.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00087.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00076.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0606/S00097.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0606/S00108.htm

Employment: Personal Grievances Up in 2006

- The number of personal grievances heard by the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) against employers rose 28 per cent last year compared to 2004. The ERA heard 340 cases in calendar 2004 and 436 in 2005. See... Grievance gravy train picking up speed [1] ALSO:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0606/S00067.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00067.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0606/S00049.htm

MORE POLITICAL HEADLINES:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00118.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00098.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00115.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00112.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00103.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00096.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00095.htm
[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00094.htm
[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00092.htm
[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00088.htm
[11] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00082.htm
[12] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00080.htm
[13] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00107.htm
[14] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00101.htm
[15] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00083.htm
[16] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00093.htm
[17] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00116.htm
[18] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00113.htm
[19] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00109.htm
[20] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00108.htm

POLITICAL COLUMNS

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0606/S00069.htm

ENDS

© 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.

Contact Alastair Thompson

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