TODAY’S TOP SCOOPS
LEAD STORY:
U.S. Humiliation Of POWs Shock International Community
STORY OF THE WEEK: Calling All Maori: Your Iwi Wants You
MORE NEW ZEALAND HEADLINES:
Meet The New U.S. Ambassador To Iraq - John Negroponte
European Union Expands By 25 New States
INTERNATIONAL NEWS HEADLINES
MORE STORY OF THE WEEK: The Foreshore & Seabed - Don Brash's Poison Pill Theory Welcomed

SCOOP COLUMNS:
Sarah Helm: Pakeha Oppose Seabed Confiscation
Hard News & More Is There!
Ehrlich: Foreigners Warned Away From Thai Resort Of Phuket
Stateside: VVPAT Shows It's Legs
Jason Leopold: That Was Then - This Is Now
The Real Deal: CACI And The Business Of Torture
Kidd Millenium Cartoon: War Books
Bush Fails To Respond To D.C. Anti-Abortion Mass Protest
Oh, Say Can You See A Machiavellian Dominion
UQ Wire: Bush Appears Before The 911 Commission
Dog Skin Report: Things That Suck

OTHER NEWS (Just Politics)
Green Party Spots A Way Around A By-Election
Talking Nats – National Party Conference
Muriel Newman Joins The ACT Leadership Race
Politics According To Prebble – ACT's Letter
Deportation Tribunal's Life Expectancy Lowered
Peter Dunne Says Wellington Is Getting Shafted
Brian Donnelly Seeks Student Loan Scheme Reform
Maria Luisa Justice Denied – Peter Brown
Goff Congratulates EU On Weight Gain
Police Working The Beat For Longer

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...TODAY'S PHOTO STORY...

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0405/S00001.htm
Sec. Def. Rumsfeld Visits Prison Where Torture Took Place
WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES: US Sexual Abuse Of POWs & Civilians

LEAD STORY:
U.S. Humiliation Of POWs Shock International Community

- *** WARNING: This page contains graphic images of sexual abuse seemingly being committed by US Troops against Iraqi civilians and POWs. While images have been edited to remove sexually explicit details, many of the images remain highly offensive. See... Images: U.S.Troops In Iraq Sexual Abuse Photos [1] ALSO: - UN - Iraq: Annan Disturbed By Images Of POW Humiliation [2] - UN - Iraq: Torture not isolated -- investigations vital [3] SCOOP COMMENT: - John Chuckman - Cartoons: US Torture And Iraqi Hearts & Minds [4] - Catherine Fitts - Mapping The Real Deal: CACI Who? [5]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0405/S00001.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0405/S00015.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0405/S00007.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0405/S00011.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0405/S00014.htm

STORY OF THE WEEK: Calling All Maori: Your Iwi Wants You

- A nationwide campaign to link individual Maori with their iwi begins today when Tuhono affiliation and consent forms are sent to 358 000 voters of Maori descent by the Chief Registrar of Electors. See... Response from 358 000 voters of Maori descent [1] ALSO: Tariana Turia – Maori Woman of Integrity [2] - Radio Waatea Interviews Today [3] - Maori Church accuses govt over foreshore [4] For Full Coverage, see... More on the STORY OF THE WEEK [5]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0405/S00006.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0405/S00005.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0405/S00003.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0405/S00002.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/index.html#msow

MORE NEW ZEALAND HEADLINES:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00011.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00006.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00001.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0405/S00004.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00013.htm

INTERNATIONAL NEWS:

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0405/S00012.htm
John Negroponte - Ambassador To Iraq (aka "The Torturer's Friend")

Meet The New U.S. Ambassador To Iraq - John Negroponte

- Dennis Hans - It turns out that Mullah Omar has much in common with — may even have patterned his career after — John Negroponte, the veteran U.S. diplomat who’s about to be confirmed as our Ambassador to Iraq, where he’ll oversee the largest embassy and CIA station in the world.See... Dennis Hans: When John Negroponte Was Mullah Omar [1] - Toni Solo - John Negroponte will be an appropriate appointment as US proconsul in Iraq for the current regime in Washington. Death-squad-friendly Negroponte is one of the suave-talking savages who misled the US Congress about US actions in Central America through the ... See... John Negroponte: Dorian Gray Goes To Iraq [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0405/S00012.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0405/S00004.htm

European Union Expands By 25 New States

- On 1 May 2004, large parts of Eastern and Western Europe will be united in peace and democracy as the EU expands to 25 Member States. Ten new countries are joining the European Union - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania. See… EU celebrates its most historic unification ever [1] ALSO: New EU Law On Asylum Seekers [2] - NZ welcomes enlargement of EU [3]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0405/S00004.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0405/S00012.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00014.htm

INTERNATIONAL NEWS HEADLINES

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0405/S00016.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0405/S00014.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0405/S00013.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0405/S00011.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0405/S00009.htm

MORE STORY OF THE WEEK: The Foreshore & Seabed - Don Brash's Poison Pill Theory Welcomed

- National Party Leader Dr Don Brash is quite right to be adding his voice to those warning Maori and pakeha of the poison pill in Labour's newly-invented `ancestral connection' law, ACT New Zealand Maori Affairs Spokesman Stephen Franks said today. See... Ancestral Connection Is Poison Pill For Maori [1] See also.. Brash - What Sort of Nation Do We Want? [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00001.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00006.htm

Sarah Helm: Pakeha Oppose Seabed Confiscation

- A pakeha woman and a Maori woman reached up to fix a placard to a pole on Lambton Quay. The sign read, ''No treaty breaches on our beaches''. See... Pakeha Protest In Support Of Maori Seabed Rights [1] For much much more on the Hikoi and Tariana Turia see last week's… STORY OF THE WEEK: Tariana Turia's Long Walk

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0405/S00006.htm

SCOOP COLUMNS:
Hard News & More Is There!

- So, having killed who knows-how-many-hundred Iraqis, created tens of thousands of refugees and flattened whole neighbourhoods, the US military command is now to hand over Fallujah to a group of officers from the Iraqi Army it disbanded only last year... See... Public Address 03/05/04 - Messier [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0405/S00013.htm

Ehrlich: Foreigners Warned Away From Thai Resort Of Phuket

- Muslim guerrillas have told the "people of the world" not to visit southern Thailand, where Thai troops killed more than 100 Islamic militants and bloodied a mosque in Pattani, but the stark warning also included Phuket island, a wealthy, tourist playground ... See... Thai Muslim Guerillas Warn Tourists To Stay Away [1] EARLIER: - Thai Mosque Attack Leads To Political Bickering [2] - Thai Security Forces Attack Mosque, Kill Militants [3]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0405/S00010.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0404/S00261.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0404/S00243.htm

Stateside: VVPAT Shows It's Legs

- The front-page, above-the-fold news this weekend was the decertification of some electronic voting systems by California's Secretary of State. See... Stateside: How Is VVPAT Like ZZ Top? [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0405/S00005.htm

Jason Leopold: That Was Then - This Is Now

- A few days before Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in as the 38th Governor of California last year he stood on the steps of the capital building in Sacramento waving a broom over his head, an obvious symbolic gesture in which Schwarzenegger promised to clean up the political mess left by his predecessor, Gray Davis. See... Schwarzenegger Pulls a Cheney On CA Energy Plan [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0405/S00003.htm

The Real Deal: CACI And The Business Of Torture

- On day last year, while sitting through one of my depositions with the Department of Justice (DOJ), I was impressed by the extraordinary number of documents managed by the litigation support contractor. See... Mapping The Real Deal: CACI Who? [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0405/S00014.htm

Kidd Millenium Cartoon: War Books

- Cartoon by kiddmillennium.com… See... Kidd Millennium Cartoon: Book 'Em Danno! [1] .

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0405/S00015.htm

Bush Fails To Respond To D.C. Anti-Abortion Mass Protest

- On Sunday, April 25, one million people-perhaps the largest single demonstration in the history of this country-marched in Washington D.C. to protest attacks on women's reproductive rights. See... Where Was Bush When 1 Million Women Marched? [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0405/S00008.htm

Oh, Say Can You See A Machiavellian Dominion

- As American troops moved from Baghdad to bases near the Najaf home to the Shrine of Ali, one of the most sacred pilgrimage sites for Shiite Muslims, Iraq's US - selected Governing Council approved a new flag for the country. See... US-Israeli Machiavellian Dominion In Arab World [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0405/S00007.htm

UQ Wire: Bush Appears Before The 911 Commission

- Last Thursday, George W. Bush emerged from his ''chat'' with the 9/11 Commission and responded to questions in a 4 minute press conference. See... UQ Wire: 9/11 Commission Accomplished [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0405/S00002.htm

Dog Skin Report: Things That Suck

- Let me ease gently into this. John Kerry sucks. Absolutely sucks. Here is a man who volunteered to fight in Vietnam and was a decorated combat veteran and ends up spending days having to explain the difference between a ribbon and a medal. See... DogSkinReport: John Kerry, You Suck [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0404/S00270.htm

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0405/S00012.htm
May Day In The Capital (Images & Audio)

Green Party Spots A Way Around A By-Election

- The Green Party is calling on the Labour Government to repeal the Electoral Integrity Act and is offering its nine votes to do it under urgency before May 17th, thereby saving the country the cost of an expensive and unnecessary by-election. See... No by-election if party hopping law repealed [1] MORE BYELECTION NEWS: - United Future - United Future abstains from Te Tai Hauauru [2] - ACT (Franks) - Turia Gives Maori 'Hobson's Choice' [3] - ACT (Prebble) - Principled MP Shipwrecks Unprincipled Government [4]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00011.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00022.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00003.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0404/S00511.htm

Talking Nats – National Party Conference

- - Simon Power - Power - Defence Address National Party Conference [1] - Judith Kirk - Kirk Speech to Central North Island Conference [2] - Don Brash - Brash - What Sort of Nation Do We Want? [3] - Lockwood Smith - Lockwood Smith Speech - The Power of Trade [4]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00008.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00007.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00006.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00004.htm

Muriel Newman Joins The ACT Leadership Race

- Speech to ACT Whangarei Electorate Committee, Monday May 3, 2004. "I am announcing today that I am standing as a candidate in the primary for the leadership of ACT New Zealand. See... Newman: ACT's Welfare Reform Candidate [1] and Newman To Stand On Welfare Platform [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00020.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00018.htm

Politics According To Prebble – ACT's Letter

- ACT, as the party of fresh ideas, needs a fresh face. Don Brash has raised issues that ACT has solutions for. The only question is which of ACT's MPs should be the new leader See... The Letter Monday 3 May 2004 [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00019.htm

Deportation Tribunal's Life Expectancy Lowered

- New Zealand First says the days of the Deportation Review Tribunal are numbered as a result of the absurd decisions it consistently makes in favour of migrant offenders. See... Deportation Tribunal’s Days Numbered Says Jones [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00021.htm

Peter Dunne Says Wellington Is Getting Shafted

- Today’s comments on the Wellington region’s inadequate transport infrastructure by two Labour Cabinet Ministers is further evidence that the Labour Party is interested solely in the votes of Aucklanders and couldn’t care less about the people of the lower North Island, according to United Future leader and Ohariu-Belmont MP, Peter Dunne. See... Dunne: Why is Labour shafting Wellington? [1] MORE: - Greens - Greens release Transfund letter & bypass analysis [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00017.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00009.htm

Brian Donnelly Seeks Student Loan Scheme Reform

- New Zealand First education spokesperson Brian Donnelly is calling for the Government to urgently change the student loan scheme because it is sentencing young people to a lifetime of debt. See... Students Caught In Debt Trap [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00016.htm

Maria Luisa Justice Denied – Peter Brown

- “Justice for the family of the five men who died on the Maria Luisa when the Sydney Express collided into her seems to be non-existent,” said New Zealand First deputy leader, Peter Brown. See... Maria Luisa: Justice Denied – Family Despondent [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00015.htm

Goff Congratulates EU On Weight Gain

- Goff welcomes enlargement of EU Foreign Minister Phil Goff has welcomed the historic expansion of the European Union to 25 nations following the accession of 10 countries today (midnight Friday in Europe). See... Goff welcomes enlargement of EU [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00014.htm

Police Working The Beat For Longer

- Turnover among sworn police staff continues to show a pleasing trend downwards, Police Minister George Hawkins says. See... Police attrition rate continues to trend downwards [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0405/S00013.htm

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.

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