Latest Top Scoops Headlines
Janus-Faced on Climate Change: Microsoft’s Carbon Vision
Saturday, 18 January 2020, 1:49 pm | Binoy Kampmark
“This is a bold bet – a moonshot – for Microsoft.” So claimed Brad Smith, Microsoft President, in a Thursday announcement painting a picture of a company that intends to be carbon negative by 2030. “And,” Smith continued, “it will need ... More >>
Chilling The Warm Fuzzies About The US/China Trade Deal
Friday, 17 January 2020, 12:29 pm | Gordon Campbell
Hold the champagne, folks. This week’s China/US deal is more about a change in tone between the world’s two biggest economies – thank goodness they’re not slapping more tariffs on each other! - than a landmark change in substance. The high ... More >>
Russian government resignation: what's just happened?
Friday, 17 January 2020, 8:45 am | The Conversation
Russian government resignation: what's just happened and what's in store for Putin beyond 2024? More >>
Bushfire Crisis: Climate Politics Turning Point Aus Needs?
Thursday, 16 January 2020, 10:38 am | The Conversation
The bushfire crisis is big enough to change the government’s emissions policy, but it swill need more. Shutterstock More >>
On The Excellent School Climate Change Resources
Wednesday, 15 January 2020, 10:10 am | Gordon Campbell
Inevitably, children hear a lot about climate change - on the news, on the street, from their friends – and a lot of that news is pretty scary, even for adults. Until very recently, one place where children haven’t heard much about climate change ... More >>
Establishment Pundits Go Nuts Over New Hacking Conspiracy
Tuesday, 14 January 2020, 6:11 pm | Caitlin Johnstone
The New York Times reports that GRU operatives launched a successful "phishing attack" on the Ukrainian gas company at the heart of scandalous allegations about Joe Biden, and establishment pundits are falling all over themselves to tweet ... More >>
“Iran Must Begin Acting Like A Normal Nation,” Says Trump
Tuesday, 14 January 2020, 6:02 pm | Caitlin Johnstone
The government which runs a globe-spanning empire led by a reality TV host keeps talking about the lack of normality in the nation of Iran. More >>
Gordon Campbell on the Harry/Meghan affair, and Iran
Monday, 13 January 2020, 12:16 pm | Gordon Campbell
Those “Meghzit” headlines seem apt, given how closely Britain’s January 31 exit from the European Union resembles the imminent departure from the Royal Family’s top team of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. In both cases, there will be a quest ... More >>
NZ and the Doughnut Economy
Monday, 13 January 2020, 12:09 pm | Hugh Steadman
In the lead up to Christmas I have found myself with time to pull together a series of separate trains of thought. Over the same period that we have had Boris Johnson’s election victory (and more significantly, the UK Labour Party’s rout) I have been ... More >>
Vague Imminence: US policy on Pre-emptive Force
Monday, 13 January 2020, 11:49 am | Binoy Kampmark
International relations is typified by its vagueness of definition and its shallowness of justification. Be it protecting citizens of a state in another, launching a pre-emptive strike to prevent what another state might do, or simply understanding the application ... More >>
So The US Is Invading Iraq Again
Monday, 13 January 2020, 11:37 am | Caitlin Johnstone
It won't be as exciting as last time. There will be no "shock and awe" invasion tactics this time. The invaders won't even have to enter the country, because they're already there. It will be a very boring, underwhelming sequel that leaves ... More >>
Incendiary Extinctions: Australian Fires
Saturday, 11 January 2020, 10:53 am | Binoy Kampmark
Cocooned as it is from the world of science scepticism, the handling of the bush fire catastrophe unfolding in Australia is going to one of the more notable (non)achievements of the Morrison government. They were warned; they were chided; they were prodded. ... More >>
Full-Scale War Avoided, Trump Right Back To Warmongering
Friday, 10 January 2020, 2:21 pm | Caitlin Johnstone
The United States and Iran entered into a direct military exchange for the first time ever with the drone assassination of General Qassem Soleimani last week and a retaliatory strike from Iran via surface-to-surface missiles upon two US military ... More >>
Human Extinction Now Imminent and Inevitable?
Thursday, 9 January 2020, 6:42 pm | Robert J. Burrowes
There is a significant body of evidence that human extinction is now imminent; that is, it will occur within the next few years and possibly this year: 2020. There is also a significant body of evidence that human extinction is now inevitable; that ... More >>
On the Iran aftermath
Thursday, 9 January 2020, 11:33 am | Gordon Campbell
So, evidently, you can get away with murder. It looks as though a further escalation in the ongoing war between Iran and the US has been avoided – mainly thanks to Iran NOT responding in kind to the recklessly unhinged behaviour by the United States. ... More >>
World Leaders Call on US To Resume Diplomacy With Iran
Thursday, 9 January 2020, 10:05 am | Julia Conley
'Stop Escalation': World Leaders Call on Trump to End Warmongering and Resume Diplomacy With Iran More >>
Please leave some 3.5GHz spectrum for Wisps
Wednesday, 8 January 2020, 7:39 pm | Digitl
Communications Minister Kris Faafoi says the government will offer spare 3.5GHz spectrum to mobile networks and Māori by the middle of next year. He should put some aside for the Wisps or wireless internet service providers. More >>
We’ve let our tech define us. Now it’s out of control
Wednesday, 8 January 2020, 7:36 pm | Digitl
At the Guardian, Douglas Rushkoff says our technology is now an entire environment. We live there. We've spent the decade letting our tech define us. It's out of control . More >>
ChromeOS: Google’s stumbling surveillance capitalism ecosyst
Wednesday, 8 January 2020, 7:28 pm | Digitl
"Anyone saying that Android apps on ChromeOS are a good experience is delusional." In Chrome OS has stalled out , Dave Ruddock says Google's Chrome OS has failed to live up to its potential. Ruddock is a Chrome user who says he does 95 percent ... More >>
iPhone 11: It’s hard taking bad pictures
Wednesday, 8 January 2020, 5:58 pm | Digitl
Apple's iPhone 11 is all about the camera. This isn't the first time I've written about a phone and said much the same thing. So let's put it another way: Apple's iPhone 11 is even more about the camera. You can't miss the cameras on Apple's iPhone ... More >>
Australian science could bring cheaper, greener batteries
Wednesday, 8 January 2020, 5:48 pm | Digitl
Lithium-sulfur batteries store considerably more energy than their lithium-ion cousins — in theory as much as six times the energy for a given weight. What's more, they can be made from cheap materials that are readily available around the world. Source: ... More >>
Iran Launches Rocket Attack on US Airbase in Iraq
Wednesday, 8 January 2020, 2:33 pm | Jake Johnson
"Donald Trump's war with Iran has escalated to the next level. Iran should immediately stop these attacks, but make no mistake, the war beginning to unfold is because Donald Trump chose war over diplomacy." More >>
UN Rapporteur Demands Probe of Soleimani Assassination
Wednesday, 8 January 2020, 9:36 am | Jake Johnson
Agnes Callamard, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, speaks at a press conference in Brussels on December 3, 2019. (Photo: Aris Oikonomou/AFP via Getty Images) More >>
To the Editor: Stranded in Singapore due to NZ visa delays
Tuesday, 7 January 2020, 2:08 pm | The Scoop Team
An email to the editor from Jéan van Wyngaardt a would-be tourist to NZ stranded in Singapore due to confusion over NZ entry requirements More >>
Remote island could have inspired Peter Pan’s Neverland
Tuesday, 7 January 2020, 12:21 pm | Keith Lyons
A tiny tropical island in the Indian Ocean may have been the inspiration for Peter Pan's fictional Neverland, new evidence suggests. Researchers have found a number of striking similarities between the imaginary Neverland created by author J. M. ... More >>
US Empire’s Passion For Iraqi Democracy Magically Disappears
Tuesday, 7 January 2020, 10:41 am | Caitlin Johnstone
Following a vote by the Iraqi parliament to remove foreign troops from the nation, the US president threatened to destroy Iraq’s economy in retaliation and to refuse to leave unless an expensive military base worth billions of dollars was paid for. More >>
Fossil Fuel Companies Called On To Foot Australia Fires Bill
Tuesday, 7 January 2020, 10:18 am | Eoin Higgins
Climate advocates are calling on fossil fuel companies to pay for the damage caused by Australia's unprecedented bushfires rather than that country's taxpayers forking over an additional $2 billion for those affected by the crisis. More >>
Did the Iraq War Just End?
Tuesday, 7 January 2020, 9:52 am | Eoin Higgins
'Did the Iraq War Just End?': In Letter, US-Led Coalition Announces It Will Leave Iraq More >>
Scott Morrison: the bushfires demand a climate policy reboot
Tuesday, 7 January 2020, 9:15 am | The Conversation
Scott Morrison’s response to the bushfires has been roundly criticised as being too slow and out of touch. James Ross/AAP More >>
Disruptive Assassinations: Killing Qassem Soleimani
Monday, 6 January 2020, 5:15 pm | Binoy Kampmark
On the surface, it made not one iota of sense. The murder of a foreign military leader on his way from Baghdad airport, his diplomatic status assured by the local authorities, evidently deemed a target of irresistible richness. “General Soleimani was actively ... More >>
Ocasio-Cortez Joins Chorus Against War With Iran
Monday, 6 January 2020, 4:04 pm | Eoin Higgins
'Right Now Is the Moment to Decide If You Are Pro-Peace or Not': Ocasio-Cortez Joins Progressive Chorus Against War With Iran More >>
Soleimani & the Red Flag of Qom
Monday, 6 January 2020, 1:46 pm | Paul Martin
Lieutenant-General Soleimani; leader of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Qods Force, was, as Soleimani himself expected, assassinated by United States drone or helicopter rockets on the morning of Friday 3rd January 2020, while leaving Baghdad ... More >>
Gordon Campbell on the Aussie bush fires and Suleimani
Monday, 6 January 2020, 12:20 pm | Gordon Campbell
In popular culture, Australia is often portrayed as Western civilisation’s last unspoiled frontier, or as its final refuge from planetary disaster. In Nevil Shute’s best-selling 1950s novel On The Beach for instance, Melbourne served as the backdrop ... More >>
“We Do Not Seek War,” Says President Who Just Started A War
Monday, 6 January 2020, 10:38 am | Caitlin Johnstone
President Trump has been steadfastly assuring the world that the United States government does not wish to start the war it has already started by assassinating Iran's top general . More >>
Making sense of bushfire crisis means asking hard questions
Monday, 6 January 2020, 10:29 am | The Conversation
Making sense of Australia's bushfire crisis means asking hard questions – and listening to the answers More >>
Avoidable Nuclear War
Monday, 6 January 2020, 10:03 am | Hugh Steadman
Barring nuclear accidents, the struggle for the USA’s global dominance might come to an end without a nuclear war. More >>
US Assassination Of Iranian Military Official May Ignite War
Friday, 3 January 2020, 7:43 pm | Caitlin Johnstone
The US has admitted to assassinating Iran's most beloved military leader, General Qassem Soleimani, in a drone strike which seems very likely to ignite a full-scale war. Six others a re also reported killed , including Iraqi militia commander Abu ... More >>
Why Naomi Klein Is Right
Thursday, 2 January 2020, 12:32 pm | Tribune
In her latest book, Naomi Klein continues the cause of her career: arguing that a fundamentally new economic system is the only way to save society and the planet. More >>
Biodiversity and our brains: ecology and mental health
Thursday, 2 January 2020, 12:08 pm | The Conversation
Mental health in our cities is an increasingly urgent issue. Rates of disorders such as anxiety and depression are high . Urban design and planning can promote mental health by refocusing on spaces we use in our everyday lives in light of what research ... More >>
What NZ can learn from BC on Indigenous rights
Tuesday, 31 December 2019, 10:22 am | The Conversation
British Columbia’s law should see First Nations’ people included in public decisions and economic development, especially in relation to natural resources. from www.shutterstock.com More >>
Media’s Scandalous Silence On Latest WikiLeaks Drops
Tuesday, 31 December 2019, 10:15 am | Caitlin Johnstone
WikiLeaks has published yet another set of leaked internal documents from within the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) adding even more material to the mountain of evidence that we've been lied to about an alleged chemical ... More >>
New Year Honours: Sporting greats among knights and dames
Tuesday, 31 December 2019, 9:54 am | RNZ
Six new knights and dames, including Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua and economist Professor Dame Marilyn Waring, have been created in today's New Year's Honours List. More >>
Scapegoats for Jamal Khashoggi
Sunday, 29 December 2019, 2:19 pm | Binoy Kampmark
The hit squad that went about its deadly business with varying degrees of competence in Istanbul last year is set to be thinned. Five members of the group tasked with strangling and carving up the Saudi journalist and out-of-favour Jamal Khashoggi ... More >>
Christmas Revolutions: The Fall of Ceauşescu
Friday, 27 December 2019, 10:15 am | Binoy Kampmark
Christmas might be associated with nativities, but in the context of Romania’s Nicolae Ceauşescu and his wife, Elena, it came with a butchering. As a couple, they ruled Romania with heavy doses of megalomania (“A man like me comes along only ... More >>
Norton 360 Premium: Security overkill for Apple users
Monday, 23 December 2019, 3:10 pm | Digitl
This year's Norton 360 offers the most comprehensive set of cross-platform computer security tools. It is a safe choice. Yet it is expensive and is not necessarily the right choice for everyone. It's a poor option for Apple users who don't get all the ... More >>
NZ chief science advisor 5G site not up to the job
Monday, 23 December 2019, 2:58 pm | Digitl
Good on the Professor Juliet Gerrard, the Prime Minister's chief science advisor, for setting up a web site to address 5G fears . It counters much of the disinformation in circulation. Sadly the presentation is awful. It is so poor that the message doesn't ... More >>
Before you get excited about 5G fixed wireless broadband…
Monday, 23 December 2019, 2:53 pm | Digitl
Vodafone's 5G network is about to launch . Soon you'll see marketing for 5G fixed wireless broadband marketing. Spark will no doubt follow. Let's step back for a moment and take a reality check. There's a lot to be said for 5G. It's fast, energy efficient ... More >>
Apple Airpods Pro review
Monday, 23 December 2019, 2:34 pm | Digitl
They sound great and last for hours on a single charge. Apple AirPods Pro pack impressive noise cancelling into a tiny space. At NZ$450 the price is competitive if you are looking at more traditional noise cancelling headsets. Apple's original AirPods were ... More >>
Kudos Vodafone for launching 5G, now about the $10 surcharge
Monday, 23 December 2019, 2:30 pm | Digitl
Hats off the Vodafone for building New Zealand's first meaningful 5G network. 1 It's a big step for New Zealand telecommunications and an even bigger step for Vodafon e. A year ago it looked like the company would be starved of the resources needed ... More >>
Seven biggest tech moments of 2019
Monday, 23 December 2019, 2:26 pm | Digitl
Every year throws up a long list of news stories, product launches and events. This year was better than most. Here are six 2019 stories that resonated with me. It's a personal, unordered list and it's written from a New Zealand perspective. You may ... More >>
Please leave some 3.5GHz spectrum for Wisps
Monday, 23 December 2019, 2:17 pm | Digitl
Communications Minister Kris Faafoi says the government will offer spare 3.5GHz spectrum to mobile networks and Māori by the middle of next year. He should put some aside for the Wisps or wireless internet service providers. Carriers need extra ... More >>
The Politics of Trump’s Impeachment
Saturday, 21 December 2019, 10:47 am | Binoy Kampmark
Several features stand out in the impeachment quest against President Donald J. Trump. There is constitutional discourse as mythology and fetish. There is outrage that the executive office could have been used to actually investigate political opponents ... More >>
Middlemore’s National Burns Centre ‘short’ on equipment
Friday, 20 December 2019, 10:36 am | Nick Truebridge - Local Democracy Reporter
Middlemore’s National Burns Centre ‘short’ on equipment needed to treat Whakaari/White Island victims, fundraising chief says More >>
Santa’s Grotto the Size of 500 Heathrow Airports
Friday, 20 December 2019, 9:32 am | Online Money Advisor
As we fast approach Christmas, a new study has looked into how big Santa’s workshop would really need to be to house all of the gifts he delivers on Christmas Eve. More >>
The Radical Underuse of Impeachment
Friday, 20 December 2019, 9:18 am | David Swanson
Al Capone wasn’t prosecuted for tax evasion because it’s cool or smart or strategic to prosecute murderers for lesser crimes, but because proving murder in court was going to be more difficult. More >>
Climate change is hurting farmers
Friday, 20 December 2019, 9:10 am | The Conversation
Climate change is already affecting the amount of food that farmers can produce. For example, crop sowing in the UK was delayed in autumn 2019 and some emerging crops were damaged because of wet weather . Meanwhile in Australia, considerable drought ... More >>
Two Marlborough council candidates reported over expenses
Thursday, 19 December 2019, 5:28 pm | Chloe Ranford - Local Democracy Reporter
Two former council candidates could face police prosecution in Marlborough for not filing their election expenses declaration by the deadline. Electoral officer Dean Heiford confirmed that mayoral candidate Rick Ireland and Blenheim ward candidate ... More >>
Delays in opening new West Coast hospital ‘unacceptable’
Thursday, 19 December 2019, 5:24 pm | Lois Williams - Local Democracy Reporter
Fletcher Building's endless delays in finishing a new base hospital for the West Coast are unacceptable, according to the new DHB chairman Rick Barker. More >>
West Coast Regional Council reinstates prayer at meetings
Thursday, 19 December 2019, 5:12 pm | Lois Williams - Local Democracy Reporter
A bit of divine guidance never goes amiss — and the West Coast Regional Council will be now seeking it on a regular basis. More >>
Picton container restaurant plan sunk by council
Thursday, 19 December 2019, 4:57 pm | Chloe Ranford - Local Democracy Reporter
A couple looking to add "the wow factor" to Picton with a tiny wild game restaurant feel disappointed their idea was sunk by the council. More >>
