TODAY’S TOP SCOOPS
LEAD STORY: Scoop Report: Don Brash An Idealogue! Who Would Have Thought?
Dunne Issues His Worst Behaved Politician 04 List
MORE NEW ZEALAND HEADLINES:
WTO Begins Accession Plans For Afghanistan and Iraq
INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:
American Coup II: Rawstory.com: - Rep. Conyers Seeks Exit Poll Data
American Coup II: Jesse Jackson Calls For The Mother Of All Vote Fraud Rallies

SCOOP COLUMNS:
Is Labour (NZ) worshipping at the altar of Tony Blair?
Public Address Is There!
Robert Higgs On The Catastrophic Success In Iraq
Roll Up For The Tickertape Parade Down The Canyon Of Heroes

OTHER NEWS (Just Politics)
English Keeps Heat On Polytech's Poor Performance
More Money For Pilot Sexual Abuse Program
Foreshore And Seabed Legislation About To Be Tested
Franks Ecstatic At Insider Trading Decision
McCully Wants Access To MTS People Meter Figures
NZ Faces Gumming Down Of Health Care

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...TODAY'S PHOTO STORY...

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00255.htm
Would Don Brash Take Us Back To The Future?

LEAD STORY:
Scoop Report: Don Brash An Idealogue! Who Would Have Thought?

[1] - Mr.... Banker! Scoop's Kevin List caught up with documentary maker Alister Barry after his films finally aired on TVNZ recently and questioned the 'Don Brashologist' on where he thought Don Brash would like to take New Zealand economically and socially should he become Prime Minister after the 2005 general election. See... Alister Barry On What Don Brash Would Do As PM [2] ALSO: - Reserve Bank - Don Brash's 1996 New Zealand's Remarkable Reforms Speech

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00255.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00255.htm

Dunne Issues His Worst Behaved Politician 04 List

- [1] United Future leader and Ohariu-Belmont MP, Peter Dunne, today released his annual list of Parliament’s worst-behaved MP’s for 2004. National’s Nick Smith heads the pack this year on 22 points, being required to withdraw and apologise 10 times, and being expelled from the House 4 times. See... The worst-behaved MP’s of 2004 [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0412/S00573.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0412/S00573.htm

MORE NEW ZEALAND HEADLINES:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/AK0412/S00187.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/SC0412/S00054.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/BU0412/S00386.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/CU0412/S00126.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/AK0412/S00183.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0412/S00251.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0412/S00252.htm
[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/AK0412/S00181.htm
[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/CU0412/S00129.htm

WTO Begins Accession Plans For Afghanistan and Iraq

- The General Council, on 13 December 2004, established working parties to examine, respectively, the membership applications of Afghanistan and Iraq. See... WTO working parties for Afghanistan and Iraq [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0412/S00302.htm

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0412/S00308.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0412/S00307.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0412/S00306.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0412/S00304.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0412/S00303.htm

SCOOP SPECIAL REPORT - American Coup II:
Rawstory.com: - Rep. Conyers Seeks Exit Poll Data

- The following letter, issued by Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich), calls on the five major television networks and the Associated Press to release the raw exit poll data from the 2004 presidential election. See... Rawstory: Rep. John Conyers Seeks NEP Exit Poll Da [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00261.htm

Jesse Jackson Calls For The Mother Of All Vote Fraud Rallies

- As Republican officials stonewall subpoenas and subvert the recount process, Rev. Jesse Jackson has pronounced Ohio's vote fraud fiasco "the biggest deal since Selma" and has called for a national rally at "the scene of the crime" in Columbus ... See... Electoral Fight Becomes 'biggest deal since selma' [1] See also...Full Coverage of American Coup II [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00258.htm
[2] - http://scoop.co.nz/mason/features/?s=usacoup

SCOOP COLUMNS:
Is Labour (NZ) worshipping at the altar of Tony Blair?

- Writing in the Guardian, Tony Benn highlights six dangers for Labour which are progressively alienating its core supporters. He's writing about the British Labour Party of Tony Blair, but there is a similar trend at work here: in the struggle to hold the centre ground against National, the New Zealand Labour Party has adopted the Blairite tactic of trying to outflank their opposition on the right. See... No Right Turn: Danger For Labour? [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00257.htm

Public Address Is There!

- I think the stress of swapping houses is over-rated. I've never lost a spouse, but I've lost a sibling, and you can take it from me that moving house is much, much ... See... PUBLIC ADDRESS 23/12/04 - Changes [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00260.htm

Robert Higgs On The Catastrophic Success In Iraq

- On the campaign trail last October, Vice President Dick Cheney created a small stir when, speaking of the Iraq war, he declared: ''I think it has been a remarkable success story to date when you look at what has been accomplished overall.'' See... Robert Higgs: The Iraq War, A Catastrophic Success [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00263.htm

Roll Up For The Tickertape Parade Down The Canyon Of Heroes

- Everyone can relax. This thing is clearly getting ready to wind down. Ask the brilliant minds up at the Pentagon. Back in April 2003, a formal Pentagon planning session stated emphatically that the U.S. occupation of Iraq would be coming to an end in December 2004. See... William Rivers Pitt: It Will All Be Over Soon [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00262.htm

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00228.htm
MOTORNET: Honda Reworks The Odyssey

English Keeps Heat On Polytech's Poor Performance

- Christchurch Polytech's half-hearted, long-awaited evaluation of the COOL-IT fiasco shows just how low standards in the tertiary education sector have dropped, says National's Education spokesman, Bill English. See... Education standards reach new low [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0412/S00583.htm

More Money For Pilot Sexual Abuse Program

- ACC Minister Ruth Dyson today welcomed a $200,000 contract between ACC and the Auckland Sexual Abuse HELP Foundation for a one-year ‘pilot’ approach to services targeting sexual abuse. See... Government supports HELP sexual abuse service [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0412/S00586.htm

Foreshore And Seabed Legislation About To Be Tested

- Nelson MP Nick Smith says hundreds of boat-owners will be angry and disappointed that Maori today blocked access to the safest launching site between Nelson and the Marlborough Sounds. See... Iwi blocks access to foreshore [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0412/S00585.htm

Franks Ecstatic At Insider Trading Decision

- ACT Justice spokesman Stephen Franks today congratulated the Securities Commission and Michael Beard for settling the TranzRail insider trading prosecution of Mr Beard. See... Congratulations to Securities Commission [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0412/S00584.htm

McCully Wants Access To MTS People Meter Figures

- National Party MP Murray McCully says the Minister of Maori Affairs must make the real viewing figures available for the Maori Television Service. See... Give Us The Real Figures On Maori TV [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0412/S00582.htm

NZ Faces Gumming Down Of Health Care

- New Zealand First spokesperson for health Barbara Stewart is criticising the Government for not acting sooner to rescue our failing school dental service. See... New Zealand Becoming A Toothless Nation [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0412/S00576.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.

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