Education: Will Govt Introduce National Standards Training Standards?

The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is questioning how the Education Minister can expect professional trainers to successfully train schools to implement National Standards when the Standards are completely untried and untested. More>>

ALSO:

• NZ Govt - National Standards Training For Trainers

Sport & Local Politics: Wellington MP Blue Over Possible Loss Of Sevens

Labour’s Wellington Central MP Grant Robertson is asking sevens fans to sign his on-line petition to ensure the IRB’s New Zealand leg remains at its natural home, in the capital. More>>

ALSO:

• Carl Suurmond - 2010 Sevens Street Party Pics (Part 1) - (Part 2)
• Police Wellington - Wellington Police On The Sevens
• Fiji Club Of NZ - Victorious Fijians
• Earlier Sevens coverage and images - Scoop's Lifestyle section

Gordon Campbell: Free Trade With US More Monty Python Than Holy Grail

Perhaps we can all quietly sign a pact to forego comparing a free trade deal with the US to the quest for the Holy Grail. This ‘free trade as Holy Grail’ notion is a cliché that will not die, because the media loves it so much. More>>

Institutions: High School MPs To Upgrade Behaviour From Kindergarten Level

This is an opportunity for young people to be heard in the very chamber where this country’s politicians regularly debate legislation and the issues of the day. More>>

I Want A New Drug: Paradex And Capadex To Be Withdrawn From NZ

All medicines containing dextropropoxyphene will be withdrawn from the New Zealand market after a review of the safety and efficacy of these medicines showed that their risks outweighed their possible benefits. More>>

Keith Rankin: Personal Income Tax Reform In New Zealand

While I agree that the system is far from perfect, few of us understand the basics of our present personal tax scales, and workable suggestions of alternatives are few and far between. More>>

ALSO:

• Rory MacKinnon - PM's Presser - No Taxation Without Presentation
• Scoop Business - NZ dollar trades near 5-mth low ahead of PM speech
• ACT - The Speech That Goff Should Deliver
• Property Council Of NZ - Proposals May Damage Production, Reduce Saving
• QV Valuations - Signs Of Uncertainty In The Property Market
• The Kiwi Party - KIWI PARTY and Tax Changes - Summary Version
• Auckland Chamber of Commerce - Deductions For Depreciation An Issue Of Fairness
• Auckland Chamber of Commerce - First $10,000 Should Be Tax Free
• TV3 Video - Key confident he'll get support for tax changes
• TV3 Video - Housing market falls flat ahead of tax announcement

Q+A Transcript: Catching Australia By 2025 LOL

- Bollard dismisses government’s aim of catching Australian incomes by 2025: “I don’t think we can catch up with Australia”
- Bollard says New Zealand should aim to benefit from the “crumbs [that] come off the Australian table”
- New Zealand recovery from recession “still fragile” More>>

ALSO:

• Labour - RB Governor dismisses Key’s spin
• TVNZ - Q+A’s Paul Holmes Interviews Tolley & Buutveld.
• TVNZ - Q+A’s Panel - Holmes, Arseneau, Graham, Mccarten

DOC vs. National: Government Pressure To Privatise Mackenzie

Independent conservation organisation Forest & Bird has obtained documents under the Official Information Act that reveal the Government is stopping the Department of Conservation (DOC) from trying to protect the Mackenzie Basin from destruction by intensive irrigation. More >>

ALSO:

• Greens - National Blocking Protection Of Mackenzie Country
• Federated Farmers - Call-In of Mackenzie applications a vital test

Trouble at The Lancet: Wakefield and the Medical Profession

‘It has became clear that several elements of the 1998 paper by Wakefield et al are incorrect, contrary to the findings of an earlier investigation.’ So concluded one of the longest misconduct inquiries in medical history. The editors of Britain’s... More >>

Gordon Campbell: Free Trade With US More Monty Python Than Holy Grail

Perhaps we can all quietly sign a pact to forego comparing a free trade deal with the US to the quest for the Holy Grail. This ‘free trade as Holy Grail’ notion is a cliché that will not die, because the media loves it so much. More>>

Martin LeFevre: Wellsprings Of Insight

Indigenous people felt that the rocks and rivers, clouds and creeks were alive with spirit. In the few native cultures that are still relatively intact, people still do. Science has conditioned modern people to believe this way of seeing is superstition, ... More >>

From Gaza to Lebanon: Beware the Iron Wall, the Coming War

The Israeli military may be much less effective in winning wars than it was in the past, thanks to the stiffness of Arab resistance. But its military strategists are as shrewd and unpredictable as ever. The recent rhetoric that has escalated from... More >>

Lack Of Evidence: ICC Dismisses Case Against Darfurian Rebel Leader

The International Criminal Court (ICC) today declined to confirm the charges made against a rebel leader accused of directing the September 2007 attack that killed a dozen African Union peacekeepers in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region, citing ... More >>

DR Congo: Over 8,000 Women Raped By Combatants

The number of women raped in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where sexual violence committed by warring factions has become endemic, topped 8,000 last year, according to fresh estimates released by the United Nations Population Fund ... More >>

ALSO:

• United Nations - Rape Used As A Weapon In African Wars
• United Nations - DR Congo: Widespread Reports Of Rape

The Real Na'vi: Tribal People Appeal To James Cameron

Tribal peoples’ rights organization Survival International has appealed to Avatar director James Cameron on behalf of an Indian tribe through an ad in the film industry magazine Variety. More >>

Haiti: Racing Against Time, UN Seeks Shelters

The United Nations said today it is racing against time to bring in hazard-resistant tents for Haiti’s earthquake victims before the rainy season starts, provide sufficient agricultural input to save the next planting season, and raise greatly increased ... More >>

ALSO:

• Scoop Full Coverage - Scoop Coverage: Haiti Earthquake Response

Stalled: Unstable Weather Foils Race 1 Of America's Cup

Today's scheduled Race 1 of the 33rd America's Cup Match was postponed due to light and unstable winds on the Mediterranean Sea. “It was very light,” said navigator Juan Vila. “We had some puffs up to 6 knots but they didn't last long. More >>

Get Up On The Floor: Keep On Dancing, Physiotherapists Advise

Focus on the fun of physical activity and the positive effects to your health, not the risks say physiotherapists... We’re missing the point altogether if we highlight only the risks and costs of injuries and not the importance of fitness and the potential health dollar savings related to this. More>>

ANZAC Commemorations: Students Get Chance To Join Gallipoli Contingent

Year 13 school students will have the opportunity to join the official New Zealand contingent at Gallipoli for this year’s ANZAC commemorations, Veterans’ Affairs Minister Judith Collins announced today. More >>

Dutch Interest: Girls Can Have Fun At Warbirds Over Wanaka

Death defying aerobatics, historic machinery and the sound of a deep, throaty engine may not be every girl’s idea of the perfect day out – but premium hospitality company Good Group Ltd has come up with the ideal solution for those visitors to this year’s iconic Warbirds over Wanaka International airshow. More >>

Festive: Huge Animal Line-up For Big Gay Zoo Day

Auckland's first-ever Big Gay Zoo Day will be a chance to go 'where the wild things are' and also enjoy a concert from Anika Moa and Sola Rosa. More >>