Top Scoop Stories - 9 June 2008 2008 News Summary

Monday, 9 June 2008, 2:27 pm
Article: The Scoop Editor

Today's Top Scoops - 9 June 2008 2008

LEAD STORY:

Afghanistan: NZ Thanked For Work On Behalf Of George Bush

NZ POLITICS:

Taxation: GST Weighing You Down? Paper Seeks Views On Changes
Moonlighting: Labour Minister Impersonates Leighton Smith
Tax: United Future Discovers Perils Of Announcing Policy
Zimbabwe: NGOs Booted Out As Mugabe Practises Starvation Democracy
Satire: Lyndon Hood's Week Incoherence
Electricity: Cabinet To Consider Power Saving Options
Politics: Sir Roger To Be Candidate For Hunua

BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH:

Agriculture: Fencing At Fieldays
Statistics: More Shrinkage In Property
Fuel Price Rise: What Can Drivers Do?
Pollution: Exide Fined $30 000
Interspecies Affection: Woman Rewarded For Loving Tuataras
Shear Magic: Weak NZ Dollar Makes Sheep Farmers Happy

WORLD:

Global Energy: IEA Energy Technology Perspectives 2008
Turkey: Constitutional Court Ruling Upholds Headscarf Ban
Bainimarama Republic: Fiji Looks At Food Self-Sufficiency
Hillary Clinton: "I Am Standing With Senator Obama To Say: Yes We Can!"
Radio Address: President Bush Urges Congress To Approve War Funding
Digging Up The Dirt On Mars: NASA's Phoenix Lander Checking Soil Properties
Basket Case: Zimbabwe Urged To Lift Restrictions On Aid Groups
Report: UK Threat Assessment On Serious Organised Crime
World Food Security: $6 Billion USD New Funding For Global Food Crisis
Greenpeace: Sea Horse, Snake, Turtle To Defend Marine Reserves
Reality Check: Mid-East Participants Want Early Jerusalem Status Agreement

LIFESTYLE:

Sport: Sam Warriner Gutsy In Bronze Medal Finish At Worlds
Groovin': The Nomad Wanders Out of the Musical Desert
Opera: Youngsters With Golden Tonsils On Fast Track To Success

Afghanistan: NZ Thanked For Work On Behalf Of George Bush - The First Lady of the United States paid a visit to the New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team (NZPRT) in Bamyan Province, Afghanistan, yesterday. Under a bright mid-morning Bamyan sky Mrs Laura Bush was greeted with a haka before meeting NZPRT Commander Colonel Darryl Tracy and other members of the PRT. Following the greeting, Mrs Bush thanked the PRT for their warm welcome and for New Zealand's work in Afghanistan on behalf of President Bush and the people of the United States. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0806/S00080.htm

Taxation: GST Weighing You Down? Paper Seeks Views On Changes - Revenue Minister Peter Dunne wants to hear from you regarding changes to GST. A tax policy issues paper released today for public consultation looks at options for strengthening the GST neutrality of business-to-business transactions. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0806/S00104.htm

Moonlighting: Labour Minister Impersonates Leighton Smith - Building and Construction Minister Shane Jones says he was delighted to be able to take a taste of the Northland to the "Big Smoke" in Auckland when he filled for Leighton Smith. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0806/S00107.htm

Tax: United Future Discovers Perils Of Announcing Policy - "The PSA has a simple question for United Future. What impact would its tax cuts, costing $4.5 billion a year, have on public services?" says PSA National Secretary, Brenda Pilott. United Future has released its tax policy stating that it goes further and delivers more than the tax cuts included in the Budget. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0806/S00077.htm

Zimbabwe: NGOs Booted Out As Mugabe Practises Starvation Democracy - TEAR Fund NZ executive director Stephen Tollestrup is outraged that NGOs have had to suspend operations in Zimbabwe. The climate in Zimbabwe is volatile and we have grave fears about what might happen next, he said. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• NZ condemns Zimbabwe over diplomats detention [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0806/S00070.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0806/S00088.htm

Satire: Lyndon Hood's Week Incoherence - First thing: Hoodie Day. Why no presents? I waited and waited.
And that guy with the KKK outfit did not count as a gift. It's nice he's apologised but I think the fact he hasn't already been lynched says something about the state of our justice system... And that reminds me, how come all these people are being found not guilty? We could sort that problem out once and for all if we abolished trials. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0806/S00073.htm

Electricity: Cabinet To Consider Power Saving Options - The government has been working with the electricity industry for some weeks now on a range of options to manage the impact of the drought and low hydro lakes on the electricity system. [Today], Cabinet will again be be considering the range of measures planned to ease the tight winter power situation, Energy Minister David Parker said. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Greens - It's the little things that make a big difference [2]
• National - What to expect in electricity crisis campaign [3]
• National - Franks: Electricity leadership for Wellington [4]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0806/S00101.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0806/S00110.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0806/S00078.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0806/S00069.htm

Politics: Sir Roger To Be Candidate For Hunua - Jordan Carter, Labour's candidate in the Hunua electorate, has responded to the announcement by the ACT Party this afternoon that their candidate in the electorate will be the Hon Sir Roger Douglas. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Rodney Hide - Roger Is Back [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0806/S00074.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0806/S00099.htm

Agriculture: Fencing At Fieldays - Rural skills will step off the farm this week as the fencing and tractor pull competitions kick off this week at the 40th New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays at Mystery Creek. The Fieldays Wiremark & Cyclone Fencing Championships have been running since the very first Fieldays in 1969. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Organics Aotearoa New Zealand - Science, Art of Organic Farming at Mystery Creek [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0806/S00138.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0806/S00137.htm

Statistics: More Shrinkage In Property - The value of residential building work put in place fell 6.6 percent in the March 2008 quarter (after removal of price changes and seasonal fluctuation), Statistics New Zealand said today. This follows a fall of 2.0 percent in the December 2007 quarter. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• QV Valuations - Property market continues to ease [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0806/S00139.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0806/S00134.htm

Fuel Price Rise: What Can Drivers Do? - On the back of yesterday's latest fuel price news and aiming to highlight the ways that every New Zealander can conserve fuel and keep their costs down, the Hyundai Bledisloe Fuel Economy Run will start soon. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0806/S00130.htm

Pollution: Exide Fined $30 000 - Greater Wellington has welcomed the District Court's conviction today of Exide Technologies Ltd for a second breach of their resource consent and expects the company to improve its housekeeping processes to fully comply with its consent conditions in the future. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Commerce Commission - Court of Appeal confirms NZ Bus breach [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0806/S00122.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0806/S00123.htm

Interspecies Affection: Woman Rewarded For Loving Tuataras - Flawless and innovative animal husbandry techniques with tuatara have earned Victoria University conservation biology technician Sue Keall the Animal Technician's Award for 2008. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0806/S00019.htm

Shear Magic: Weak NZ Dollar Makes Sheep Farmers Happy - New Zealand Wool Services International Ltd reports that prices at today's wool sales strengthened in most categories. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0806/S00097.htm

Global Energy: IEA Energy Technology Perspectives 2008 - ''The world faces the daunting combination of surging energy demand, rising greenhouse gas emissions and tightening resources. A global energy technology revolution is both necessary and achievable; but it will be a tough challenge'," said Nobuo Tanaka of the IEA, "We are very far from sustainable development, despite the widespread recognition of the long-term problem. In fact, CO2 emissions growth has accelerated considerably in recent years". More >> [1]

HOWEVER...

• Greenpeace Rejects The IEA's Reliance On Nuclear And Carbon Capture Technologies [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00139.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00140.htm

Turkey: Constitutional Court Ruling Upholds Headscarf Ban - ''This decision means women who choose to wear a headscarf in Turkey will be forced to choose between their religion and their education,'' said Holly Cartner at HRW. ''This is a truly disappointing decision and does not bode well for the reform process.'' More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00138.htm

Bainimarama Republic: Fiji Looks At Food Self-Sufficiency - ''Officers in the Ministry of Primary Industry have reacted to rising prices by putting in place a number of programmes designed to alleviate the difficulties faced by those members of our community most at risk,'' Bainimarama said at the FAO meet. More >> [1]

ON HOLY GROUND

• Bainimarama Meets Pope Benedict IX [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00136.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00137.htm

Hillary Clinton: "I Am Standing With Senator Obama To Say: Yes We Can!" - ''The way to continue our fight now is to take our energy, our passion, our strength and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama the next President of the United States. I endorse him, and throw my full support behind him.'' - Hillary Clinton, Washington, DC, June 7, 2008. More >> [1]

OBAMA GIVES THANKS

• Obama On Hillary Clinton's Endorsement [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00128.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00129.htm

Radio Address: President Bush Urges Congress To Approve War Funding - ''Each day, the men and women of our Armed Forces risk their lives to make sure their fellow citizens are safer. They serve with courage and honor. They've earned the respect of all Americans. And they deserve the full support of Congress." - George W. Bush. More >> [1]

ALSO OF NOTE

• Bush Acknowledges Turbulence In Housing Market, Economy Slowdown [2]
• Interview Of George Bush By Gianni Riotta [3]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00130.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00134.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00135.htm

Digging Up The Dirt On Mars: NASA's Phoenix Lander Checking Soil Properties - Phoenix's planned activities for Saturday include horizontally extending a trench where the lander dug two practice scoops earlier this week, and taking additional images of a small pile of soil that was scooped up and dropped onto the surface during the second of those practice digs. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00131.htm

Basket Case: Zimbabwe Urged To Lift Restrictions On Aid Groups - The UN humanitarian chief has called on the Government of Zimbabwe to rescind its decision to suspend all field operations by non-governmental aid groups. Much of the UN's humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe is channeled through NGOs. The UN assists more than 4 million people in the country, about a third of Zimbabwe's population. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00126.htm

Report: UK Threat Assessment On Serious Organised Crime - The United Kingdom's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) was formed to tackle Class A drugs & organised immigration crime as top priorities. Other priorities are fraud, hi tech crime, counterfeiting, firearms, serious robbery, recovery of the proceeds of crime. SOCA has today published an unrestricted version of the UK Threat Assessment of Serious Organised Crime 2008/9. The document describes and assesses the threats posed to the UK by serious organised criminals. More >> [1]

RELATED

• U.S. Efforts to Combat Transnational Criminal Organizations [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00114.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00122.htm

World Food Security: $6 Billion USD New Funding For Global Food Crisis - "We need to focus both on immediate needs and on longer-term issues. The focus is on the smallholder farmers in developing countries, these are the people who need most help and where there is the most potential for increasing agricultural productivity." -- John Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00121.htm

Greenpeace: Sea Horse, Snake, Turtle To Defend Marine Reserves - The Pacific countries receive no money for fishing taking place in the international waters proposed to be designated as marine reserves. WOMAR the sea snake, GOMAR the seahorse and MOMAR the sea turtle have been chosen by ocean defenders to be mascots for three newly named proposed marine reserve areas in the Pacific. More >> [1]

RELATED

• Strong European Support For The Protection Of Whales [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00106.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00110.htm

Reality Check: Mid-East Participants Want Early Jerusalem Status Agreement - Meeting participants agreed that a negotiated solution to the issue of Jerusalem, based on international law, was absolutely critical for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and fundamental for lasting peace in region. The final plenary panel of the Meeting was held under the title: 'Jerusalem -- Looking forward to a capital of two States'.More >> [1]

POSSIBLE HICCUP

• Barack Obama : "Jerusalem ... must remain undivided" [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00112.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00080.htm

Sport: Sam Warriner Gutsy In Bronze Medal Finish At Worlds - A stunning breakaway ride from Sara Haskins (USA) and Helen Tucker (GBR) looked to have put paid to any Kiwi chances at a cold and wet Vancouver this morning but Warriner drew on all her powers of determination to run into a podium place, her first at a World Championships.More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Triathlon NZ - Van Barneveld Leads Kiwi Charge At World Champs [2]
• TZ - Triathlon: O'grady Stunning In 'Prison' Escape [3]
• Triathlon NZ - Two World Titles For Kiwis In Vancouver [4]
• Triathlon NZ - Wet And Cold Conditions Greet Triathlon Juniors [5]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0806/S00063.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0806/S00053.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0806/S00066.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0806/S00050.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0806/S00046.htm

Groovin': The Nomad Wanders Out of the Musical Desert - New Zealand electronica legend The Nomad celebrates a decade of being at the forefront of fresh music with the release of Selected Works. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0806/S00057.htm

Opera: Youngsters With Golden Tonsils On Fast Track To Success - Three aspiring New Zealand singers have been selected by The NBR New Zealand Opera as 2008-2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artists. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0806/S00055.htm

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Scoop

Scoop Independent News

Scoop is NZ's largest independent news source; respected widely in media, political, business and academic circles for being the place on the internet for publishing "what was really said", and for the quality of its analysis of issues.

Contact Scoop

• Editorial - editor@scoop.co.nz
• Twitter - @ScoopNZ
• Facebook
• YouTube
• Services - services@scoop.co.nz
• Phone - 04 910 1844