Scoop: Top Scoops + Just Politics

Monday, 12 December 2005, 4:58 pm
Article: Alastair Thompson

TODAY’S TOP SCOOPS:
World Trade: Prelude To WTO Round: Jane Kelsey Reports
Official Suicide Statistics Calculate Cost In Dollar Terms
Employment: Who Will Fix The Doctor Shortage?
Police: Govt And NZ First Seal More Cops Deal
Santa Sends Karma Filled Feast To Auckland Vegans
NZNO Asks Govt Where Will Extra Nurses Come From
Environment: Baby Kakapo Returned to Abusive Environment
MORE HEADLINES
UK News: Explosions Destroy Oil Depot Near London's M1
Iranian President denies Holocaust, suggests that Israel be moved to Europe
MORE INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

SCOOP COLUMNS:
Public Address: Russell Brown & Keith Ng Are There!
Harold Pinter's Nobel Lecture: Art, Truth & Politics
Torture As Viewed Inside The United States
MORE SCOOP COMMENTARY

OTHER NEWS (Just Politics):
Greens Urge Govt To Double GP Training Allocations
Greens Say Brash Ought To Accept World Wants Kyoto To Stay
POLITICAL HEADLINES
POLITICAL COLUMNS

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TODAY’S TOP SCOOPS

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World Trade: Prelude To WTO Round: Jane Kelsey Reports

- The
scene outside the WTO Meeting Venue in Hong Kong. Trade ministers from 149 WTO member countries, plus observers from those in the process of accession, are about to convene in Hong Kong for the 6th ministerial conference of the WTO to discuss the crippled Doha round of trade negotiations. The Hong Kong government is mustering all its propaganda skills to create a climate of fear as the meeting approaches, to justify cracking down on any dissent and keep the substantive issues off the front pages. The blazing headline from Saturday's (10-11 December) Weekend Standard simply reads: "We're ready", with the subtitle Security services confident despite fears of violent protests at WTO conference. See... Jane Kelsey WTO: Creating a Climate of Fear in HK [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00129.htm

Official Suicide Statistics Calculate Cost In Dollar Terms

- Suicides and attempted suicides cost New Zealand nearly $1.4 billion in 2002 - the most recent year for which there are official suicide statistics - according to a report released today by Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton. The report, The Cost of Suicide to Society, was written by Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences health economist Des O'Dea, and commissioned by the Ministry of Health to inform the development of a new New Zealand Suicide Prevention Strategy. See... Cost of suicide to NZ nearly $1.4 billion a year [1] ALSO:

Research on link between social factors, suicide [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0512/S00172.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0512/S00171.htm

Employment: Who Will Fix The Doctor Shortage? -

“The government should encourage district health boards to consider directly employing salaried GPs as one means of addressing the serious and worsening GP shortage,” said Mr Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. See... Govt Should Encourage Salaried GP Option [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0512/S00036.htm

Police: Govt And NZ First Seal More Cops Deal

- The Government and New Zealand First are committed to working together to provide an additional 1000 sworn police staff over the next three years. See... Labour-NZ First agreement: 1000 sworn police staff [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0512/S00156.htm

Santa Sends Karma Filled Feast To Auckland Vegans -

Catering for a vegan at Christmas dinner would probably be enough to cause heart palpitations in the average omnivore. Not so for self-taught Birkenhead chef Colin Sky, who is organising a Christmas feast for up to 50 vegans on December 18, at Blissful Foods in Mt Albert. Colin has been vegan for more than three years, and had been vegetarian for six years before that. See... A vegan Christmas dinner: no turkey, no problem [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0512/S00076.htm

NZNO Asks Govt Where Will Extra Nurses Come From

- The New Zealand Nurses Organisation agrees with the Minister of Health that nurses will play an increasing role in GP surgeries but questions where those nurses will come unless their pay issues are addressed. See... Where Will Extra Nurses Come From To Stop Gaps? [1] MORE INDUSTRY NEWS:

Pay Parity For Primary Health Petition [2]

Skycity and Pay Parity [3]

Westpac staff vote to side with customers not bank [4]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0512/S00037.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0512/S00038.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0512/S00152.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0512/S00156.htm

Environment: Baby Kakapo Returned to Abusive Environment

-The injured kakapo chick that has been convalescing at Massey University since being attacked by another kakapo earlier this year has been given the all-clear to return home. A young female kakapo, named Pounamu, is one of four kakapo chicks that hatched earlier this year. She was attacked in her pen on Whenua Hou by an older male, just days before she was due for release in September. See... Injured Kakapo Returns Home [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0512/S00096.htm

MORE HEADLINES:

NZ Protest Against WTO Ministerial Round Tues [1]

Alliance looks to future [2]

The Professionals Partner With Trade Me Property [3]

Prime Wins Free-to-Air Rugby Rights [4]

King Kong Gets First Outdoor Screening on Waiheke [5]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0512/S00090.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0512/S00091.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0512/S00161.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0512/S00157.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0512/S00073.htm

UK News: Explosions Destroy Oil Depot Near London's M1

- London -- "Massive" explosions struck an oil depot about 20 kilometres from London's Luton airport, close to the M1 near Hemel Hempstead filling the sky with orange flames and shattering windows and doors at nearby homes, police and witnesses said. Reports describe eye witnesses having heard a "loud boom" at 6am. Two or three smaller explosions were heard at around 6:20am (London time). The blast was so powerful that it was heard as far as west and south London. Police report that the explosion struck Buncefield oil deport in Hertfordshire, northwest of London and casualties are feared. See... Breaking News: Explosions Strike Oil Depot Near M1 [1] & Wikinews Link: Major Explosions at UK Oil Depot [2] ALSO:

UK Explosion: Police Update Many UK Schools Closed [3]

UK Explosion: Residents Warned Of Heavy Cloud [4]

Explosion At Buncefield Oil Depot - Hertfordshire [5]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00131.htm
[2] - http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Major_Explosions_at_UK_Oil_Depot
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0512/S00221.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0512/S00220.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0512/S00219.htm

Iranian President denies Holocaust, suggests that Israel be moved to Europe

- “The Secretary-General was shocked to see the remarks attributed to H.E. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in which he reportedly cast doubt on the truth of the Holocaust and suggested that the State of Israel should be moved from the Middle East to Europe,” a spokesman for Mr. Annan said in a statement. Last month, the General Assembly passed a resolution which rejects “any denial of the Holocaust as an historical event, either in full or in part,” the Secretary-General recalled, urging all Member States “to combat such denial, and to educate their populations about the well established historical facts of the Holocaust, in which one third of the Jewish people were murdered, along with countless members of other minorities.” See... Reacting against Iranian leader’s reported Holocaust denial, Annan points to facts [1] ALSO:

New Red Cross emblem (pictured above) allows Israel’s participation [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0512/S00187.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0512/S00190.htm

MORE INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:

UK Lords confirm torture "evidence" unacceptable [1]

Australia: thousands attend funeral for Van Nguyen [2]

Croatia: Gotovina to go to The Hague [3]

UN agencies use video games to raise awareness [4]

Castro Speech: 30th Anniversary Of Angola Mission [5]

Scoop Audio: Amy Goodman Interview with Stan Tookie Williams, founder of the Crips and now death row inmate, scheduled to die December 13, 2005. [6]
Scoop Audio: Eritrea Expels UN Without Explanation. Source: UN [7]
Latest UN News Brief [8]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0512/S00197.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0512/S00207.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0512/S00198.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0512/S00191.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0512/S00184.htm
[6] - http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/audio/0512/Tookie_interview.m3u
[7] - http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/audio/0512/Eritrea_expells_UN.m3u
[8] - http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/audio/0512/UN_brief_9_12.m3u

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SCOOP COLUMNS

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Russell Brown & Keith Ng Are There!

- I love military and police equipment. They're just so... thoughtful. Take this Australian made "water barrier [1] ". It's a big plastic water container. Easy to move into place, just add water. Sturdy as a concrete block, slippery as a greasy pole. Can't push it over, can't climb it. I mean, if *I* was looking to purchase a two-metre high redeployable crowd control barrier, *I'd* get one of these. See... Public Address 12/12/05 - Scary [2]

[1] - http://aspa.fotopic.net/p23612659.html
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00143.htm

Harold Pinter's Nobel Lecture: Art, Truth & Politics

- In 1958 I wrote the following: 'There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false.' Truth in drama is forever elusive. You never quite find it but the search for it is compulsive. The search is clearly what drives the endeavour. The search is your task. More often than not you stumble upon the truth in the dark, colliding with it or just glimpsing an image or a shape which seems to correspond to the truth, often without realising that you have done so. See... Harold Pinter Nobel Lecture: Art, Truth & Politics [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00142.htm

Torture As Viewed Inside The United States

- If the Bush Administration listens to the American public, rather than to Sen. John McCain, it needn't be too worried about the issue of torture of suspected terrorists. Results of two recent polls by major public opinion organizations show that a substantial majority of Americans believes that such treatment is justified, that torture is still being carried out, and that soldiers, rather than official policy, are responsible. See… William Fisher: How Do Americans Feel About Torture? [1] MORE:

Ray McGovern - Rice's Indefensible Brief; Cheney's Last Throes [2]

John Chuckman - Torture And White Phosphorus [3]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00124.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00126.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0512/S00139.htm

MORE SCOOP COMMENTARY:

Jason Leopold - Leopold: For Rove, New Testimony, New Problems [1]

Narconews - Tracking Bloody Footprints in the House of Death [2]

Sam Smith - A Confederacy Of Doers [3]

Uri Avnery - The Curse of the Gods [4]

Sheila Samples - Cornered By The Truth [5]

Genevieve Cora Fraser - Jesus Spoke Aramaic To The Children Of Israel [6]

NEPAL:

Sanjay Upadhya - Nepal: Now It’s The Military’s Turn [7]

Reagan Shrestha - Indian Encroachment Threatening Nepali Sovereignty [8]

U Raj Misra - Nepal: Agreement with Rejected Maoists Terrorists? [9]

Kamala Sarup - Why Poor Still Poor? [10]

P. Kharel - Nepal: Prodigal Parties [11]

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OTHER NEWS (JUST POLITICS)

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Greens Urge Govt To Double GP Training Allocations

- The Green Party is calling for the Government to immediately double the number of funded places for doctors wanting to train as General Practitioners and phase out the tertiary fees and student loan debts that are driving doctors off shore. See… GP training funding increase needed - Greens [1] ALSO:

ACT - Doctor Shortage Not New [2]

Maori Party - Desperate Need to Address GP Crisis [3]

NZ First - GP Shortage Will Not Disappear On Its Own [4]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0512/S00166.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0512/S00167.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0512/S00174.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0512/S00164.htm

Greens Say Brash Ought To Accept World Wants Kyoto To Stay

- Don Brash and the other Kyoto detractors in Parliament need to now accept that the world is going to make some sort of adjustments for climate change and New Zealand is going to have to be part of it, Green Party Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons says. See... Kyoto here to stay, get used to it [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0512/S00176.htm

POLITICAL HEADLINES:

Govt - Ryall still confused on antibiotic supplies [1]

Govt - Minister urges sector to take part in discussion [2]

Govt - Funding to screen for serious genetic conditions [3]

Greens - Ministry's cancer study just PR spin - Kedgley [4]

Greens - Greens call on Minister to step into bus row [5]

Greens - Drop diet supps from trans-Tasman agency: Greens [6]

NZ First - Trans Tasman Agency Not A Done Deal [7]

ACT - Does PM Accept Benson-Pope's Word? [8]

ACT - Aucklanders Pay For Greedy Government [9]

Nats - Clark contradicts herself on lame duck Minister [10]

Nats - National congratulates Minister on U-turn [11]

Nats - Prostate cancer drug deal must be scrutinised [12]

Nats - Trans Tasman Therapeutic decision “inevitable" [13]

Nats - Collins calls for judicial inquiry [14]

Nats - NCEA: secret re-marking continues [15]

Nats - Labour’s early childhood ed policy unworkable [16]

Nats - CYF calls go unanswered [17]

Nats - National seeks advice on police procedure [18]

Nats - MP seeks to widen Converge ‘05 conference inquiry [19]

POLITICAL COLUMNS:

ACT - ACT's The Letter - 12 December 2005 [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0512/S00168.htm

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

Top Scoops Headlines

COMMENT

Binoy Kampmark: Suing Antony Blinken - The US State Department, Israel And The Leahy Law

The Leahy Law, as evidence of Congressional instruction to the State Department, is unequivocal in its purpose and scope regarding gross human rights violations. The time, it would seem, has come for those instructions to be applied to Israel without deferential favour.

Binoy Kampmark: Jesting On The Environment - Australian Mining Gets A Present

The Australia institute pointed out that the three mines, in the current state of operation, “were already so large that they could almost cover greater Sydney, or most Australian cities.” Research shows that when land sector emissions are removed from the modelling, Australia’s emissions are actually increasing.

Martin LeFevre - Meditations: The Antithesis Of What Jesus Taught And Lived

Rather than face their own failings, mourn their loss and question why things went wrong, they declared that he died for our sins and started a religion that has ended in hate, power and greed, the antithesis of what Jesus taught and lived.

Ramzy Baroud: The West Bank's Men Of The CIA - Why Is The PA Killing Palestinians In Jenin?

By attacking Jenin, the PA is helping the Israeli army in more than one way: it is killing and detaining anti-Israeli occupation Resistance fighters, consuming the energy and resources of the Resistance, allowing Israel to spare thousands of soldiers so that they may carry on with the genocide in Gaza, and more.

Binoy Kampmark: Concentrated Markets And Iceless Fokkers

Monopolies, duopolies, oligopolies, clot the marketplace and stifle any genuine notion of business engagement, let alone the provision of good, accountable service. This is a nation that specialises in a cohering nightmare of mergers, agglomeration, and amalgamation, consolidating the establishment rather than permitting fresh blood.

Binoy Kampmark: Catching Pegasus - Mercenary Spyware And The Liability Of The NSO Group

In this woefully unregulated industry, Israel’s poster child of spyware will most likely cough up and continue to make money from the pathologies of government insecurity. They will just have to be mindful of the US market from hereon in.

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Scoop: Top Scoops + Just Politics

TODAY’S TOP SCOOPS

SCOOP COLUMNS

OTHER NEWS (JUST POLITICS)

Alastair Thompson

Contact Alastair Thompson

COMMENT

Binoy Kampmark: Suing Antony Blinken - The US State Department, Israel And The Leahy Law

Binoy Kampmark: Jesting On The Environment - Australian Mining Gets A Present

Martin LeFevre - Meditations: The Antithesis Of What Jesus Taught And Lived

Ramzy Baroud: The West Bank's Men Of The CIA - Why Is The PA Killing Palestinians In Jenin?

Binoy Kampmark: Concentrated Markets And Iceless Fokkers

Binoy Kampmark: Catching Pegasus - Mercenary Spyware And The Liability Of The NSO Group

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