ADVISORY AND SEASON'S GREETINGS: Scoop's "Top Scoops" email headline service will be in abeyance till January 5th to give everybody's inboxes a bit of a break. That said the site will continue to be updated. The Scoop team wishes all its subscribers and contributors and readers a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS. As Tiny Tim said "God bless us every one".

- Scoop Co-Editor Alastair Thompson

TODAY’S TOP SCOOPS
LEAD STORY: Kiwis Abroad: Caritas Christmas In Darfur
Sludge Report: Scoop's 2004 Award Recipient's Are…
MORE NEW ZEALAND HEADLINES:
U.S. Military Iris Scans Fighting Age Iraqis In Falluja
INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:
American Coup II: William Rivers Pitt: Enter Stage Left Big John
American Coup II: Harvey Wasserman Interview

SCOOP COLUMNS:
Hard News Is There!
Scoop Feedback: Jacqui Grant vs Garnet Milne
Cuban Ambassador Writes To NZ Herald Again
Ramzy Baroud On Mustafa Barghouti
Steve Weissman: Undermining Democracy Around The Globe
Angie Pratt On War Crimes And Presidential Responsibility
Sonia Nettnin On The Forgotten Children Of AIDS
Kamala Sarup: Peace And The Written Word
The Bakhtiyari Family Saga
Bill Berkowitz On A Moment Of Christian Clarity (Not)

OTHER NEWS (Just Politics)
(There is insufficient new political news today to justify a bulletin . See...
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/news/parliament.html for the latest political news.)

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http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/myscoop/signin.html
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http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/myscoop/newpass.html

...TODAY'S PHOTO STORY...

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0412/S00261.htm
No chance of Xmas gluttony in the Sudan

LEAD STORY:
Kiwis Abroad: Caritas Christmas In Darfur

- Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand and Christian World Service (CWS) supported relief efforts are continuing in Darfur amidst ongoing violence and escalating numbers of displaced persons. Christmas will not bring good tidings to the troubled region. See... Christmas for New Zealander in Darfur, Sudan [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0412/S00261.htm

Sludge Report: Scoop's 2004 Award Recipient's Are…

- The Scoop 2004 Parliamentary Swards recognise New Zealand Members of Parliament for their notable achievements and notable gaffes during the course of 2004. They were decided by a panel of Scoop.co.nz experts and the judges' decisions are final. See... Sludge Report #166 – 2004 Parliamentary Awards [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00276.htm

MORE NEW ZEALAND HEADLINES:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0412/S00260.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/BU0412/S00399.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/BU0412/S00398.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0412/S00586.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/CU0412/S00134.htm

U.S. Military Iris Scans Fighting Age Iraqis In Falluja

– At US checkpoints, returning men of military age are being fingerprinted and having their irises scanned to try to ensure that no insurgents return. See... Link: BBC - Fallujan Men Iris Scanned On Return [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00266.htm

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00268.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00265.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0412/S00308.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0412/S00307.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0412/S00306.htm

SCOOP SPECIAL REPORT - American Coup II:
William Rivers Pitt: Enter Stage Left Big John

- 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry will file today, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, papers in support of the Green Party/Libertarian Party recount effort. See... W. Rivers Pitt: Kerry to Enter Ohio Recount Fray [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00272.htm

American Coup II: Harvey Wasserman Interview

- Ohio-based journalist Harvey Wasserman reviews the ongoing controversy surrounding the presidential vote in Ohio. Representative John Conyers - the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee - has called on The Associated Press and the five broadcast ... See... Democracy Now: Harvey Wasserman Interview [1] See also...Full Coverage of American Coup II [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00277.htm
[2] - http://scoop.co.nz/mason/features/?s=usacoup

SCOOP COLUMNS:
Hard News Is There!

- When you've been doing something as long as I've been doing Hard News in its various forms - 13 years, that is - you wonder if you haven't already said everything you want to say about Christmas and the Great New Zealand Summer already... See... Public Address 24/12/04 - Tired But Happy [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00275.htm

Scoop Feedback: Jacqui Grant vs Garnet Milne

- It is apparent that your correspondent Garnet Milne, a man who describes himself as a Christian, is determined to mis-represent and twist the meanings in the much publicised emails he claims Jacquie Grant sent to his web site. See... Scoop Feedback: Jacquie Grant vs Garnet milne [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00269.htm

Cuban Ambassador Writes To NZ Herald Again

- In what already could be a personal agenda, whose motivations are not clear, we find Peter Calder again giving opinions about Cuba, supposedly in his area of expertise: arts. See... Cuban Ambassador Writes To NZ Herald Again [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00268.htm

Ramzy Baroud On Mustafa Barghouti

- Talks about national unity among various Palestinian factions, and the ''opportunity'' that might have emerged following the sudden death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat have all faded into uncertainty. See... How About Mustafa Barghouti As An Alternative? [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00273.htm

Steve Weissman: Undermining Democracy Around The Globe

The coup came on April 11, 2002, when Venezuelan military forces overthrew the democratically elected president, Hugo Chavez. As many as 100 people died in the clash, which included mysterious sniper attacks on individual civilians. See... Uncle Santa Diddles Dems from Ukraine to Venezuela [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00278.htm

Angie Pratt On War Crimes And Presidential Responsibility

- You want to know why when news of prisoner torture percolated up the channels of the government nothing was done? The answer is quite simple. They condoned the actions. See... Hold The Bush Admin Accountable For Use Of Torture [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00271.htm

Sonia Nettnin On The Forgotten Children Of AIDS

- The exhibit, ''The Children Left Behind – AIDS Orphans Around the World,'' opened its U.S. tour in Chicago. The display shows the children orphaned from acquired immune deficiency syndrome, the virus known as AIDS. See... Nettnin: The Children Left Behind - AIDS Orphans [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00270.htm

Kamala Sarup: Peace And The Written Word

- ''The world's picture has changed after first and second world war. After 9/11 incident the world witnessed yet another holocaust of terror. This has a definite impact in man's mind.'' See... Kamala Sarup: Creating Peace Through Literature [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00267.htm

The Bakhtiyari Family Saga

- The saga of the Bakhtiyari family’s attempts to gain protection in Australia as refugees has been a long and tortuous one. A great many legal challenges have been made on behalf of the family (20 by some accounts) – all without success. See... Tragedy of the Bakhtiyari Family [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00265.htm

Bill Berkowitz On A Moment Of Christian Clarity (Not)

- Promoting Mel Gibson's 'Passion of the Christ,' Catholic League head claims secular Jews run Hollywood and 'Hollywood likes anal sex'. See... Bill Berkowitz: Bill Donohue's Jewish Problem [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0412/S00274.htm

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0412/S00246.htm
Santa Comes To Banyam, Afghanistan

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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