Top Scoop Stories – 3 December 2008 News Summary

Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 1:44 pm
Article: The Scoop Editor

LEAD STORY

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Scoop Satire: Honeymoon Briefs
John Key Meets Queen, Avoids "Pants" Faux Pas:
Prime Minister John Key has met the Queen. In an attempt to differentiate his leadership style from Helen Clark's he did not wear trousers at the event. "The response to Helen Clark's behaviour made it clear meeting the Queen with trousers on is not respectful," said the pants-less Mr Key. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00044.htm

ALSO:

Linda Clark reviews John Key's performance so far [2]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/politics/16179.html [2]

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NZ POLITICS

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ACC: Fault In No-Fault Compensation?
The previous Labour government underfunded ACC to the tune of about $1 billion over the next three years, Prime Minister John Key has revealed. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0812/S00017.htm

ALSO:

National’s cover up claims ridiculous [2]

ACC Papers (PDF) [3]

David Parker on ACC Blowout [4]

Govt says Labour left billion dollar hole in ACC books [5]

Could ACC be privatised? [6]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0812/S00020.htm [2]

[3] - http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/0812/SKMBT_C353_08120218110.pdf [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00047.htm [4]

[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/politics/16173.html [5]

[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/national/16176.html [6]

Wellington: Consultation On Waterfront Plans To Be Cut Short
Lindsay Shelton writes: Just days before councillors are due to debate major amendments to the city’s District Plan, the Wellington City Council has released 79 pages of documents about the proposed changes... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00045.htm

Munitions: NZ To Sign Cluster Munitions Treaty
New Zealand Red Cross welcomes the New Zealand Government’s intention to be one of the first signatories of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which opens for signing on 3 December in Norway. The Convention prohibits the use, development, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00032.htm

ALSO:

NZ to sign Convention on Cluster Munitions [2]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0812/S00011.htm [2]

Shelter: Chances Of Next PM Growing Up In State House Lessen
The building industry downturn means National should invest in more state houses - not put a cap on them - says the Green Party. "Putting a cap on state houses as indicated yesterday by Housing Minister Phil Heatley is irresponsible at a time of economic downtown." More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0812/S00008.htm

ALSO:

Housing: Putting the Kiwi dream back in reach [2]

John Key Post Cab On Housing Stock, ETS [3]

Plan to upgrade NZ’s million inefficient homes [4]

Billions in benefits in curing million sick homes [5]

$20 billion cost of fixing country's homes [6]

Don’t kill Green Homes Fund, urges Green Party [7]

Retrofit initiative welcomed [8]

Better Performing Homes For New Zealanders [9]

Time to make our Homes Healthier [10]

New Scheme To Make Canterbury Families Healthy [11]

Maori Party Keen to be part of Housing Solutions [12]

Lack of mental health services - prisons risk [13]

Jailhouse mental health crisis urgent [14]

Conviction and sentencing statistics released [15]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0809/S00205.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00006.htm [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00022.htm [4]

[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00003.htm [5]

[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0812/S00020.htm [6]

[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0812/S00002.htm [7]

[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0812/S00034.htm [8]

[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0812/S00029.htm [9]

[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0812/S00008.htm [10]

[11] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0812/S00025.htm [11]

[12] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0812/S00019.htm [12]

[13] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00024.htm [13]

[14] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0812/S00021.htm [14]

[15] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00037.htm [15]

Uncivil Servants: Public Not Being Well Served With Info Requests
The Office of the Ombudsmen is concerned some parts of the public service have been deliberately delaying responses to Official Information requests. In the office’s Annual Report to Parliament, Chief Ombudsmen Beverley Wakem says the practice is unacceptable and subverts the purpose of the legislation. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00023.htm

ALSO:

Lack of mental health services - prisons risk [2]

Students w behavioural difficulties need support [3]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00024.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00025.htm [3]

Audio: John Key Post Cab On Housing Stock, ETS
NZ will definitely be keeping to its Kyoto commitments said new New Zealand Prime Minister John Key this afternoon. Mr Key held a post cabinet press conference and answered questions on a variety of subjects including capping the state housing stock, the situation facing New Zealand travellers in Thailand and the decision to scrap Labour's ETS legislation and send the whole caboodle back for select committee consideration. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00006.htm

FULL COVERAGE: Air New Zealand A320 Tragedy
Scoop FULL COVERAGE of the Air New Zealand A320 air crash, including tributes to those lost in the tragedy, Air New Zealand news conferences, reactions, emerging details of the aircraft, those on board, and the investigation into what went wrong. (Image: Captain Brian Horrell.) More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00003.htm

ALSO:

Air New Zealand A320 Accident Update 15 [2]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00027.htm [2]

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BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH

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Gordon Campbell: What Agenda Now For TVNZ?
The recent axing of TVNZ’s current affairs programme Agenda has been only the last step in a long decline….The wider picture is how TVNZ can possibly survive as a public broadcaster. The social charter money has been scrapped. More »[1]

[1] - http://election08.scoop.co.nz/what-agenda-now-for-tvnz/

Data: Google Can See Your House From Here
Google today announces the launch of Street View on Google Maps in New Zealand: maps.google.co.nz/streetview. Street View is a new feature for Google Maps that lets internet users view and navigate 360 degree street-level imagery of New Zealand's cities, towns, regions and remote areas. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0812/S00008.htm

ALSO:

New Layer Of Information For Real Estate Browsers [2]

Trade Me moves to Google Maps and Street View [3]

Is Google watching you? [4]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0812/S00049.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0812/S00035.htm [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/national/16156.html [4]

Media: Audience Climbs Again For One News
November figures show TVNZ’s flagship bulletin has grown in both audience numbers and share compared to the same period last year. It is now heading into its second year of continuous growth. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0812/S00039.htm

Meaty News: Expert Reckons NZ Animals Will Keep Being Eaten
The longer-term outlook is positive for New Zealand’s livestock producers, who are wellplaced to over-come short-term challenges and weather the storm created by the current financial crisis, audiences in rural New Zealand were told last week. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0811/S00526.htm

Dispute Resolution: Phone Turns Into A Lobster - Whine To David Russell
New Zealand’s most well-known consumer rights advocate David Russell is joining the council of New Zealand’s first independent telecommunication dispute resolution service, Telecommunication Dispute Resolution (TDR). More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0811/S00525.htm

ALSO:

Housing consent numbers continue to decline [2]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0811/S00519.htm [2]

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COMMENT

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Satire by Lyndon Hood: Honeymoon Briefs
John Key Meets Queen, Avoids ''Pants'' Faux Pas; Blogger Still Maintains Clark Just Like Mugabe; Jim Anderton Loves Labour So Much He Is In Fact Marrying Them; New Press Secretaries Busy Reprogramming AutoText More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00044.htm

Anthony Ravlich: Letter from the Poor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Murray McCully
Is the New Zealand representative at the UN General Assembly’s discussions on the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights able to make mention of the fact that the Optional Protocol (OP) does not ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00048.htm

Syed Atiq ul Hassan: India Should Look Into Her Own Backyard
India is the largest democracy in the world and is claimed to be the world’s rising economic power after China with Mumbai a leading international financial city. With a population of more than a billion India has vast division among the people on the ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00053.htm

Welcome Secretary Clinton: Obama's Promises to Be Kept
Although the steps between President-elect Obama's November 13 meeting with Senator Clinton in Chicago and the December 1 nomination of the latter for Secretary of State did not exactly embody the ''no drama'' brand of the former (and, behind the scenes, ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00051.htm

Suzan Mazur: Pigliucci - Scientist Or Ongeblussen?
''The kinds of things you're reporting on, you're reaching a wider audience. It is important in writing to highlight where there may be controversies or disagreements because that is what's most exciting, that's what moves science. . . . More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00038.htm

Martin LeFevre: We All Die In Mumbai
Extruding onto the land like some slow, cold lava from Hades, ten well-trained terrorists were able to shatter the polytheistic openness of Mumbai, and telescope the distancing complacency of the global society... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00029.htm

Rosalea Baker: Peter Camejo -- Presente!
Often referred to disparagingly by the mainstream media as “the perennial candidate”—after all, he first ran for President in 1976—Peter Camejo was a huge force in progressive politics in the United States. He died on September 13, having just recently switched... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00011.htm

Uri Avnery: Barak Ovadya, Candidate
THE ISRAELI OBAMA. What will he look like, the Israeli counterpart of Barack Obama? What will be his attributes? That is a tantalizing question. It goes without saying that one cannot construct a human being according to a recipe, like a cake from a ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00012.htm

Cliffhanger In A Sea Of Blue: Charlie Brown (D) Refuses to Give up in California's 4th Congressional District
Michael Collins writes: California turned blue with a vengeance in the 2008 presidential election. President-elect Obama's 61% majority plus a 78% turnout rate statewide was enough to strip the Republicans of all but one county with a significant population. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0811/S00425.htm

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LIFESTYLE

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Christmas Issues: Were Telecom's Elf Workers Registered?
Santa’s Elves have been busy in Auckland stitching together more than 37,000 magical lights to carry wishes to Santa this Christmas. The Telecom Tree - a seven-storey high light structure - will shine in Auckland’s Victoria Park this December and bring magic to the 15 year tradition of Santa Line. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0812/S00046.htm

Theatre: Performing Arts Grads Cause Fewer Emergencies
“FEWER EMERGENCIES” is the dark, humorous, confrontational and unsettling series of plays presented by the 2008 Acting Diploma Graduates of The Wellington Performing Arts Centre. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0812/S00042.htm

Cyber Stuff: Interweb Buddies To Meet In Real Life
An Auckland woman is going to meet her long term friend she met on the internet 12 years ago for the very first time after winning ‘The Kiwi Story’ Show Off NZ Competition. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0812/S00027.htm

Weird Football: Kiwis Mix It In Gaelic World
Wellington's fastest growing sport Gaelic Football, has over 150 kiwis playing week in, week out in their seven a side summer competition, which started on the 12 November. The games run each Wednesday evening at Ian Galloway Park in Wilton. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0812/S00021.htm

Soap Operas: Shortland Street Fan Awards Biggest Yet
With almost 85,000 votes being cast in Throng's third annual Shortland Street Fan Awards, this year's results are the biggest yet! More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0812/S00024.htm

Artiness: Lee Mingwei Offers Invitation To Aesthetics
Lee Mingwei, a leading artist on the international stage, presents Uncommon Senses at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery from 6 December 2008 to 16 March 2009. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0811/S00307.htm

ALSO:

Deck The Walls: Art for $200 or less [2]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0811/S00299.htm [2]

Art: McCahon Painting Coming Home
Te Papa is pleased to announce that its bid for Colin McCahon's painting, Mondrian's Last Chrysanthemum, 1976, was successful. The painting was purchased for AUD$312,000 (including a 20% buyer's premium). More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0811/S00285.htm

ALSO:

Important Colin McCahon at auction [2]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0811/S00137.htm [2]

Overachievement: Rhodes Scholar from University of Auckland
A political studies graduate from The University of Auckland keenly interested in global justice and migration from developing countries has gained a coveted Rhodes Scholarship for 2009. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED0811/S00082.htm

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WORLD

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Darwinian Struggle To Find Ticket Out Of Thailand
Richard S. Ehrlich writes from Bangkok: In a Darwinian struggle, the rich buy tickets for expensive helicopters and chartered planes, flying from airstrips elsewhere in Thailand, while protesters blockade Bangkok's international and domestic airports. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00001.htm

ALSO:

The Key To Escape From Thailand? [2]

John Key Presser on NZers Stranded in Thailand [3]

Dysfunctional Thailand Allowed Airport Seizures [4]

Travel Advisory: Thailand 27/11/08 [5]

Thailand: Protests in Bangkok: Airport closure [6]

Yellow-Shirt Mob Seizes Bangkok's Int. Airport [7]

Should travellers to Thailand change their plans? [8]

Local Thai community express relief over end of protest [9]

Government to use Air Force Hercules to evacuate stranded Kiwis [10]

Key scrambles Hercules as 'contingency' for stranded Kiwis [11]

Air force hamstrung in response to potential Thai crisis [12]

Plans afoot to return stranded tourists in Thailand [13]

[2] - http://election08.scoop.co.nz/the-key-to-escape-from-thailand/ [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00006.htm [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0811/S00426.htm [4]

[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0811/S00352.htm [5]

[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0811/S00353.htm [6]

[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0811/S00375.htm [7]

[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/lifestyle/15956.html [8]

[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/national/16175.html [9]

[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/world/16150.html [10]

[11] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/national/16154.html [11]

[12] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/world/16144.html [12]

[13] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/national/16110.html [13]

Hate Speech: Rwandan Singer Sentenced For Inciting Genocide
A famous Rwandan singer and composer has been sentenced by a UN tribunal to 15 years in prison for inciting the murder of Tutsis through his songs and speeches during the 1994 mass killings in the small African Great Lakes nation. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00078.htm

Greenpeace: "Quit Coal, Save The Climate"
Early this morning, 11 Greenpeace activists scaled a 150-metre high chimney at the Pątnów power plant in Poland to hang a banner reading ''Quit coal, save the climate''. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00070.htm

Child Army: Children Drafted By Armed Groups In Eastern DRC
Children continue to be enlisted by armed groups in the war-ravaged eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations reported today. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00069.htm

World News: Barack Obama Selects His National Security Team
With today's introduction of key members of the National Security Team, President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden have now chosen nearly half of the cabinet, including the heads of the departments of State, Defense, Treasury, and Justice. Significant among them is Hillary Clinton who will replace Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00006.htm

ALSO:

Why The Law Forbids Hillary Taking Her New Job [2]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00043.htm [2]

Wildlife at Risk: World’s Fastest Animal, In Race For Survival
The critically endangered cheetah, the world’s fastest land animal, is set to obtain added international protection next week at a United Nations-backed conference seeking the conservation of species that cross national borders. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00050.htm

Scoop Environment and Conservation: The Big Business Of Environmental Fraud
Environmental fraud is big business. The natural level of discomfort that results from the thought of global warming is reinforced by numerous reports claiming inevitable environmental doom. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00010.htm

ENDS

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Top Scoop Stories – 3 December 2008 News Summary