Latest Top Scoops Headlines
Elitism Is Not The Answer To Populism: On ‘Anti-Vaxxers’ And Mistrust In Government
Saturday, 27 November 2021, 6:21 am | Ramzy Baroud
While “anti-vaxxers” continue to clash with police in various European cities, a whole media discourse has been formulated around the political leanings of these angry crowds, describing them in matter-of-fact terms as conspiracy theorists, populists ... More >>
Off To The Solomon Islands: Australia’s Civilizers Get Busy
Friday, 26 November 2021, 3:21 pm | Binoy Kampmark
A small riot. Unrest. Risk of collapse. All given a ballooning effect and inflated for policy makers across the ocean. Before much time elapses, Australian security forces are skirting off to restore order in their vast watery neighbourhood. It is ... More >>
Judith Collins removed as National Party leader
Friday, 26 November 2021, 1:06 pm | RNZ
Dr Shane Reti is interim leader of the National Party after Judith Collins lost a no-confidence vote. More >>
On National’s Less Than Stellar Choices
Friday, 26 November 2021, 11:59 am | Gordon Campbell
Amid all the jostling in the National caucus ranks, spare a thought for Andrew Bayly. Who? Well might you ask. Plucked from obscurity by Judith Collin, elevated from number 18 to number 3 in the caucus rankings and given the Finance portfolio - a role in ... More >>
On National’s Less Than Stellar Choices
Friday, 26 November 2021, 11:57 am | Gordon Campbell
Amid all the jostling in the National caucus ranks, spare a thought for Andrew Bayly. Who? Well might you ask. Plucked from obscurity by Judith Collin, elevated from number 18 to number 3 in the caucus rankings and given the Finance portfolio - a role in ... More >>
The Indian Farmers Defend The Rights Of Farmers Everywhere
Thursday, 25 November 2021, 3:34 pm | Globetrotter
By Vijay Prashad / Globetrotter On November 19, 2021, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said , “[W]e have decided to repeal all three agricultural laws.” The prime minister was referring to the three agriculture laws that were rushed through the ... More >>
Judith Collins out, Reti to serve as interim leader
Thursday, 25 November 2021, 12:52 pm | RNZ
National's new interim leader Dr Shane Reti is about to hold a press conference after a backlash against Judith Collins' sudden demotion of Simon Bridges saw her step down. Watch the media conference here. More >>
The Taiwan Foreign Policy Fetish
Thursday, 25 November 2021, 12:43 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Australian foreign policy towards Taiwan, as things stand, is a distant fantasy in floating mist. There is little to connect them, but Australia’s political classes have a habit of fabricating relations with those it cares little for, nor understands, ... More >>
Bulgaria, The Balkans, And Distrust
Thursday, 25 November 2021, 12:17 pm | Keith Rankin
Yesterday morning I awoke to this story about a bus crash in Bulgaria: Dozens killed in Bulgaria bus fire, including children . I thought immediately about how unusual it is in New Zealand to hear a story about Bulgaria. In the context that Bulgaria ... More >>
On The Demotion Of Simon Bridges
Thursday, 25 November 2021, 10:02 am | Gordon Campbell
So Simon Bridges has been bounced from the front bench and stripped of his shadow portfolio responsibilities for the crudely “inappropriate” comments that he allegedly made to a female colleague, Jacqui Dean – and personally apologised for – about ... More >>
Simon Bridges on being demoted: 'What we saw yesterday was truly desperate stuff from Judith Collins'
Thursday, 25 November 2021, 9:14 am | RNZ
After his shock demotion, Bridges says Collins will go to any length to hold on to her leadership of the National Party. More >>
We Do Exist: Why The Palestinian Voice Should Take Center Stage
Thursday, 25 November 2021, 7:37 am | Ramzy Baroud
At a recent New York event, the President of the Foreign Press Association Ian Williams declared, before an approving audience, that it is time “to reclaim the narrative on Palestine”. This phrase - ‘reclaiming the narrative’ - is relatively new ... More >>
Indian BSF Must Stop Killings Along The Bangladesh Border
Thursday, 25 November 2021, 6:44 am | Hafizur Talukdar
‘Bangladeshis shot dead by BSF near Lalmonirhat border: Families still waiting for bodies’ This was the headline of Bangladesh’s leading daily ‘Daily Star’ on September 26, 2021. BSF shoots Bangladeshi youth dead along Satkhira border (July ... More >>
Vietnam Could Benefit From Resolving The Rohingya Crisis Between Bangladesh And Myanmar
Wednesday, 24 November 2021, 1:52 pm | Pathik Hasan
Myanmar is one of Bangladesh’s closest neighbors with historic connectivity going back centuries. The 271 km long Bangladesh-Myanmar border is very important for Bangladesh due to its strategic position, although at present the area is militarized due to ... More >>
On The Images Of Bodies In Pike River Mine
Wednesday, 24 November 2021, 11:15 am | Socialist Equality Group
New Zealand police announce they have photographed bodies in Pike River mine More >>
Are New Zealand’s Universities Doing Enough To Define The Limits Of Academic Freedom?
Wednesday, 24 November 2021, 9:46 am | The Conversation
The news last week that University of Auckland public health researcher Simon Thornley was retracting a co-authored paper about supposed vaccination risks during pregnancy raised deeper questions about the limits of academic freedom. More >>
Letter From The Scoop Editor #1 - Back To The Frontline: Scoop’s Alastair Thompson Returns As Editor Of Scoop.co.nz
Wednesday, 24 November 2021, 9:42 am | Alastair Thompson
A view of St Sauveur Basillica in Dinan, near where I am currently living in Cotes d’Amor, Bretagne France. The original Church was commissioned in 1060 by a crusader knight, shortly before William the Conqueror invaded the Britain. This column has ... More >>
Who's The Thief?
Tuesday, 23 November 2021, 2:31 pm | Keith Rankin
Cartoon Strip 1 Imagine a two-panel cartoon strip. Each panel has an apple tree and two people. In the first panel, the tree has eight apples, all low-hanging. In the second panel, the apples have all been picked. One person (A) has one apple in ... More >>
Totalitarian Cyber-Creep: Mark Zuckerberg In The Metaverse
Tuesday, 23 November 2021, 1:12 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Never leave matters of maturity to the Peter Panners of Silicon Valley. At their most benign, they are easily dismissed as potty and keyboard mad. At their worst, their fantasies assume the noxious, demonic forms that reduce all users of their ... More >>
On Farmers Playing The Victim, Plus Chile’s Right Turn
Tuesday, 23 November 2021, 11:06 am | Gordon Campbell
Among the farming lobby groups, the good cop/bad cop routine has been working a treat. It suits Federated Farmers to keep daylight between itself and the Groundswell movement. Month in, year out the Federation continues to engage with the government ... More >>
The Deep Structure Of The Cold War And The EU
Tuesday, 23 November 2021, 10:06 am | World Beyond War
Strategy teacher Stefan Forss claims in the Helsinki newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet that Russia is preparing an invasion of Ukraine. More >>
What Would Have Worked Better Than Building Back Anything
Monday, 22 November 2021, 3:12 pm | David Swanson
The most well-known problem with lesser-evil, two-party, winner-take-all elections, at least in a system of legalized bribery and corporate-state media, is the absence of virtually any really good candidates. Naturally this results in (or is at least ... More >>
Conscientious Objection: A Right And A Duty
Monday, 22 November 2021, 10:44 am | David Swanson
I want to recommend a new film and a new book. The film is called The Boys Who Said NO! There’s more courage and moral integrity in this documentary than in any fictional blockbuster. With the wars now underway and threatened being as unjust as those 50 ... More >>
Raids, Arrests And Death Threats: Israel’s Strategy Of Silencing Human Rights Defenders
Monday, 22 November 2021, 8:42 am | Ramzy Baroud
On October 21, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced the issuance of a military order designating six prominent Palestinian human rights groups as ‘terrorist organizations’. Gantz claimed that they are secretly linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation ... More >>
Electric Car Delusions
Sunday, 21 November 2021, 3:43 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Fresh from attending COP26 in Glasgow, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was keen to impress the Australian public that he was willing to make good his word about the role technology would play in combating climate change. An important component of ... More >>
On The Politics Of Anger, Plus A Music Playlist
Friday, 19 November 2021, 1:19 pm | Gordon Campbell
Angry? Are you talkin’ to ME? Of late, the Code Red levels of resentment inspired by the government’s Covid policy almost make one hanker for the days when people could write best-selling books about New Zealanders being The Passionless People ... More >>
Don’t Blame Government Benefits For Inflation—Blame The Modern Economy
Friday, 19 November 2021, 9:23 am | Independent Media Institute
By Sonali Kolhatkar / Independent Media Institute Headlines are screaming that inflation is here to stay. Consumer prices have risen by an average of 6.2 percent in the past year, the sharpest increase since 1991. Although Americans are supposedly—in the ... More >>
Britain’s Two Job Politicians
Thursday, 18 November 2021, 3:54 pm | Binoy Kampmark
The role of the parliamentarian, historically, is one of service. The desire to hold two jobs, or more, suggests that such service is severely qualified. In the quotient of democracy and representation, the MP who is ready to tend to the affairs ... More >>
The Russia-China-Iran Alliance
Thursday, 18 November 2021, 3:50 pm | Eric Zuesse
NATO, the U.S. Government, and all other “neoconservatives” (adherents to Cecil Rhodes’s 1877 plan for a global U.S. empire that would be run, behind the scenes, by the UK’s aristocracy ) have been treating Russia, China, and Iran, as being ... More >>
'Influenza' Pandemics In New Zealand's Past
Thursday, 18 November 2021, 2:24 pm | Keith Rankin
On Tuesday (16 Nov) I was concerned to hear this story on RNZ's Checkpoint ( National distances itself from ex-MP after video with discredited academic ). My concern here is not particularly with the "discredited academic", although no academic ... More >>
Why Our Climate Isn’t Jumping For Joy After COP26
Thursday, 18 November 2021, 10:56 am | Globetrotter
Two major gains took place at the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP) in Glasgow, Scotland, which concluded on November 13: the first was that there would be another COP in 2022 in Egypt, and the second was that the world leaders expressed their aspiration ... More >>
COP26: Climate Pledges Don’t Match Up With Policies—or Consumer Behavior
Thursday, 18 November 2021, 10:19 am | Independent Media Institute
By Reynard Loki / Independent Media Institute After more than two weeks of negotiations during the United Nations COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, diplomats from almost 200 nations finally agreed on two major points: ramp up the fight against ... More >>
From Pegasus To Blue Wolf: How Israel’s ‘Security’ Experiment In Palestine Became Global
Thursday, 18 November 2021, 7:41 am | Ramzy Baroud
The revelation, a few years ago, that the US National Security Agency (NSA) has been conducting mass surveillance on millions of Americans has reignited the conversation on governments' misconduct and their violation of human rights and privacy laws. ... More >>
COP26 - Full Of Notable Speeches But Short On Outcomes
Wednesday, 17 November 2021, 11:58 am | Syed Atiq ul Hassan
By Syed Atiq ul Hassan, Sydney, Australia Carbon dioxide (CO2), generally known as a greenhouse gas, is important for life on earth but the excessive emission of carbon into the atmosphere leads to global warming, which in turn has far-reaching ... More >>
Manufactured Cruelties: Belarus, Poland And The Refugee Crisis
Tuesday, 16 November 2021, 7:19 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Refugee crises are often manufactured by governments. They can be done at the source: war, famine, rapacious institutions. They can also be manufactured by the refusal of governments to accept those seeking asylum, sanctuary and refuge. The latter is ... More >>
On The Politics Of Vaccine Toughlove
Tuesday, 16 November 2021, 10:24 am | Gordon Campbell
Vaccine mandates begin to kick in today for education and healthcare workers. All of them will need to have taken a first dose step towards full vaccination, largely because their work routinely brings them in contact with either patients or with ... More >>
On The Politics Of Vaccine Toughlove
Tuesday, 16 November 2021, 10:22 am | Gordon Campbell
Vaccine mandates begin to kick in today for education and healthcare workers. All of them will need to have taken a first dose step towards full vaccination, largely because their work routinely brings them in contact with either patients or with ... More >>
Gasbagging In Glasgow: COP26 And Phasing Down Coal
Monday, 15 November 2021, 3:08 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Words can provide sharp traps, fettering language and caging definitions. They can also speak to freedom of action and permissiveness. At COP26, that permissiveness was all the more present in the haggling ahead of what would become the Glasgow Climate ... More >>
Cambodia Can Benefit From Following ‘Bangladesh’s Thriving Through Mega Projects’ Model
Monday, 15 November 2021, 2:10 pm | Pathik Hasan
There are many ongoing developmental projects in Cambodia. The council for The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) has been declaring and approving these developmental projects. These projects can create jobs amongst locales. Cambodia could more benefit ... More >>
Why Is The U.S. Fueling The November 15 Cuba Protests?
Monday, 15 November 2021, 2:06 pm | Globetrotter
By Rosa Miriam Elizalde / Globetrotter On September 20, letters began to arrive at eight Cuban municipal or provincial government headquarters announcing the holding of “peaceful” marches on November 15 by a group called Archipiélago . The motivation ... More >>
Download 2.0 - Commerce Commission wants marketing code, bet
Monday, 15 November 2021, 10:39 am | Digitl
[caption id="attachment_50779" align="alignnone" width="768"] One last chance to show a photo of New Zealand's Government Communications Security Bureau facility in Waihopai. Photo from Schultz. [/caption] Commerce Commission ... More >>
Technics AZ60 review: Premium Noise cancelling earbuds
Monday, 15 November 2021, 10:34 am | Digitl
While Technics' AZ60 are not special enough to disrupt the crowded wireless earbud market, they offer a solid premium alternative at a decent price. More >>
When the internet disappears
Monday, 15 November 2021, 10:30 am | Digitl
Kate Lindsay writes about The internet that disappears. at Embedded. She says all that talk about the internet being forever is wrong. More >>
UK Govt. Provides Off The Record Briefing On Confidential COP26 Negotiations To UK Media
Saturday, 13 November 2021, 2:07 pm | Alastair Thompson
By Alastair Thompson, Scoop.co.nz Editor in Glasgow. 12 November At 9pm this evening, after a very frank and open discussion by the parties to COP in plenary session, the UK Govt provided an off-the-record background briefing for UK media on the status ... More >>
Ning-Nong Diplomacy, China And Paul Keating
Saturday, 13 November 2021, 7:03 am | Binoy Kampmark
Former Australian prime ministers tend to be less conspicuous in public life than their counterparts in other countries. Occasionally, they make an appearance at political functions and events to remind us that they are still alive, their estate still breathing, ... More >>
Heroic Poles Of The Time Of War
Friday, 12 November 2021, 3:38 pm | Mordecai Paldiel
Polish diplomats made a daring attempt to save thousands of Jews. As a result, at least several hundred people were saved from death, writes Mordecai PALDIEL After the fall of Poland at the start of World War II, some Polish diplomatic offices in ... More >>
Poland’s Success
Friday, 12 November 2021, 3:36 pm | Harold James
The collapse of Soviet communism was a process that began in Poland, with the Solidarnosc movement eventually overcoming an oppressive and inhumane order. A powerful motivation in that drive was the desire to reconnect with international institutions and with ... More >>
Lithuanian And Polish Defence Of EU’s Eastern Border
Friday, 12 November 2021, 3:34 pm | Linas Linkevicius
Flying in thousands of migrants from the Middle East to Minsk and trying to smuggle them from Belarus across EU’s eastern border is nothing more than yet another hybrid operation orchestrated by Russia, this time to put European solidarity to the test. ... More >>
Covid19: Vaccine Hesitancy And Distrust, By Governments
Friday, 12 November 2021, 12:12 pm | Keith Rankin
While governments are now mandating many people to take Covid19 vaccines, government hesitancy towards vaccines and vaccination – much of it seemingly due to overprioritisation of perceived 'cost' issues – remains a problem of significant consequence. The ... More >>
Belkin Soundform Freeform wireless earbuds revew
Thursday, 11 November 2021, 5:11 pm | Digitl
Belkin wants a slice of the earbud action. The company’s Soundform Freedom earbuds are a respectable alternative to Apple’s AirPods . More >>
Download 2.0 – 29 10 21 - NZ comms sector left behind
Thursday, 11 November 2021, 5:02 pm | Digitl
Gartner's forecast for New Zealand's tech sector looks bright for everyone except communications services. NZ Comms sector left behind as IT spending surges Gartner’s latest forecast says spending on New Zealand information technology will grow 6.7 ... More >>
Download 2.0 – 05 11 21 - Hawaiki Nui to connect South Isla
Thursday, 11 November 2021, 5:00 pm | Digitl
Hawaiki has revealed plans for a new submarine cable linking Asia, Australia and the South Island to the US. Hawaiki plans Asia, US, South Island cable Auckland-based submarine cable operator Hawaiki says a new 22,000km cable linking South-East Asia, ... More >>
Apple AirPods 2021 review: Updated classic
Thursday, 11 November 2021, 4:56 pm | Digitl
It’s five years since Apple launched AirPods. They weren’t the first wireless earbuds, but by adding an easy-to-carry charging case, Apple turned an obscure niche product into another iconic design, another sales hit. More >>
A simple guide to the NZ My Vaccine Pass
Thursday, 11 November 2021, 4:54 pm | Digitl
The Ministry of Health has released the technical specifications of its Covid vaccine pass. The documents call it My Vaccine Pass . More >>
It's not possible to control a super intelligent AI
Thursday, 11 November 2021, 4:50 pm | Digitl
Science fiction writers have worried about the idea of artificial intelligence getting out of control for years. More >>
On Ethiopia’s Civil War
Thursday, 11 November 2021, 1:45 pm | Gordon Campbell
Stuff is still going on in the wider world, despite what happens here regarding Covid. Or in Ethiopia’s case, what happens there plus Covid. Belatedly, the wider world is coming to realise that Africa’s second most populous country is (a) facing More >>
Bill Gates Should Know Better: How The Israeli Occupation Ravages The Environment In Palestine
Thursday, 11 November 2021, 9:21 am | Ramzy Baroud
Those who are not familiar with how Israel, particularly the Israeli military occupation of Palestine, is actively and irreversibly damaging the environment might reach the erroneous conclusion that Tel Aviv is at the forefront of the global fight against ... More >>
A Very Scary Graph: Comparing Delta Variant In New Zealand And New South Wales
Wednesday, 10 November 2021, 7:40 pm | Ian Powell
According to Wikipedia data science is an inter-disciplinary field that uses scientific methods, processes, algorithms and systems to extract knowledge and insights from noisy, structured and unstructured data, and apply knowledge and actionable insights ... More >>
Feel Like NPR Is Spewing Corrupt Propaganda? Here’s Why.
Wednesday, 10 November 2021, 9:20 am | David Swanson
NPR posted a story called “ Feel like you don’t fit in either political party? Here’s why .” Of course I knew why. Neither party supports anything remotely close to my views on government budgets, climate, environment, taxation, militarism, ... More >>
New Zealand Emergency Doctor Warns Of “preventable Catastrophe” From COVID-19
Wednesday, 10 November 2021, 8:33 am | Socialist Equality Group
New Zealand’s outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant of COVID-19, which began in August, has rapidly expanded since the government began easing lockdown restrictions in Auckland in late September. Active cases have risen from a low point ... More >>
