Scoop: Top Scoops + Just Politics

Monday, 24 November 2003, 4:10 pm
Article: Alastair Thompson

TODAY’S TOP SCOOPS
LEAD STORY:
Californian Bombshell Electoral System Changes & Scoop
Govt Dollar For Dollar Support For Otago Uni Programme
NZ NEWS HEADLINES:
Georgia’s Velvet Revolution Succeeds: Shevardnadze Resigns
FTAA Protesters Hammered By Miami Police

SCOOP COLUMNS:
Stateside With Rosalea: Briefly Politically Speaking
Richard S. Ehrlich: AIDs In Thailand
Neville Bennett: The Flying Kiwi
Saving Air New Zealand: Flogging A Dead Horse
The Other Side: Banking & Debt Slavery
Hard News & More Is There
US Pension Fraud Worth More Than A Bored Yawn
Kidd Millennium
Uri Avnery's Peace Award Acceptance Speech
Iraq: The War That Will Not (& Cannot) End
Norma Sherry: Not An American Fable
Tom Flocco: 911 Hearings Trumped
William Rivers Pitt: Michael Jackson & The Great Distraction Game
Daily Katya Rivas

OTHER NEWS (Just Politics)
The Truth About Oil Is Being Ignored - Fitzsimons
United Future Gets Bigger
ACT's Letter – Prebble In Canada
Nat's Tractor Rebel In Court Tomorrow
A Libertarian Perspective On Smoker Discrimination
Ahmed Zaoui Campaign Wrongheaded Says Mapp
When Will We See Maori On Air?
Police Diversion Scheme Gets Collins' Thumbs Up
New Southland Health Bosses
New Teachers Hit The Spot

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...TODAY'S PHOTO STORY...

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0311/S00223.htm
Georgia’s Velvet Revolution Succeeds: Shevardnadze Resigns

LEAD STORY:
Californian Bombshell Electoral System Changes & Scoop

- A little over four months ago, on July 8th, Scoop Media broke a significant international news story about apparent security flaws in the United States voting apparatus. Today the Californian Secretary of State is reported in the Los Angeles Times ordering that voter verifiable paper ballots (VVPBs) will be made mandatory for the State’s elections from 2006. See… Links: California Declares Paper Ballots Mandatory [1] MORE: - Voter Verification Newsletter -- Vol 1, Number 14 [2] - Dennis Kucinich Requests Hearing On Diebold DMCA Abuses [3]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0311/S00171.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0311/S00225.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0311/S00224.htm

Govt Dollar For Dollar Support For Otago Uni Programme

- Government matching funds invested in the University of Otago’s strategic academic research programme will support world-class scholarship in areas vital to the nation’s future well-being, says the University’s Vice-Chancellor. See... Government Matches Otago's $25M Research Programme [1] ALSO: Govt Supports Otago University’s Leading Thinkers Programme [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/ED0311/S00077.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0311/S00467.htm

NZ NEWS HEADLINES:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0311/S00149.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0311/S00146.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/BU0311/S00279.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/BU0311/S00278.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/BU0311/S00275.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/GE0311/S00107.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/BU0311/S00274.htm
[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/GE0311/S00106.htm
[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/SC0311/S00090.htm
[10] - Http://Www.Scoop.Co.Nz/Mason/Stories/PA0311/S00463.Htm
[11] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0311/S00146.htm

Georgia’s Velvet Revolution Succeeds: Shevardnadze Resigns

- Shevardnadze: "I see that all this cannot simply go on. If I was forced tomorrow to use my authority it would lead to a lot of bloodshed. I have never betrayed my country and so it is better that the president resigns." See... Scoop Link: Georgia Leader Shevardnadze Quits [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0311/S00223.htm

FTAA Protesters Hammered By Miami Police

- This week thousands of protestors came to Miami to oppose the FTAA. The Free Trade Agreement of the Americas is an international trade agreement that aims to extend corporate control throughout the Western Hemisphere. See... Urgent Call to Action: FTAA Protesters Brutalized [1] ALSO: Global Protests Echo Common Vision [2] - Aziz Choudry Writes: Blood, Oil, Guns And Bullets - Globalisation & War [3]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0311/S00222.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0311/S00221.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0311/S00161.htm

SCOOP COLUMNS:
Stateside With Rosalea: Briefly Politically Speaking

- This week I got to see up close the workings of a Republican gubernatorial campaign. Not a real one - it was a play called Mothers Against, by British playwright David Edgar. See... Stateside: U.S. Political Briefs [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0311/S00181.htm

Richard S. Ehrlich: AIDs In Thailand

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- When a U.N.-sponsored tour about communities with AIDS led five doctors from Afghanistan into a risque Thai massage parlour, the men were thrilled to learn a few tricks of the trade. See... Richard S. Ehrlich: Aids & Sex In Thailand [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0311/S00179.htm

Neville Bennett: The Flying Kiwi

- The N Z Dollar has grown very strongly, this year, relative to the US. At present its value is $US 0.63 cents, an enormous change from a low of $US 0.39 not too long ago. Almost all of business will have anxieties about the future. See... Neville Bennett: The Rise & Rise Of The NZ Dollar [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0311/S00178.htm

Saving Air New Zealand: Flogging A Dead Horse

- So Air New Zealand and Qantas are to appeal. Apparently the Commerce Commission must be out of its mind not to approve a proposal whereby competition between the two airlines would cease. See... Save Air NZ: The Appeal Of Flogging A Dead Horse [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/BU0311/S00267.htm

The Other Side: Banking & Debt Slavery

- A 10 person deputation from the IMF (International Misery Factory) is starting a 3 week snoop into New Zealand’s financial systems. The FSAP (Fiendish Scheme to Acquire Property-probably yours and mine) was concocted by the IMF (Internal Misery Factory) ... See... The Other Side: Slavery Today In NZ & Everywhere [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0311/S00177.htm

Hard News & More Is There

- I am normally allergic to political arguments that hinge on a definition of "class", but as the outrageous detail of exactly what went on in media baron Conrad Black's Hollinger group seeps out, Dick Meyer's angry editorial, The Predator Class… See... Public Address 24/11/03 - Somewhat Outraged [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0311/S00182.htm

US Pension Fraud Worth More Than A Bored Yawn

- It is testimony to the ubiquity of crime in the modern American economy that the criminal investigation of one of the country’s largest corporations and lending institutions has been greeted with the equivalent of a bored yawn. See... SRA Comment: When In Doubt, Blow A Bigger Bubble [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0311/S00184.htm

Kidd Millennium

- Cartoon by kiddmillennium.com… See... Kidd Millennium Cartoon: Playing iGOD [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0311/S00183.htm

Uri Avnery's Peace Award Acceptance Speech

- Instead of my usual weekly article, this time I am sending my acceptance speech on receiving, together with Sari Nusseibeh, the Lev Kopelev prize. The award ceremony took place last week in Cologne, Germany. See... Uri Avnery: Anti-Semitism [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0311/S00180.htm

Iraq: The War That Will Not (& Cannot) End

- It appears the Iraqi Resistance Forces will continue to badger and attack the occupation forces for as long as the creative properties of the human mind can invent new methods. See... Les Blough: Iraqi Resistance & Exit Strategy [1] and David Jenkins: Prisoners of War [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0311/S00176.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0311/S00175.htm

Norma Sherry: Not An American Fable

- What a conundrum we find ourselves in and depending on who's talking and who's listening, it would appear we're damned if we do and damned if we don't. One thing is for certain, there's only one winner.and it isn't us, you, me, and the rest of us working folk. See... Norma Sherry: Once Upon a Time in America [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0311/S00174.htm

Tom Flocco: 911 Hearings Trumped

- Victim family members Sally Regenhard and Monica Gabrielle testified Wednesday, passionately expressing their Skyscraper Safety Campaign concerns at the fifth 9-11 Commission hearing on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States at Drew University's Baldwin ... See... UQ Wire: 911 Skyscraper Safety Hearings Trumped [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0311/S00173.htm

William Rivers Pitt: Michael Jackson & The Great Distraction Game

- A number of explosions tore through the British consulate in Turkey today, killing scores of people. George W. Bush is in England, surrounded on all sides by enraged British citizens whose massive protests have required nearly every police officer ... See... UQ Wire: George W. Bush Loves Michael Jackson [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0311/S00170.htm

Daily Katya Rivas

- My daughter, through love and suffering you are a victim for the priests, for the sinners, and for the souls in purgatory. Be ready for any type of suffering for them. Little one, on the Cross I saved the world. See... Katya Rivas: Depart with Me from the Garden [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0311/S00172.htm

The Truth About Oil Is Being Ignored - Fitzsimons

- Government planners are blithely ignoring the fact that the world's oil demand will very soon exceed supply, Green Co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons warned today. See... Oil Gusher Will Turn Into A Trickle - Fitzsimons [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0311/S00474.htm

United Future Gets Bigger

- United Future leader, Peter Dunne, and the chairman of the Council of Outdoor Recreation New Zealand, Paul Check, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding which aims at seeing the two parties jointly contesting the 2005 general election. See... United Future and Outdoor Recreation sign MOU [1] MORE: - Greens - Save the environment, don't shoot it [2] - ORNZ - ORNZ leader: Greens wrong as usual [3]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0311/S00463.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0311/S00461.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0311/S00148.htm

ACT's Letter – Prebble In Canada

- Fifteen years ago, Canada was running huge deficits and debt had reached 100 percent of GDP. Canada signed a trade agreement with the US (their CER), deregulated state trading institutions, introduced GST and cut tax - a mild Rogernomics. See... ACT's The Letter - Monday, 24 November 2003 [1] More Political Columns: - Labour Party - Beehive Bulletin [2] - Matt Robson -robson-on-politics [3]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0311/S00472.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0311/S00464.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0311/S00462.htm

Nat's Tractor Rebel In Court Tomorrow

The National Party MP charged with disorderly behaviour after driving a tractor up the steps of Parliament during a protest against the scrapped 'flatulence tax' is due back in court tomorrow. See... Tractor driving MP in court tomorrow [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0311/S00470.htm

A Libertarian Perspective On Smoker Discrimination

- The Human Rights Commission says that smoking is not a human right. Therefore employers may discriminate against smokers. The conclusion is right, the reasons given entirely wrong. See... Opinion: Employment, Smoking & Human Rights [1] MORE: - EPMU -Union challenges smoking discrimination [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0311/S00147.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/BU0311/S00277.htm

Ahmed Zaoui Campaign Wrongheaded Says Mapp

- "The concerted campaign in the media to 'free Ahmed Zaoui' is fundamentally misplaced," according to National Party Immigration spokesman Dr Wayne Mapp. See... Process must be allowed to take its course [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0311/S00469.htm

When Will We See Maori On Air?

- "The New Zealand taxpayer deserves a straight answer on when the troubled Maori Television Service will be on air, delivering on Government promises," says National Party Broadcasting spokeswoman Georgina te Heuheu. See... More Static On Maori Television [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0311/S00468.htm

Police Diversion Scheme Gets Collins' Thumbs Up

- National Party Family spokeswoman and Clevedon MP Judith Collins is lending her support to a police scheme in Auckland, which aims to curb the behaviour of young offenders. See... Local MP backs police diversion scheme [1] and Good parents can help beat the youth drug culture [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0311/S00466.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0311/S00465.htm

New Southland Health Bosses

- Health Minister Annette King has announced a new deputy chair for Southland District Health Board, and three other new DHB board appointments. See... Annette King announces DHB appointments [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0311/S00475.htm

New Teachers Hit The Spot

- Education Minister Trevor Mallard said an intensive three-days of interviews got under way this morning to try and match this year's secondary teacher graduates with much needed job vacancies in the Auckland and Northland area. See... Graduates fill the gap in Auckland schools [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0311/S00471.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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