Scoop: Top Scoops + Just Politics

Monday, 16 January 2006, 12:35 am
Article: Alastair Thompson

TODAY’S TOP SCOOPS:
NZUS Council To Pursue McCain U.S./NZ FTA Idea In Washington
Business: Property Valuations Continue Upward Trend
Environment: Baby Birds Relocated to Fire Hazard Area
Sport: Commonwealth Games Baton To Arrive In ChCh
Environment: NZ Wasn't Invited To Sydney-Based Climate Conference
MORE NZ NEWS HEADLINES:
Suva back to normal after security scare?
Annan urges Iranian nuclear negotiator to avoid escalation
MORE INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:

SCOOP COLUMNS:
Suzan Mazur: The Sotheby's Euphronios Tape
Russell Brown On Coddington's Reaquaintance With The Blogosphere
Jason Leopold: Illegal NSA Spying Began Earlier Than Thought
Karl Ferguson Likes The Lines Of Peugeot's 206 GTI
MORE SCOOP COMMENTARY:

OTHER NEWS (Just Politics):
NZ Foreign Affairs Minister Energised By Iran's Nuclear Ambitions
Legal Issues: Slightly Dodgy Drivers Get Caught In Unflinching Transport Purge -
Whaling: Paul Buchanan on NZ and the Whalers
Prison Muster Crisis Now Less Huge
Politics: Brownlee Wants Green Staff To Have A Long Holiday -

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

NZUS Council To Pursue McCain U.S./NZ FTA Idea In Washington

[1] (Image courtesy of Jon Stephenson) - NZUS Council executive director, Stephen Jacobi, will visit Washington DC 23-29 January after comments made by visiting U.S. Senator John McCain about a possible free trade agreement with New Zealand. Senator McCain was quoted as saying that a free trade agreement would be beneficial for both countries. “We welcome this public expression of support from such a high ranking US politician and we in the Council are ready to play our part in making this happen” said Mr Jacobi. See... NZUS Director To Visit Washington [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0601/S00070.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0601/S00070.htm

Business: Property Valuations Continue Upward Trend

- Statistics released by QV indicate that residential property values are still rising, with New Zealand residential properties growing in value by 15.8% over the 12 months to December, up from 15% annual growth to November. See... Property values continue to climb [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0601/S00065.htm

Environment: Baby Birds Relocated to Fire Hazard Area

- A plot to trick seabirds into believing Mana Island is “home” intensified this weekend with the transfer of a third seabird species to the island. Forty fluttering shearwater chicks from Long Island in the Marlborough Sounds followed diving petrel and fairy prion onto the island as part of a plan by the Department of Conservation and Friends of Mana Island (FOMI) to restore its ecology. See... Mana Island seabird colonisation plot thickens [1] ALSO:Fire danger closes Mana Island [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0601/S00016.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0601/S00036.htm

Sport: Commonwealth Games Baton To Arrive In ChCh

- North Hagley Park and the Central City will provide the backdrop to Thursday morning’s (19 January) welcoming to New Zealand of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games Queen’s baton. See... Queen’s baton welcome in North Hagley Park [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0601/S00041.htm

Environment: NZ Wasn't Invited To Sydney-Based Climate Conference

- Alasdair Thompson from the Employers and Manufacturers Association has asked why New Zealand’s Climate Change Minister wasn’t at the recent Sydney Climate Change Conference. The reasons are that it wasn’t a conference, it wasn’t open to the public and New Zealand wasn’t invited. See... Why NZ wasn’t at the Climate Change Conference [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0601/S00013.htm

MORE HEADLINES:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0601/S00067.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0601/S00066.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0601/S00015.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0601/S00034.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0601/S00024.htm

Suva back to normal after security scare?

- Fiji's police have been taken off alert 24 hours after a security scare raised fears of another coup in the South Pacific nation. Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes, an Australian expatriate, said life had returned to normal in Suva. See... Suva back to normal after security scare [1] ALSO:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00150.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00140.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00139.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00138.htm

Annan urges Iranian nuclear negotiator to avoid escalation

- Responding to Iran’s decision to end its suspension of uranium enrichment activities, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today urged Tehran’s key nuclear official to find a negotiated settlement and later briefed key countries on his diplomatic efforts. Mr. Annan, who also spoke extensively today with Mohamed ElBaradei, Director-General of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told reporters that he is “extremely concerned” about the situation. See... Annan urges Iranian negotiator to avoid escalation [1] ALSO:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00135.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00110.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00108.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00099.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00032.htm

MORE INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:

[1] -
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00147.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00146.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00145.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00141.htm

Suzan Mazur: The Sotheby's Euphronios Tape

- In the 1970s oil boom years, before Mu-ammar al-Gaddafi nationalized Bunker Hunt's oilfield and the silver market collapsed, he and brother Herbert amassed a quarter-ton of ancient coins and some astonishing pieces of ancient art. These were put up for sale in New York on June 19, 1990 to appease the Internal Revenue Service and the Hunts' various creditors, and raised more than $20 million. The Hunts bargained for a 60% commission over the benchmark figure on total sales. I had arranged for a private preview of the auction pieces with Sotheby's experts two weeks earlier, June 4, as part of my coverage for an article for The Economist magazine. Following are excerpts from my taped interview of that preview. See... Mazur: Sotheby's Pre-Auction Euphronios Transcript [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00076.htm

Russell Brown On Coddington's Reaquaintance With The Blogosphere

- Deborah Coddington claims to have discovered the blogosphere last week, and she was shocked. Shocked. "Planet blogger is a sad, pathetic sphere," she lamented in her newspaper column. She's not entirely wrong, especially as regards the character of argument in many blog comments forums. But Coddington is hardly the blog virgin (still less the delicate little flower) she claims to be in her column. There See... Public Address 16/01/06 - Second-Time Blog Virgin [1] & Public Address 13/01/06 - A Little Respect [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00111.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00091.htm

Jason Leopold: Illegal NSA Spying Began Earlier Than Thought

- The National Security Agency advised President Bush in early 2001 that it had been eavesdropping on Americans during the course of its work monitoring suspected terrorists and foreigners believed to have ties to terrorist groups, according to a declassified document. The NSA's vast data-mining activities began shortly after Bush was sworn in as president and the document contradicts his assertion that the 9/11 attacks prompted him to take the unprecedented step of signing a secret executive order authorizing the NSA to monitor a select number of American citizens thought to have ties to terrorist groups. See... Bush Authorized Domestic Spying Before 9/11 [1] . FOR MUCH MUCH MORE… Full Coverage: The NSA Domestic Spying Scandal [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00110.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00112.htm

Karl Ferguson Likes The Lines Of Peugeot's 206 GTI

- Is the 206 GTI the best looking hot hatch of all time? In brilliant cherry red, and despite being more than a little long in the tooth, the little Peugeot looks stunning. Colour coded body mouldings, neat rear spoiler, front fog lights, 17” alloys and chrome exhausts all add to the picture of a sensational looking small car. See... MOTORNET: Peugeot Twins Turn On The Charm [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00092.htm

MORE SCOOP COMMENTARY:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00109.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00106.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00094.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00108.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00107.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00103.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00105.htm
[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00104.htm
[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00102.htm
[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00101.htm
[11] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00100.htm
[12] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00089.htm
[13] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00088.htm
[14] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00087.htm
[15] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00086.htm
[16] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00099.htm
[17] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00098.htm
[18] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00095.htm
[19] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00093.htm
[20] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00090.htm

NZ Foreign Affairs Minister Energised By Iran's Nuclear Ambitions

- Foreign Minister Winston Peters reiterated his strong concern that Iran had started to remove International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) seals on uranium enrichment equipment and material at Natanz and other facilities and had said it intended to undertake research and development related to uranium enrichment. "This move goes against IAEA Board resolutions urging Iran to re-establish its voluntary suspension of uranium enrichment related activities. See... NZ Concerned About Iran's nuclear programme [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00032.htm

Legal Issues: Slightly Dodgy Drivers Get Caught In Unflinching Transport Purge -

The cases of bus and taxi drivers losing their licenses for long-past minor sexual offences is exactly what the Green Party warned would happen when the new land transport law was being debated last year, Associate Transport Spokesperson Keith Locke says. See... Greens warned of problem with licenses [1] ALSO:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00033.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00036.htm

Whaling: Paul Buchanan on NZ and the Whalers

- The New Zealand response is problematic for several reasons. Like it or not, this increasingly violent dispute is a political issue foremost, and governments are already involved. Not only is the scientific whaling project funded in part by the Japanese government, and the New Zealand government wholly opposed to it. See... The Geopolitical Implications Of The Southern Ocean Whaling Conflict [1] ALSO:

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00084.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0601/S00063.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00024.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00029.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00023.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0601/S00023.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00060.htm
[8] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00035.htm
[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00008.htm
[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0601/S00035.htm

Prison Muster Crisis Now Less Huge

- The Corrections Department has reached agreement with prison officer unions to increase capacity at most prisons through additional emergency beds, Mr O'Connor said. The agreement means 180 additional prison beds are available immediately with a further 90-100 beds able to be accessed by the end of February. This will result in fewer prisoners having to be held in police and court cells. See... Significant progress on managing prison muster [1] ALSO:National - More needed to fix Corrections crisis [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00040.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0601/S00039.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

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

• Linkedin
• Twitter - @althecat
• Facebook
• Email - alastair@scoop.co.nz