Scoop: Top Scoops + Just Politics

Tuesday, 10 January 2006, 12:16 am
Article: Alastair Thompson

TODAY’S TOP SCOOPS:
Election 2005: Millions Spent Attacking Govt Spending
YOU SAID IT! Dr Brash's Anti Racism Message Gets Short Shrift From A Reader
Whales: Botched Japanese Harpooning Leads To High Seas Horror -
Entertainment: Boh Runga Set To Serenade The Chimps -
Politics: Brownlee Wants Green Staff To Have A Long Holiday -
MORE HEADLINES:
Japanese Whalers Ram Greenpeace ship
Narconews.com Is Up Close On The Zapatistas' "Other Campaign"
MORE INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:

SCOOP COLUMNS:
Pacific Ecologist: Putting Global Warming In Perspective
Maher Arar – The Story Of A Canadian Kidnapped And Tortured By The US
Scoop Full Coverage: The NSA Domestic Spying Scandal
MUCH MORE COMMENTARY....
NEW ZEALAND & GLOBAL:
IRAQ:
ISRAEL & OCCUPIED PALESTINE:
UNITED STATES:
NEPAL:

OTHER NEWS (Just Politics):
Kiwi Campers Get A DOC Hand Up
Employment: Bah Humbug! Xmas Themed Insults Flow In Employment Scrap -
MORE POLITICAL HEADLINES:
New Year 2006's Honourable Kiwis Honoured

It is annual Netguide.co.nz New Zealand Internet Awards time again & this time the awards are to be judged by public vote. Scoop would respectfully ask its readers to go to the following URL…
http://www.netguide.co.nz/webawards/index2.htm
…and seriously consider voting for Scoop.co.nz in one or all of the following categories.

- BEST MEDIA SITE - - BEST NEW SITE OR RELAUNCH - - SITE OF THE YEAR - - BEST HIGH-SPEED INTERNET SITE - - BEST HOME PAGE -

…. The Scoop Team

Election 2005: Millions Spent Attacking Govt Spending

[1] In the battle for the hearts and minds of the New Zealand voter in 2005 National spent in excess of two million dollars. According to figures that have just become available at the Electoral Commission National spent $2,128,028 (incl GST) on election advertising for the 2005 election campaign. National's biggest single expense by far in the 2005 campaign was Billboard rental, which according to their election expense return, exceeded $600,000. See... National Pushes Limits Of Campaign Spending [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00049.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00049.htm

YOU SAID IT! Dr Brash's Anti Racism Message Gets Short Shrift From A Reader

- "You might recall during the electoral campaign in which you described New Zealander's as either 'iwi' or 'kiwi'. Never mind the pain or hurt you caused many people, most of all we citizens of New Zealand who are of Maori descent. Somehow in your limited thinking you promoted the view that because we 'citizens' were less than being 'mainstream' or even a New Zealander, didn't justify us being embraced or referred to as being 'Kiwis'." See... Scoop Feedback: Christmas Leftovers [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00053.htm

Whales: Botched Japanese Harpooning Leads To High Seas Horror -

A Greenpeace activist recounts the horror of a botched harpooning. While Greenpeace are intent on disrupting whaling, once an animal is hit by the explosive harpoon, they want the same thing as the whalers do - the end of the animals life. If the whale is lucky this will come in seconds or minutes. For the whale harpooned by the Yushin Maru the agony took nearly half an hour. See... Mercy Shot [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00020.htm

Entertainment: Boh Runga Set To Serenade The Chimps -

Award-winning singer-songwriter Boh Runga, with special guest Nathan King, get the Coca-Cola ZooMusic series off to a stellar start on Saturday 21 January, 6pm-9pm. Both these Kiwi talents, who have songs featured in APRA's 'Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time', will be performing material from their respective upcoming new albums. See... Boh Runga brings stellar sounds to Auckland Zoo [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0601/S00020.htm

Politics: Brownlee Wants Green Staff To Have A Long Holiday -

National Party Deputy Leader Gerry Brownlee says the taxpayer-funded Ministerial advisors to the Greens should be stood down while the Auditor- General investigates whether their appointments are legal. The Auditor-General has confirmed an investigation into the legality of attaching two Ministerial advisors to the Greens. The funding comes from the same pool used by legitimate Ministers of the Crown. See... Staff for Greens should be stood down [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00013.htm

MORE HEADLINES:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00016.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0601/S00011.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0601/S00008.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED0601/S00003.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0601/S00029.htm

Japanese Whalers Ram Greenpeace ship

- Greenpeace reports no whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary today, following a dangerous collision caused by a whaling ship. At 7am this morning [11am AEST] the Greenpeace ship MY Arctic Sunrise was rammed by the Nisshin Maru, the factory ship of the Fisheries Agency of Japan whaling fleet. Speaking from onboard the Arctic Sunrise, the Greenpeace expedition leader Shane Rattenbury said: "There is no way to describe this as anything but a deliberate ramming which placed the safety of our ship and the lives of its crew in severe danger." See... Japanese Whalers ram Greenpeace ship [1] ALSO:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00008.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00020.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00007.htm

Narconews.com Is Up Close On The Zapatistas' "Other Campaign"

- Two more reports on the opening day of the Zapatistas' "Other Campaign" across Mexico are published in today's Narco News Bulletin. First, Julie Webb-Pullman writes about what it felt like to be among the crowd January 1 in San Crisóbal de las Casas, Mexico: See... Mexico - The Freedom Fighters of Tomorrow [1] MORE NEWS FROM THE "OTHER CAMPAIGN":

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00030.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00051.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00028.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00003.htm

MORE INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00018.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00017.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00009.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00016.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00019.htm

Pacific Ecologist: Putting Global Warming In Perspective

- Victoria University's PETER BARRETT compares Global warming with climate fluctuations in the geological past. Greenhouse gas emission rates from human activity have increased in the last few decades, and CO2 levels will soon be higher than at any time in the past 25 million years. If not reduced soon, temperatures will return our climate to where it was before humans existed and global sea level was 70m higher. Much greater effort is needed to reduce CO2 levels, to lessen stresses on global ecosystems and avoid the collapse of civilisation as we know it by the end of this century. See... What 3 Degrees of Global Warming Really Means [1] & Pacific Ecologist issue 11 summer 2005/2006 [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00001.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00308.htm

Maher Arar – The Story Of A Canadian Kidnapped And Tortured By The US

- September 26, 2002 to October 5, 2003 The following is a chronology of events as told by Maher Arar, beginning with his arrival at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York on September 26, 2002, and ending with his October 5, 2003 release from Syrian prison... See... The Story of Maher Arar: Unfolding Police State [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00311.htm

Scoop Full Coverage: The NSA Domestic Spying Scandal

- A clandestine National Security Agency spy program code-named Echelon was likely responsible for tapping into the emails, telephone calls and facsimiles of thousands of average American citizens over the past four years in its effort to identify people suspected of communicating with al-Qaeda terrorists, according to half-a-dozen current and former intelligence officials from the NSA and FBI. See... Jason Leopold: The NSA Spy Engine - Echelon [1] MORE ON THE NSA SPYING SCANDAL:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00047.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00039.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00038.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00011.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00007.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00295.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00265.htm
[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00287.htm
[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00277.htm
[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00274.htm
[11] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00268.htm

NEW ZEALAND & GLOBAL:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00027.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00013.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00012.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00310.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00046.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00045.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00014.htm
[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00044.htm
[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00052.htm
[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00024.htm

IRAQ:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00048.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00042.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00025.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00021.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00009.htm

ISRAEL & OCCUPIED PALESTINE:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00041.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00031.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00029.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00026.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00018.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00004.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00002.htm

UNITED STATES:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00023.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00040.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00034.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00043.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00008.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00006.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00005.htm

NEPAL:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00037.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00036.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00022.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00010.htm

Kiwi Campers Get A DOC Hand Up

- The Department of Conservation is to review the availability of family-friendly camping opportunities for New Zealanders, particularly in coastal areas, Conservation Minister Chris Carter announced today. See... Carter orders review of camping opportunities [1] MORE:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00010.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00018.htm

Employment: Bah Humbug! Xmas Themed Insults Flow In Employment Scrap -

Wayne Mapp and the National Party are the real Christmas Grinchs if they expect people to work on public holidays for no extra money, says the country’s largest union. Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union national secretary Andrew Little said that Dr Mapp’s claim that the “Grinch-like Holidays Act” had put a dampener on Christmas because one in three eateries had closed in order to avoid paying penal rates to staff was poppycock. See... Bah humbug to you too, Dr Mapp [1] ALSO:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0601/S00010.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00004.htm

MORE POLITICAL HEADLINES:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00017.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00016.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00015.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00011.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00009.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00008.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00007.htm
[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00006.htm
[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00005.htm
[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00004.htm
[11] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00003.htm
[12] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00002.htm
[13] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00001.htm

New Year 2006's Honourable Kiwis Honoured

– The annual list of New Zealanders deserving of letters after their name has been released by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. See… THE NEW YEAR HONOURS 2006 [1] RELATED:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0512/S00379.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0512/S00196.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED0512/S00102.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.

Contact Alastair Thompson

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