Top Scoop Stories - 30 July 2008 News Summary

Wednesday, 30 July 2008, 2:01 pm
Article: The Scoop Editor

Today's Top Scoops - 30 July 2008

LEAD STORY:

Working For Families: Key "Admits Support For Communism"

NZ POLITICS:

Questions For Oral Answer - Wednesday, 30 July 2008
Social Justice Week: Bishops Stand With Poor And Downtrodden
WTO: Talks End Without Result
Electoral Finance Act: EPMU Registered
Election 08: Gordon Campbell Reviews The PM's Presser July 29
Retirement: Gold Card Gets Superer
Any Old Iron? Dodgy Scrap Merchants At Large In Christchurch
Environment: Commissioner Finds Deficiencies In Mapua Clean-Up

BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH:

Weather: Second Storm Over North Island
Climate Change: NZ Hosts 'Sharing The Burden' Conference

WORLD:

Obama On NAFTA: Name This "Change We Can Believe In"
WTO Talks Collapse: Was There Ever a Future for Bananas?
Looks Promising: Prospects For Reunifying Cyprus Never Been Better
Crime Scene: UK Government Promises Neighbourhood Crime Maps
Special Occasion: RAMSI Congratulates Vanuatu On Their National Day
Not A Drop To Drink: Drought Wreaks Havoc In Northern Afghanistan
Air Travel: Concerning The Qantas Boeing 747 Depressurisation On 25 July 2008
Necktie Party: European Union Declaration On Execution Of 29 People In Iran

COMMENT:

Michael Collins From Impeachment Central: The People, the Press, and the Case for Impeachment
Sherwood Ross: Keith Olbermann - Crazy Like A Fox?
Greg Palast: Obama Doesn't Sweat. He should.

LIFESTYLE:

Cheerio Chum: Goodbye To Bits Of Eden Park This Weekend
Scoop Review: Ashes Of Time Redux Challenges The Psyche

Working For Families: Key "Admits Support For Communism" - Michael Cullen: During debate in Parliament today on Mr Key's flip flop on support for the Labour-led government's Working for Families programme, the National Party leader interjected to confirm that he still regards Working for Families as 'communism by stealth' even though he claims that he will keep it in place unchanged if elected. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0807/S00526.htm

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY:

• Questions For Oral Answer - Wednesday, 30 July 2008 [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0807/S00543.htm

Social Justice Week: Bishops Stand With Poor And Downtrodden - The New Zealand Catholic bishops have reaffirmed their commitment to stand with New Zealanders in need, in a statement prepared for Social Justice Week 2008. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0807/S00303.htm

WTO: Talks End Without Result - World Trade Organisation talks in Geneva aimed at concluding the Doha Development Round this year ended today without final agreement being reached. Speaking from Geneva, Trade Minister Phil Goff said it was intensely disappointing that countries were unable to bridge some differences, when they were so close to finalising the agreement. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Council on Hemispheric Affairs - WTO Talks Collapse: Do Bananas Have A Future? [2]
• International Business Forum - WTO Failure Disappoints Business Forum [3]
• Meat And Wool NZ - Meat & Wool NZ urge WTO gains must not to be lost [4]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0807/S00531.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0807/S00860.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0807/S00544.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0807/S00552.htm

Electoral Finance Act: EPMU Registered - The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union welcomes the Electoral Commission's decision to register the union as a third party. Prior to the decision the union's third party status had been challenged by the National Party. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Dairy Workers Union - Dairy Union third party registration welcomed [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0807/S00372.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0807/S00381.htm

Election 08: Gordon Campbell Reviews The PM's Presser July 29 - Late on Monday July 29th, means that its time for the Prime Minister's weekly post Cabinet press conference. How late the conference is scheduled is in itself a vehicle for spin conjecture. More >> [1]

[1] - http://election08.scoop.co.nz/gordon-campbell-reviews-the-pms-presser-july-29/

Retirement: Gold Card Gets Superer - The release of an updated SuperGold Card directory, which will be delivered to more than half a million senior New Zealanders, has been welcomed by Associate Senior Citizens Minister Winston Peters today More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0807/S00519.htm

Any Old Iron? Dodgy Scrap Merchants At Large In Christchurch - Christchurch Police are concerned at the alarming increase in the theft of scrap metals from business and domestic premises across the city. Churches, public buildings and houses, are being targeted. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0807/S00268.htm

Environment: Commissioner Finds Deficiencies In Mapua Clean-Up - There are important lessons to be learnt from the remediation of the contaminated site at Mapua that need to be applied to other contaminated sites of this kind, says National's Environment spokesman Nick Smith. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• NZ Govt - Important that lessons are learned from Mapua [2]
• Greens - Cleaner land at Mapua at expense of air and water [3]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0807/S00516.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0807/S00517.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0807/S00524.htm

Weather: Second Storm Over North Island - Police are dealing with a lot of incidents due to the weather. There have been a large volume of calls reporting trees across roads and big wind gusts in the Manawatu,Horowhenua areas right up to Waiouru. As this weather seems to be moving south, drivers are advised to take extreme care travelling on any roads in bottom half of the North Island. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Police - Waikere, Far North: Body Located [2]
• Auckland Civil Defence - Rain moving east as day progresses [3]
• Waikato DHB - Thames Hospital release re flooding [4]
• Environment Waikato - River management coping well with heavy rainfall [5]
• Environment Bay of Plenty - Preparation for severe weather predicted for BOP [6]
• Police - Drunk Drivers Driving In Atrocious Weather [7]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0807/S00280.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0807/S00283.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0807/S00281.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0807/S00153.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0807/S00279.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0807/S00277.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0807/S00267.htm

Climate Change: NZ Hosts 'Sharing The Burden' Conference - David Parker: Right now, the primary global response hinges on the Kyoto Protocol. The first commitment period of the Protocol ends in 2012 so our next challenge will be looking at the options for tackling climate change after this date. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• European Commission - EU leads way on sharing effort on climate change [2]
• NZ Govt - Sea-level on the rise, time to plan for it [3]
• NZ Govt - Parker: Getting ready for climate change hazards [4]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0807/S00514.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0807/S00861.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0807/S00512.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0807/S00513.htm

Obama On NAFTA: Name This "Change We Can Believe In" - The transformation from being a primary candidate to presidential frontrunner already is profoundly affecting Barack Obama, who has softened his initially progressive rhetoric in order to galvanize skeptical independents. In doing so, he has been inviting criticism from the media regarding his apparently refashioned political rhetoric. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0807/S00857.htm

WTO Talks Collapse: Was There Ever a Future for Bananas? - Optimistic signs and compromises surfaced as a result of last weekend's supposed breakthrough, but these were soon followed by stubborn accusations from a number of combative nations, including the United States, China, and India. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0807/S00860.htm

Looks Promising: Prospects For Reunifying Cyprus Never Been Better - The outlook for resolving the long-running dispute on Cyprus looks promising given recent events, including last week's announcement by the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders that they will hold full-fledged talks in early September 2008. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0807/S00859.htm

Crime Scene: UK Government Promises Neighbourhood Crime Maps - The Government has announced the planned publication of online crime maps as part of a commitment to get people more involved with their local police. Interactive maps on police websites will allow residents to track crime patterns in their communities. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0807/S00836.htm

Special Occasion: RAMSI Congratulates Vanuatu On Their National Day - Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands Acting Special Coordinator, Dr Jonathan Austin, has congratulated the people and government of Vanuatu on the occasion of their National Day. Dr Austin thanked them on behalf of the other 14 contributing countries of RAMSI. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0807/S00865.htm

Not A Drop To Drink: Drought Wreaks Havoc In Northern Afghanistan - The lack of rain and drinking water are taking a toll on precious livestock, farming lands have gradually dried up and many farmers have lost their harvest. For these reasons, many people in the Alborz district have abandoned their homes. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0807/S00849.htm

Air Travel: Concerning The Qantas Boeing 747 Depressurisation On 25 July 2008 - A Boeing 747 was on a scheduled passenger service from HK to Melbourne. At approximately 29,000 feet, the crew were forced to conduct an emergency descent after a section of the fuselage separated and resulted in rapid cabin decompression. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0807/S00833.htm

Necktie Party: European Union Declaration On Execution Of 29 People In Iran - The European Union condemns in the strongest terms the 29 simultaneous executions which took place in Iran, on Sunday 27 July 2008. The Iranian regime's action of staging these executions and making them the focus of media attention is an affront to human dignity. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0807/S00847.htm

Michael Collins From Impeachment Central: The People, the Press, and the Case for Impeachment - The July 25, 2008 House Committee on the Judiciary hearings focused on the Kucinich resolution calling for the impeachment of President Bush. In his resolution , Rep. Dennis Kucinich... More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0807/S00330.htm

Sherwood Ross: Keith Olbermann - Crazy Like A Fox? - Chairman Rupert Murdoch of Fox News once said of his former sportscaster Keith Olbermann, "I fired him. He's crazy." And when MSNBC's Senior Vice President Phil Griffin hired Olbermann for his new "Countdown" show in 2003 he agreed "The guy is ... More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0807/S00320.htm

Greg Palast: Obama Doesn't Sweat. He should. - In swing-state Colorado, the Republican Secretary of State conducted the biggest purge of voters in history, dumping a fifth of all registrations. Guess their color. In swing-state Florida, the state is refusing to accept about 85,000 new registrations ... More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0807/S00319.htm

Cheerio Chum: Goodbye To Bits Of Eden Park This Weekend - A capacity crowd will celebrate the end of an era for Auckland's much-loved Eden Park stadium at the Bledisloe Cup match on Saturday 2nd August. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0807/S00300.htm

Scoop Review: Ashes Of Time Redux Challenges The Psyche - Like the treacherous but sublime desert in which it is set, Ashes of Time Redux is a difficult, epic journey for one's psyche. Once an elusive mirage of the film world, the legendary Wong Kar Wai was compelled to release his digitally-mastered version of this 1994 movie this year, to finally quell poor versions sprouting on the back alleys of both Hong Kong and the Internet. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0807/S00322.htm

ENDS

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