Scoop: Top Scoops + Just Politics

Monday, 17 January 2005, 3:54 pm
Article: Alastair Thompson

TODAY’S TOP SCOOPS
LEAD STORY:
Schools Under Staffed - Govt Says 05 Is Not So Bad
Green Co-Leader Maps Out Election Year Platform
MORE NEW ZEALAND HEADLINES:
UNESCO: Democracy Under Fire In Columbia - Journalist Assassinated
INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:
Richard Ehrlich's Tsunami Report: Embassy Squabbles Hold Up Forensics At Morgue
Prime Minister Speaks On Tsunami Tragedy
STORY OF THE WEEK: Uri Avnery On Abu-Mazen's Hard Road Ahead

SCOOP COLUMNS:
Hard News Is Back From The Rock!
Rosalea Barker's 2005 Kaleidoscope Awards
Leopold: Yet Another Inappropriate US Cabinet Nomination
Big News: Crampton Responds To Carter On Brash
Evelyn Pringle: Amway & The FTC
Blogwatch: Dog Biting Men Digest
Mary Pitt: How Could We Ever Have Been So Stupid?
M. Shahid Alam: America’s New Civilizing Mission
The US War On Terror Torture Saga Continues
An Evelyn Pringle Trilogy On Bush Admin. Deceit & Miscreance
John Cory: Welcome To Bush World
Sheila Samples: Dear John...
UQ Wire: Mitchel Cohen Survey's The 911 Skeptic's Lectionary
UQ Wire: NYT On Sibel Edmond's Vindication

OTHER NEWS (Just Politics)
NZ's Most Indebted Student Owes Nearly A Quarter Million
Tamihere Asked To Give Up His Landcruiser
Preventative Detention On The Up And Up
Muriel Newman Has Been Thinking About Welfare
NZ First On The Impending Ruapehu Lahar
Mallard Launches A Giant Step Forward For The Toddlers Of NZ
A Stitchbird On Tiritiri Matangi Saves More Than Nine
NZ Backs UN Ban On Arm Sales To Sudan

LEAD STORY:
Schools Under Staffed - Govt Says 05 Is Not So Bad

- More teachers and better incentives mean teacher vacancies lowest for several years More teachers and Government action to retain teachers in the profession mean schools head into 2005 with the lowest number of teacher vacancies in recent years, says Benson-Pope. See... Teacher vacancies lowest for several years [1] ALSO: - Govt - Fact sheet: Teacher supply initiatives [2] - Nats - Export education collapse cuts teacher shortage [3] - ACT - No Teachers: Crisis, what crisis? [4]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/S00109.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/S00110.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/S00114.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/S00113.htm

Green Co-Leader Maps Out Election Year Platform

- For political leaders, it is traditionally a time to talk about the State of the Nation. However, for the Greens, that is not enough. Everything we know about the world today - whether ecological, sociological, or economic - tells us that humanity survives, thrives, or subsides depending on the nature and quality of our interconnections. If we are to cope with looming threats, and build a better future for our children, we must talk about the state of the planet. See... Jeanette Fitzsimons: “Picnic for the Planet 2005” [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/S00108.htm

MORE NEW ZEALAND HEADLINES:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/S00104.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0501/S00117.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0501/S00116.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/BU0501/S00055.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/BU0501/S00054.htm

UNESCO: Democracy Under Fire In Columbia - Journalist Assassinated

- Warning that democracy is under fire with the continued murder of journalists, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has condemned the assassination of a Colombian radio reporter who frequently denounced corruption ... See… Assassination Of Colombian Journalist Denounced [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0501/S00143.htm

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0501/S00152.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0501/S00157.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0501/S00152.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0501/S00151.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0501/S00150.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0501/S00146.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0501/S00144.htm
[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0501/S00140.htm

Richard Ehrlich's Tsunami Report: Embassy Squabbles Hold Up Forensics At Morgue

- PHUKET, Thailand -- Egotistical squabbles among international embassies, recovery and forensics teams in which "everybody wanted to be the boss," caused problems while identifying the tsunami's dead at the main morgue in a Buddhist temple, according ... See... Ehrlich: Body Identification Ruckus In Phuket [1] . See also... Tsunami Corpse Turf Wars Break Out In Phuket [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00117.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00110.htm

Prime Minister Speaks On Tsunami Tragedy

[1] - We all identified with the desperate struggle for survival, the heartbreak of seeing loved ones and friends swept to their deaths, with the seriously injured, and with the trauma and distress suffered by survivors and witnesses of this calamity. See… PM Address at Interfaith Tsunami Memorial Service [2] ALSO: Brash honours tsunami victims [3] & Greens... Cabinet must be generous with tsunami aid [4] NZ Update:Tsunami: Amex matches reward point redemptions [5] Int Update: - WTO - Supachai urges members to help tsunami sufferers [6] - UN - Bird Flu Must Stay Out Of Tsunami Relief Food [7] - UN - UN - Tsunami: Empowering Women To Address Needs [8] - Tamil - UNP demands transparency in relief distribution [9] - Tamil - Avoid politicisation of relief efforts cautions EU [10] - UN - Sri Lanka: Close to 18,500 vessels lost or damaged [11] - Bloomsbury - Bloomsbury Global Book Aid For Tsunami Fund [12] For FULL COVERAGE: See... Scoop's Tsunami Feature. [13]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/S00106.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/S00106.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/S00105.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/S00112.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/BU0501/S00053.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0501/S00147.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0501/S00142.htm
[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0501/S00141.htm
[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0501/S00155.htm
[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0501/S00154.htm
[11] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0501/S00139.htm
[12] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0501/S00158.htm
[13] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/features/?s=world

STORY OF THE WEEK: Uri Avnery On Abu-Mazen's Hard Road Ahead

[1] - Now it’s official: ''the First Democracy in the Arab World'' or ''the Second Democracy in the Middle East'' has been born. See... Uri Avnery: Who Envies Abu-Mazen? [2] . See also... Genevieve Cora Fraser: Arabic Awakening [3]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0501/S00088.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00114.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00121.htm

SCOOP COLUMNS:
Hard News Is Back From The Rock!

- It's one of the curiousities of living in Auckland Central that it's possible to take a get-away-from-it-all family holiday in your own electorate. So, secure in the knowledge that Judith Tizard would still be our MP, we headed for Waiheke Island... See... Public Address 17/01/05 - Back From The Rock [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00127.htm

Rosalea Barker's 2005 Kaleidoscope Awards

- **Most effective weight-loss diet** - Airline water. Coming back from DC in the middle of the year, I drank a tiny paper cup of the water on tap in the plane, spent the next eight weeks running to the bathroom, and lost ten pounds. See... Stateside With Rosalea: 2004 Kaleidoscope [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00126.htm

Leopold: Yet Another Inappropriate US Cabinet Nomination

- In the bizarro world that President Bush lives in, it pays 'literally' to be a miserable failure, a criminal and a corporate con man. Those are just some of the characteristics of the dastardly men and women who were tapped recently to fill the vacancies in ... See... New Energy Sec. Was One of Texas' Worst Polluters [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00115.htm

Big News: Crampton Responds To Carter On Brash

- Don Brash raised some interesting points in last Thursday's Herald about the way we have pushed through social changes - such as prostitution reform, civil unions, and the Property Relationships Act - and says that such issues should not be done ... See... Big News: Labour Did Not Campaign On Civil Unions [1] & Just Left: Back to the Future with Brash [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00108.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00077.htm

Evelyn Pringle: Amway & The FTC

- Every year, Amway rips of millions of people all over the world through a secret pyramid scheme that will no doubt continue for as long as Bush is in office and controls the Federal Trade Commission. See... Bush Controls FTC While Amway Rips Off Millions [1] . See also... Scoop Feedback: A Defender Of Amway Speaks Up [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00125.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00124.htm

Blogwatch: Dog Biting Men Digest

- Mediacow wrote that Going Too Far is going to be big this year. Even bigger than Russell Brown was in 2004. Going Too Far is when you aim to do something just a wee bit outré, but end up being inappropriate and offensive instead. Like Prince Harry, ... See... Dog Biting Men Digest – 14 December 2004 [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00123.htm

Mary Pitt: How Could We Ever Have Been So Stupid?

- There we were, looking optimistically forward to the twenty-first century, enjoying peace and prosperity, educating our children, cherishing our handicapped and elderly relatives, and going through our lives without a care in the world. See... Mary Pitt: Who Knew?!? [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00122.htm

M. Shahid Alam: America’s New Civilizing Mission

- In a world that is dominated by violence emanating from organs of the state, including incidental and deliberate acts of violence against civilians, the attacks of 9-11 came as a shock. Momentarily, these attacks had reversed the customary roles. See... M. Shahid Alam: America’s New Civilizing Mission [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00120.htm

The US War On Terror Torture Saga Continues

- Here is a sure-fire nomination for the most outrageous quote of the week: '' Accusations that we are torturing people tend to be mythology.'' See... William Fisher: The Moral High Ground? [1] MORE: - W. David Jenkins: We Are Really, Really Sorry [2] EARLIER: - Thom Hartmann: First They Came For The Terrorists… [3] - Ivan Eland: Will the U.S. Senate Endorse Torture? [4] - Marjorie Cohn: Dear Mr. Gonzales [5] - Between The Lines - Documents Show Widespread Torture Pentagon Prisons [6] - Steve Weissman: Torture in the Senate [7] & Gonzales and the Horse He Rode In On [8]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00118.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00119.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00095.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00094.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00091.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00087.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00076.htm
[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00075.htm

An Evelyn Pringle Trilogy On Bush Admin. Deceit & Miscreance

- On July 6, 2004, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (IG) released a report stating that former Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Thomas Scully pressured the agency’s chief actuary, Richard Foster, to withhold cost estimates of the Medicare Prescription Drug bill when it was being considered by Congress last year. See... $130 Billion Windfall For Bush Health Care Cronies [1] MORE: - Mom & Pop War Profiteering Team - Woolseys [2] - Evelyn Pringle: Iraq -- Bush Family $$$ Signs [3]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00112.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00107.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00106.htm

John Cory: Welcome To Bush World

- Meet Mr. and Mrs. America, faithful believers in the one true nation. They arise each morning and stand before the mirror reciting their daily mantra: See... John Cory: The Bush Zone [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00111.htm

Sheila Samples: Dear John...

- A recent exchange with my new best friend, John, forced me into some serious soul-searching as to why I remain a Democrat. John suggests that the two major parties have morphed into one blundering, inept, very destructive and divisive entity. See... Sheila Samples: Dear John... [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00109.htm

UQ Wire: Mitchel Cohen Survey's The 911 Skeptic's Lectionary

- For 50 minutes, from 8:15 a.m. until 9:05 a.m. on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense were aware that four domestic U.S. passenger airplanes had been hijacked. See... UQ Wire: The Role Of The U.S. Government On 9-11 [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00116.htm

UQ Wire: NYT On Sibel Edmond's Vindication

- Washington - The F.B.I. has failed to aggressively investigate accusations of espionage against a translator at the bureau and fired the translator's co-worker in large part for bringing the accusations, the Justice Department's inspector general concluded on Friday. See... UQ Wire: F.B.I. Rebuked Over Sibel Edmonds Firing [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00113.htm

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0501/S00156.htm
ANZACs Observe Minutes Silence In Sumatra

NZ's Most Indebted Student Owes Nearly A Quarter Million

- The highest loan balance for a single student is $230,810, ACT Education spokesman Deborah Coddington revealed today. See... Students rack up huge debts [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/S00104.htm

Tamihere Asked To Give Up His Landcruiser

- “Labour MP John Tamihere should do the right thing and return the Toyota Landcruiser that was paid for by the disadvantaged constituents he claims to represent,” says National Party Deputy Leader Gerry Brownlee. See... Tamihere should give back his wheels [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/S00115.htm

Preventative Detention On The Up And Up

- Reform of preventive detention under the Sentencing Act 2002 has resulted in a dramatic increase in its use, Justice Minister Phil Goff said today. See... Reforms send use of preventive detention soaring [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/S00118.htm

Muriel Newman Has Been Thinking About Welfare

- As we look ahead to the election, we are reminded that politics is a contest of ideas. Once every three years - with their party vote - New Zealanders have the chance to support the political party that best champions their views and addresses their ... See... Newman Floats Fresh Ideas For Welfare Reform [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/S00117.htm

NZ First On The Impending Ruapehu Lahar

- New Zealand First is calling on the Ministers of Internal Affairs and Conservation to explain exactly how they have addressed concerns for human safety and infrastructural risk in the Ruapehu district, because of the dangerously high level of the crater lake. See... Risk Of Disaster From Ruapehu Lake - NZ First [1] MORE: - Govt - Power Wrong Again: Lahar Safety Measures in place [2] - National - Govt must guarantee safety from lahar [3]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/S00116.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/S00103.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/S00094.htm

Mallard Launches A Giant Step Forward For The Toddlers Of NZ

- The most significant early childhood curriculum resource developed since Te Whâriki was launched today at Waikato University by Education Minister Trevor Mallard. See... Leading early childhood resource launched [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/S00111.htm

A Stitchbird On Tiritiri Matangi Saves More Than Nine

- A plan to help save the endangered stitchbird was launched today by Prime Minister Helen Clark and Conservation Minister Chris Carter on Tiritiri Matangi Island. This island sanctuary is one of the few places where the stitchbird can be seen. See... A stitch in time for endangered bird [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/S00107.htm

NZ Backs UN Ban On Arm Sales To Sudan

- New Zealand regulations implementing United Nations arms sanctions against militia groups in Darfur, Sudan, became law today, says Foreign Minister Phil Goff. See... NZ supports UN Sudan arms ban [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0501/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.

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