Top Scoop Stories - 15 January 2008 News Summary

Wednesday, 16 January 2008, 2:00 pm
Article: The Scoop Editor

Today's Top Scoops - 15 January 2008

LEAD STORY:

Whaling: Sea Shepherd Activists In Custody

NZ POLITICS:

Foreign Affairs: Bomblets And Biofuels For Asia-Pacific ForumStatehood: Constitutional Debate "Difficult To Avoid"
Police: Another Internet Related Sexual Assault
Public Service: MSD Top-Band Salaries Increase More Than 546%
Drink Driving: Lawnmowers Count

BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH:

Computers: Apple Announces 19mm Thick Notebook
Engineering: GE Tree Cut Down
Kiwisaver: "Ethica"-l Investment Option
Broadband: Orcon Unbundling In Beta Testing

WORLD:

High Sea Drama: Whalers Kidnap Two Sea Shepherd Whale Defenders
Hostage Grab: Japanese Whalers Holding Two Crew Members
Guatemala: Election Of Alvaro Colom Brings Hope

COMMENT:

Bernard Weiner: New Hampshire - U.S. Elections Still in SNAFU Mode
David Swanson: What Martin Luther King Jr Said About Change
Martin LeFevre: Philosophy Of Mind

LIFESTYLE:

Rock: Bon Jovi Set To Sell Out Stadium
Music: The Nightwatchman Changes Big Day Out Slot
Groovin': If You're Searchin For The Drifters Come To SKYCITY

Whaling: Sea Shepherd Activists In Custody - Two Sea Shepherd activists today illegally boarded the Japanese research vessel Yushin Maru No. 2 in the Antarctic and were immediately taken into custody... The Director General of the Institute of Cetacean Research, Mr Minoru Morimoto, said the men have not been harmed and were taken to a secure room. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Sea Shepherd Conservation Society - Whalers Kidnap Two Sea Shepherd Whale Defenders [2]
• Sea Shepherd Conservation Society - Japanese Whalers holding two crew members [3]
• KiwiFM Audio - Wallace & Esperanza's Carly Thomas on Whaling [4]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0801/S00179.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0801/S00182.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0801/S00181.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0801/S00133.htm

Foreign Affairs: Bomblets And Biofuels For Asia-Pacific Forum - On Sunday, while many New Zealanders are thinking about barbecues and the beach, around 400 parliamentarians and support staff from around the Asia-Pacific region will be settling down to five days' work. The occasion is the 16th annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0801/S00102.htm

Statehood: Constitutional Debate "Difficult To Avoid" - UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne says that while former Prime Minister Mike Moore's call for a constitutional convention is nothing new, the basic message behind it should not be ignored. "While some will automatically dismiss his comments as no more than summertime mutterings from an eccentric relative, the point behind them cannot be so easily ignored." More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Mike Moore - Former PM - Moore: Let the Constitutional Conversation Begin [2]
• NZ Republican Movement - Republican Movement Welcomes Moore's Call [3]
• Law Commission - Tribunals [4]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0801/S00101.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0801/S00092.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0801/S00086.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0801/S00097.htm

Police: Another Internet Related Sexual Assault - Less than 12 hours after warning of the dangers of forming relationships over the internet Hamilton Police arrested a man for sexual violation. The 36-year-old Te Kauwhata farmer is alleged to have sexually violated a 31-year-old Fijian woman who had come to New Zealand after developing a relationship with the man over the internet. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Waikato DHB - Wheelchair Thefts From Waikato Hospital [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0801/S00084.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0801/S00020.htm

Public Service: MSD Top-Band Salaries Increase More Than 546% - The number of Ministry of Social Development staff earning more than $100,000 has ballooned from 54 in 2002 to an incredible 349 in 2007, says National's Welfare spokeswoman, Judith Collins... "In 2002, just six people earned more than $160,000, now 159 earn more than $160,000 and the number earning more than $200,000 have increased from zero in 2002 to 21 today." More >> [1]

EARLIER:

• National - PR staff triple at Education Ministry [2]
• National - 967% increase in MAF staff earning $100k [3]
• National - 500 staff for beneficiary debt, still rising [4]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0801/S00097.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0801/S00039.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0801/S00023.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0801/S00018.htm

Drink Driving: Lawnmowers Count - A 52-year-old Dargaville man has had his ride-on lawnmower impounded after he was caught drink driving on the vehicle... The officer went to ask the man to get off the road and discovered the man was a disqualified driver and that he had been drinking. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0801/S00078.htm

Computers: Apple Announces 19mm Thick Notebook - Apple today unveiled MacBook Air, the world's thinnest notebook. MacBook Air measures an unprecedented 0.4 centimetres at its thinnest point, while its maximum height of 1.9 centimetres is less than the thinnest point on competing notebooks. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Apple - Apple Announces Major Software Upgrade for iPod [2]
• Apple - Apple Announces Time Capsule [3]
• The Diffusion Group - Apple: A Quick Take on Take 2 [4]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0801/S00025.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0801/S00024.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0801/S00023.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0801/S00022.htm

Engineering: GE Tree Cut Down - The biosecurity containment facility at Scion (Forest Research Institute Ltd) Rotorua has been breached and investigations by MAF are underway... This comes in the wake of ERMA and MAF scrutinising containment facility and enforcement of control conditions after it had been found that rabbits had dug large burrows running along the perimeter fence. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Soil and Health Association - GE Tree Trial Breach Shows Contradictions [2]
• Soil and Health Association - Christmas is over Scion, take the GE trees down [3]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0801/S00093.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0801/S00095.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0801/S00012.htm

Kiwisaver: "Ethica"-l Investment Option - SuperLife today announced the launch of the first balanced, Socially Responsible Investment investment option available to KiwiSaver scheme members in New Zealand. It will exclude investments that have an adverse impact on community values. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0801/S00097.htm

Broadband: Orcon Unbundling In Beta Testing - Telecommunications provider Orcon last week began the final stage of testing of its unbundled telephone and broadband network in five suburbs around Auckland. As Orcon prepares for the full customer launch of its own network, it has invited a group of customers to participate in a Beta trial... More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Telecom New Zealand - Chorus Announcement Brings Milestone Moment [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0801/S00091.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0801/S00099.htm

High Sea Drama: Whalers Kidnap Two Sea Shepherd Whale Defenders - Despite repeated demands by the captain of the Steve Irwin, the Japanese whaler Yushin Maru No. 2 has refused to release the two Sea Shepherd crewmembers he took hostage. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0801/S00182.htm

Hostage Grab: Japanese Whalers Holding Two Crew Members - The captain of the Yushin Maru No. 2 is holding two Sea Shepherd crew hostage. Australian citizen Benjamin Potts and British citizen Giles Lane have been tied to the radar mast of the harpoon vessel. The Captain has refused Captain Paul Watson's demand ... More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0801/S00181.htm

Guatemala: Election Of Alvaro Colom Brings Hope - The election of Alvaro Colom as the president of Guatemala has brought renewed hope. The international trade union movement, headed by the ITUC, will keep a close watch on the situation of workers in the country. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0801/S00183.htm

Bernard Weiner: New Hampshire - U.S. Elections Still in SNAFU Mode - On the basis of what happened last week in New Hampshire we would be remiss as citizens if we didn't admit that eight years after the disaster that was the 2000 election process, we still don't have a reliable, secure voting system. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Scoop Full Coverage - 2008 Primaries [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0801/S00132.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0801/S00080.htm

David Swanson: What Martin Luther King Jr Said About Change - "The white establishment is skilled in flattering and cultivating emerging leaders. It presses its own image on them and finally, from imitation of manners, dress, and style of living, a deeper strain of corruption develops. This kind of Negro leader acquires the white man's contempt for the ordinary Negro. His language changes, his location changes, his income changes, and ultimately he changes from the representative of the Negro to the white man into the white man's representative to the Negro." More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0801/S00131.htm

Martin LeFevre: Philosophy Of Mind - A kestrel is hovering about 200 meters away over the fields. Fluttering over a single spot for 20 seconds or more in search of prey, it tucks its wings back and plummets to the ground in an arc of pure gracefulness. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0801/S00129.htm

Rock: Bon Jovi Set To Sell Out Stadium - With CLOSE TO 30,000 people already set to be in the AMI Stadium, Christchurch on Sunday January 27, the Bon Jovi Concert which is their only New Zealand appearance has already broken all known outdoor paid concert records. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0801/S00109.htm

Music: The Nightwatchman Changes Big Day Out Slot - In a last minute adjustment to the previously-published programme for Friday's Big Day Out in Auckland, The Nightwatchman has swapped performance times with Battles on the Green Stage. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Auckland Regional Transport Authority - MAXX out on your favourite bands at Big Day Out [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0801/S00096.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0801/S00077.htm

Groovin': If You're Searchin For The Drifters Come To SKYCITY - For the first time ever and for one night only internationally renowned acts Billy Washington's The Drifters and The Searchers are coming to SKYCITY Theatre. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0801/S00095.htm

ENDS

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