Top Scoop Stories - 31 March 2008 News Summary

Monday, 31 March 2008, 2:02 pm
Article: The Scoop Editor

Today's Top Scoops - 31 March 2008

LEAD STORY:

Lashings of Politics: TVNZ 7's Kingmaker Minor Leaders Debate In 7 Parts

NZ POLITICS:

Flags: Peters Sees Red Over Maori Ensign
Helping Hands: Navy Assists DOC With Heavy Lifting
Human Rights: Tibet Protest outside the Chinese Embassy
Breaking Up: Telecom Separation Now A Fact
Soldiers Whacked: NZ Service Personnel Returned From Afghanistan
Elections: Anti-Smacking Party Make Tiny Hit In Poll
Race Relations: Mind Your Language!

BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH:

Kakapo Watch: More Precious Parrots Enter The Universe
Going Up: Union Campaigning To Lift Low Wages Pays Off
Employment: Looks Matter - Scrub Up For That Job IV

WORLD:

United Nations: UN System Vows To Ensure Rights Of Persons With Disabilities
Nepal: Violent Clashes Continue Ahead Of Upcoming Polls
Defence: A Robot Watchdog To Sniff Out Radiation
Controversy: Ban Ki-Moon Appeals For Calm Over 'Fitna' Video

COMMENT:

Jason Leopold: Chaplain Who Called for Attack on Islam Fired
Ramzy Baroud: Where are the Iraqis in the Iraq War?
Evelyn Pringle: Barack Obama - The Wizard of Oz
Jason Leopold: Classified Memo Reveals Iraqi Prisoners "Starving"

LIFESTYLE:

Poetry: NZ Verse And Worse Online And Just Fine
Disasters: Commemorations for 40th anniversary of Wahine
The New Circus: Heavenly Burlesque - "The Untamed Oddities Tour!"
Education: 'Rainbow Warrior' scholarship funds emergency study

Lashings of Politics: TVNZ 7's Kingmaker Minor Leaders Debate In 7 Parts - [Images + Video] Scoop video on demand of the complete shooting of today's TVNZ 7 broadcast launch event - a Minor Party Leaders "Kingmaker" Debate in Parliament's Legislative Council Chamber. Hosted by TVNZ Political Editor Guyon Espiner and featuring Jeanette Fitzsimons, Pita Sharples, Peter Dunne, Rodney Hide, Jim Anderton & an empty chair representing Winston Peters. (Image at right by Neil Mackenzie for TVNZ Publicity) More >> [1]

ALSO:

• TVNZ - TVNZ7's Kingmaker Minor Party Leader Debate Images [2]
• TVNZ - Strong Message From Voters In 7 Poll [3]
• TVNZ - TVNZ'S New Member Of The Family [4]
• TVNZ - Outlink - TVNZ7 Homepage [5]
• TVNZ - Outlink - The Kingmaker Debate launches TVNZ 7 [6]
• FreeView - Freeview Content Offer Continues to Grow [7]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00458.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0803/S00283.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0803/S00279.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0803/S00451.htm
[5] - http://tvnz.co.nz/view/tvnz_7_index_skin/tvnz_7_index_group
[6] - http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/497100/1612045
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0803/S00470.htm

Flags: Peters Sees Red Over Maori Ensign - New Zealand First has urged local councils and publicly owned organizations to resist approaches to fly the Maori sovereignty flag on public buildings. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• TV3 Video - Manukau City Council debate the flying of the Maori sovereignty flag [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00510.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/politics/6294.html

Helping Hands: Navy Assists DOC With Heavy Lifting - HMNZS Canterbury has successfully completed the transfer of 40 tonnes of equipment and supplies in support of research activities on Raoul Is. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0803/S00294.htm

Human Rights: Tibet Protest outside the Chinese Embassy - This morning there were 23 Human Rights protestors at the Chinese Embassy in Wellington. The protestors wore white, were roped together as prisoners, and roped to the Olympic torch. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0803/S00293.htm

Breaking Up: Telecom Separation Now A Fact - A robust plan for the operational separation of Telecom NZ has been approved by Communications and Information Technology Minister David Cunliffe. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Telecom New Zealand - New era for telecommunications [2]
• InternetNZ - InternetNZ welcomes 'Separation Day' [3]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00508.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0803/S00460.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0803/S00467.htm

Soldiers Whacked: NZ Service Personnel Returned From Afghanistan - Six New Zealand Defence Force personnel from the NZ Provincial Reconstruction Team (NZ PRT) contingent in Afghanistan have returned to New Zealand on remand for trial by court martial for alleged drug use. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• TV3 Video - Six soldiers busted for drugs in Afghanistan face court martial [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0803/S00269.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/international/6258.html

Elections: Anti-Smacking Party Make Tiny Hit In Poll - Kiwi Party Leader Larry Baldock welcomed the news this morning from the Herald Digi Poll that the Kiwi Party had registered in the poll. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0803/S00278.htm

Race Relations: Mind Your Language! - "An advertising billboard that invites people to 'Rent a car ... so you can visit any whaka' is not just an inappropriate use of Maori language, it is an abuse of a people, our history and our culture," said Dr Pita Sharples of the Maori Party. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• MLC - Auckland Billboard Offensive To The Maori Language [2]
• Ace Rentals - Statement Re: the Ace 'Whaka' Billboard [3]
• United Future - Dunne laments PC loss of humour [4]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00480.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0803/S00258.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0803/S00423.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00495.htm

Kakapo Watch: More Precious Parrots Enter The Universe - The eagerly-awaited arrival of some of New Zealand's most precious babies has started, with the hatching of five kakapo chicks in the last two weeks. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0803/S00060.htm

Going Up: Union Campaigning To Lift Low Wages Pays Off - "Workers campaigning in unions to lift low wages is paying off," CTU secretary Carol Beaumont said, ahead of the $12 an hour minimum wage coming into effect next week. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0803/S00449.htm

Employment: Looks Matter - Scrub Up For That Job IV - Candidates need to pay more attention to their personal image during job interviews if they want to be successful, says a leading recruiter. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0803/S00461.htm

United Nations: UN System Vows To Ensure Rights Of Persons With Disabilities - More than 20 United Nations departments, agencies, programmes, and funds have pledged their support to implementing a landmark treaty on the human rights of persons with disabilities, which opened for signature a year ago today. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0803/S00265.htm

Nepal: Violent Clashes Continue Ahead Of Upcoming Polls - Campaigning for Nepal's upcoming Constituent Assembly election continues in relative calm across much of the South Asian nation, but a significant number of districts have experienced a surge in clashes between different political party supporters. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0803/S00261.htm

Defence: A Robot Watchdog To Sniff Out Radiation - Australian scientists have developed a prototype remote-controlled robotic vehicle to detect radiation. The concept vehicle was developed jointly by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation & the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0803/S00267.htm

Controversy: Ban Ki-Moon Appeals For Calm Over 'Fitna' Video - ''We must also recognize that the real fault line is not between Muslim and Western societies, as some would have us believe, but between small minorities of extremists, on different sides, with a vested interest in stirring hostility and conflict.'' More >> [1]

ALTERNATE VIEW

• Lindsay Perigo - Islamofascism's Triumph Temporary [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0803/S00254.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0803/S00273.htm

Jason Leopold: Chaplain Who Called for Attack on Islam Fired - A top Navy chaplain who wrote a book several years ago attacking Islam, calling the religion "evil," and urging the United States to launch a "jihad" against the faith, has been fired from a prestigious theological institute after officials ... More >> [1]

EARLIER

• Chaplain Who Called for Attack on Islam Scrutinized [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00456.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00181.htm

Ramzy Baroud: Where are the Iraqis in the Iraq War? - Five years after the US invasion and occupation of Iraq, mainstream media is once more making the topic an object of intense scrutiny. The costs and implications of the war are endlessly covered from all possible angles, with one notable exception ... More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00454.htm

Evelyn Pringle: Barack Obama - The Wizard of Oz - The most trusted leaders of the Democratic party, such as John Kerry and Ted Kennedy, ought to be ashamed of themselves for supporting Barack Obama. With use of the internet, a fifth grader could connect the dots to... More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00452.htm

Jason Leopold: Classified Memo Reveals Iraqi Prisoners "Starving" - A classified memo written by a top military official stationed in Western Iraq reveals that a prison in downtown Fallujah is so overcrowded and dirty that it does not even meet basic "minimal levels of hygiene for human beings." More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00440.htm

Poetry: NZ Verse And Worse Online And Just Fine - You have been warned: the 2007 Best New Zealand Poems collection could make you laugh, weep or even want to write your own poem. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0803/S00270.htm

Disasters: Commemorations for 40th anniversary of Wahine - On the morning of 10 April 1968, with 734 people on board, inter-island ferry The Wahine entered Wellington Harbour during a violent southerly storm and foundered on Barrett Reef. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0803/S00268.htm

The New Circus: Heavenly Burlesque - "The Untamed Oddities Tour!" - The iconic multi - award winning burlesque circus, dance & comedy cabareis back and on tour throughout NZ. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0803/S00265.htm

i>Education: 'Rainbow Warrior' scholarship funds emergency study - A "Rainbow Warrior" scholarship has been awarded to Massey PhD student Laura Jacobs-Garrod, for her work on improving the way military and humanitarian organisations work together. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED0803/S00072.htm

ENDS

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