ADVISORY AND SEASON'S GREETINGS: Scoop's "Top Scoops" email headline service will be in abeyance till January 5th to
give everybody's inboxes a bit of a break. That said the site will continue to be updated. The Scoop team wishes all its
subscribers and contributors and readers a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS. As Tiny Tim said "God bless us every one".
- Scoop Co-Editor Alastair Thompson
TODAY’S TOP SCOOPS
LEAD STORY: Kiwis Abroad: Caritas Christmas In Darfur
Sludge Report: Scoop's 2004 Award Recipient's Are…
MORE NEW ZEALAND HEADLINES:
U.S. Military Iris Scans Fighting Age Iraqis In Falluja
INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:
American Coup II: William Rivers Pitt: Enter Stage Left Big John
American Coup II: Harvey Wasserman Interview
SCOOP COLUMNS:
Hard News Is There!
Scoop Feedback: Jacqui Grant vs Garnet Milne
Cuban Ambassador Writes To NZ Herald Again
Ramzy Baroud On Mustafa Barghouti
Steve Weissman: Undermining Democracy Around The Globe
Angie Pratt On War Crimes And Presidential Responsibility
Sonia Nettnin On The Forgotten Children Of AIDS
Kamala Sarup: Peace And The Written Word
The Bakhtiyari Family Saga
Bill Berkowitz On A Moment Of Christian Clarity (Not)
OTHER NEWS (Just Politics)
(There is insufficient new political news today to justify a bulletin . See...
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/news/parliament.html for the latest political news.)
TO CHANGE MY SCOOP OPTIONS OR UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS LIST
IF YOU HAVE LOST YOUR PASSWORD
...TODAY'S PHOTO STORY...
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0412/S00261.htm
No chance of Xmas gluttony in the Sudan
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TODAY’S TOP SCOOPS------------
LEAD STORY:
Kiwis Abroad: Caritas Christmas In Darfur
- Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand and Christian World Service (CWS) supported relief efforts are continuing in Darfur amidst ongoing violence and escalating numbers of displaced persons. Christmas will not bring good tidings to the troubled region. See... Christmas for New Zealander in Darfur, Sudan [1]
Sludge Report: Scoop's 2004 Award Recipient's Are…
- The Scoop 2004 Parliamentary Swards recognise New Zealand Members of Parliament for their notable achievements and
notable gaffes during the course of 2004. They were decided by a panel of Scoop.co.nz experts and the judges' decisions
are final. See... Sludge Report #166 – 2004 Parliamentary Awards [1]
MORE NEW ZEALAND HEADLINES:
Women's Refuge receives toys for Christmas [1] Manufacturers Confidence Lowest since April 2003 [2] $9 Million Lotto Powerball Jackpot [3] Government supports HELP sexual abuse service [4] Skycity Party Of The Year For New Year’s Eve 2004 [5]
U.S. Military Iris Scans Fighting Age Iraqis In Falluja
– At US checkpoints, returning men of military age are being fingerprinted and having their irises scanned to try to
ensure that no insurgents return. See... Link: BBC - Fallujan Men Iris Scanned On Return [1]
INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:
Cuban Ambassador Writes To NZ Herald Again [1] Tragedy of the Bakhtiyari Family [2] Jewish American Plans Put Israel's Wall On Trial [3] Kelly's Detention and Tom Hurndall's Case [4] UN Nuclear Watchdog Launches Peaceful Nuke Project [5]
SCOOP SPECIAL REPORT - American Coup II:
William Rivers Pitt: Enter Stage Left Big John
- 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry will file today, in the United States District Court for the
Southern District of Ohio, papers in support of the Green Party/Libertarian Party recount effort. See... W. Rivers Pitt: Kerry to Enter Ohio Recount Fray [1]
American Coup II: Harvey Wasserman Interview
- Ohio-based journalist Harvey Wasserman reviews the ongoing controversy surrounding the presidential vote in Ohio.
Representative John Conyers - the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee - has called on The Associated Press and
the five broadcast ... See... Democracy Now: Harvey Wasserman Interview [1] See also...Full Coverage of American Coup II [2]
SCOOP COLUMNS:
Hard News Is There!
- When you've been doing something as long as I've been doing Hard News in its various forms - 13 years, that is - you
wonder if you haven't already said everything you want to say about Christmas and the Great New Zealand Summer
already... See... Public Address 24/12/04 - Tired But Happy [1]
Scoop Feedback: Jacqui Grant vs Garnet Milne
- It is apparent that your correspondent Garnet Milne, a man who describes himself as a Christian, is determined to
mis-represent and twist the meanings in the much publicised emails he claims Jacquie Grant sent to his web site. See... Scoop Feedback: Jacquie Grant vs Garnet milne [1]
Cuban Ambassador Writes To NZ Herald Again
- In what already could be a personal agenda, whose motivations are not clear, we find Peter Calder again giving
opinions about Cuba, supposedly in his area of expertise: arts. See... Cuban Ambassador Writes To NZ Herald Again [1]
Ramzy Baroud On Mustafa Barghouti
- Talks about national unity among various Palestinian factions, and the ''opportunity'' that might have emerged
following the sudden death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat have all faded into uncertainty. See... How About Mustafa Barghouti As An Alternative? [1]
Steve Weissman: Undermining Democracy Around The Globe
The coup came on April 11, 2002, when Venezuelan military forces overthrew the democratically elected president, Hugo
Chavez. As many as 100 people died in the clash, which included mysterious sniper attacks on individual civilians.
See... Uncle Santa Diddles Dems from Ukraine to Venezuela [1]
Angie Pratt On War Crimes And Presidential Responsibility
- You want to know why when news of prisoner torture percolated up the channels of the government nothing was done? The
answer is quite simple. They condoned the actions. See... Hold The Bush Admin Accountable For Use Of Torture [1]
Sonia Nettnin On The Forgotten Children Of AIDS
- The exhibit, ''The Children Left Behind – AIDS Orphans Around the World,'' opened its U.S. tour in Chicago. The
display shows the children orphaned from acquired immune deficiency syndrome, the virus known as AIDS. See... Nettnin: The Children Left Behind - AIDS Orphans [1]
Kamala Sarup: Peace And The Written Word
- ''The world's picture has changed after first and second world war. After 9/11 incident the world witnessed yet
another holocaust of terror. This has a definite impact in man's mind.'' See... Kamala Sarup: Creating Peace Through Literature [1]
The Bakhtiyari Family Saga
- The saga of the Bakhtiyari family’s attempts to gain protection in Australia as refugees has been a long and tortuous
one. A great many legal challenges have been made on behalf of the family (20 by some accounts) – all without success.
See... Tragedy of the Bakhtiyari Family [1]
Bill Berkowitz On A Moment Of Christian Clarity (Not)
- Promoting Mel Gibson's 'Passion of the Christ,' Catholic League head claims secular Jews run Hollywood and 'Hollywood
likes anal sex'. See... Bill Berkowitz: Bill Donohue's Jewish Problem [1]
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0412/S00246.htm
Santa Comes To Banyam, Afghanistan
ENDS