TODAY’S TOP SCOOPS:
Health: GPs Require Employment Checkup
Employment: 'The Kids Are Alright' While Out On Strike -
Scoop Column: A Dr Who Wants Employment Reform and A Dr Who Is Assisting -
MORE HEADLINES:
Election Spending: Taxpayer Saved Money On Court Case
Law: Bill calls for 'adult punishment' for 'adult crimes'
SCOOP IS IN THE HOUSE:
Arts: Scoop Audio - DJ Spooky on remixing racism
Scoop Links: Guantanamo Documents Released, Abu Ghraib Torture Images -
Indonesia: Escalating Violence and Police Deaths in Papua
MORE INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:
SCOOP COLUMNS:
Suzan Mazur: "Dirt Archaeologist" Elizabeth Stone Weighs Into The Euphronius Debate
Am Johal Surveys The Merits Of Non-conformism
John Pagani Reports On Paris's Employment Protests
Walter Brasch On The Land Of The Not So Free Anymore
Jason Leopold Gets Inside PlameGate
MORE SCOOP COMMENT & OPINION:
Katya Rivas's Passion: Serialised For Lent (Part 11)
OTHER NEWS (Just Politics):
Employment: Maori Party Votes for Allegedly Anti-worker Legislation -
Legislation: Nandor Free House Comes One Step Closer -
GE: NZ Engineers GE-Labelling-Resistant Trade Talks
MORE POLITICAL HEADLINES:
POLITICAL COLUMNS
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TODAY’S TOP SCOOPS
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[1] Major human rights issues should top the agenda for meetings today with a top United States official, Green Party Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Keith Locke says. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Chris Hill will meet Foreign Minister Winston Peters this morning and Prime Minister Helen Clark this afternoon. "This is a perfect opportunity for New Zealand to raise the harsh treatment of Guantanamo Bay prisoners." See... Human rights should head agenda with US official [2] MORE:
[3] Audio: US Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill [4]
Health: GPs Require Employment Checkup
- Faced with the stresses and strains of life today, general practitioners are increasingly looking for the work/life
balance they advocate for their patients... In a report that focuses on working conditions and future arrangements,
teamwork and remuneration, many GPs are rejecting the “job for life” concept in the face of an environment they see as
increasingly hostile, with their skills significantly undervalued. See... Stopping the spiral into GP burnout [1] and Full Report (PDF) [2] ALSO:NZ Govt - Hodgson welcomes GP report [3] ACT - Red Tape Leaves GPs In Critical Condition [4] Medical Association - Report confirms GP workforce problems [5] Association of Salaried Medical Specialists- New Employment Option Needed to Avoid GP Crisis [6]
Employment: 'The Kids Are Alright' While Out On Strike -
Over 1000 workers and supporters marched up Queen St to the Big Pay Out concert today to rock against youth rates and
for a $12 minimum wage and secure hours. “Chief executives have been celebrating last years pay rise - their biggest in
15 years,” said Simon Oosterman. “But today, striking 15 year old’s – some earning as low as $6.89 per hour - joined
their older co-workers in the Big Pay Out mosh pit saying that it’s our turn.” See... Unite Union Rocks [1] ALSO: Young National - Greens even sillier with call to students to wag [2]
Scoop Column: A Dr Who Wants Employment Reform and A Dr Who Is Assisting -
This week saw an interesting change in the MMP landscape. For the last few years allegedly anti-worker legislation has
been torpedoed thanks to the efforts of various combinations of Labour, Alliance and Green MPs and more recently Labour.
Progressive and Green MPs. With the assistance of New Zealand First, ACT, United Future and three of the four Maori
Party MPs, National's Wayne Mapp was able to get his "Employment Amendment Bill" past its first hurdle. See...A Week of It: Paving Paradise + Mapp and Sharples [1]
MORE HEADLINES:
Attorney-General David Parker Must Stand Down [1] West Papua in deep crisis: NZ should take action [2] People’s Inquiry Invites MPs to Listen to People [3] Raoul Search And Rescue Mission To Be Assessed [4] Raoul Island Evacuation Underway [5]
Election Spending: Taxpayer Saved Money On Court Case
- National Party MP Murray McCully says the decision not to charge the Labour Party with its deliberate and blatant
breaches of the Electoral Act is a “gutless cop-out”. Mr McCully says the Labour Party must now qualify for listing in
the Guinness Book of Records for notching up prima facie cases which never get to prosecution. See... Decision on overspending 'gutless cop-out' [1] ALSO:NZ Police - No Prosecutions For Electoral Complaints [2] mccully.co.nz: Test for Police/Crown Law [3] ACT - Labour's "Get Out Of Jail Free" Card [4]
Law: Bill calls for 'adult punishment' for 'adult crimes'
- New Zealand First Law and Order spokesperson Ron Mark says he's pleased parliament will have the chance to debate his
Young Offenders (Serious Crimes) Bill which seeks to introduce tougher penalties for youth offenders who commit serious
violent crimes. Mr Mark's member's bill was drawn from the ballot today and placed on the Order Paper for debate. See... Parliament Has Chance To Fight Youth Crime [1] ALSO:Maori Party - "Prison for twelve year olds?: Absolutely not" [2]
SCOOP IS IN THE HOUSE:
Questions And Answers - 16 March 2006 [1] Questions And Answers - 15 March 2006 [2] Questions And Answers - 14 March 2006 [3]
Arts: Scoop Audio - DJ Spooky on remixing racism
- Rebirth of a Nation sees DJ Spooky remixing the 1915 film Birth of a Nation, known both for its technical innovation, setting many of the standard techniques of cinema, and as pro-Klu Klax Klan
propaganda. Miller spoke to Scoop about Birth of a Nation, how he uses Rebirth of a Nation to explore how it resonates in the present day and to confront the past, and his personal approach to remixing. See... Arts Festival Preview: DJ Spooky's Rebirth of a Nation [1] ALSO:Scoop Review: Rebirth of a Nation [2] More Scoop Arts Festival Reviews:Parsival [3] Ba Cissoko [4] Subramaniam [5] Aterballetto [6] The Hilliard Ensemble - Passion [7] Talvin Singh's Tabtek [8] ALSO:FULL COVERAGE: Festival 2006 [9]
Scoop Links: Guantanamo Documents Released, Abu Ghraib Torture Images -
Salon has presented an archive of 279 photographs and 19 videos gathered in the US Army's internal investigation of the
torture and abuse of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison. Salon notes that " To date no officers have been brought to
justice in a court of law". Also this week, Associated Press has analysed transcripts and other documents related to the
Combatant Status Reviews of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. See... Scoop Links: Guantanamo Images and Abu Ghraib Documents [1]
Indonesia: Escalating Violence and Police Deaths in Papua
- Demonstrators and police clashed in the provincial capital Jayapura this week, causing the deaths of four Indonesian
policemen and seriously injuring several civilians. Human Rights Watch called for an independent investigation by
Indonesia’s National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) into the incident, and for other domestic and foreign
independent monitors to be allowed access to the area. Some 150 demonstrators, including students from the University of
Cenderawasih, have spent the last two days demanding the withdrawal of the Indonesian army (TNI) and police from Papua,
and the closure of the U.S.-owned Freeport mine in Timika, Papua. See... Indonesia: Escalating Violence in Papua [1] ALSO:Incident & Reprisals in Abepura West Papua [2] Howard should raise West Papuans' plight with Rice [3]
MORE INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:
Nuclear Bunker Buster Bombs againt Iran: Madness [1] AIDS scourge in Africa; need for women's agency [2] Lower number of asylum-seekers raises questions [3] Early findings: no evidence Milosevic was poisoned [4] D.R. Congo: ICC Arrest First Step to Justice [5]
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SCOOP COLUMNS
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Suzan Mazur: "Dirt Archaeologist" Elizabeth Stone Weighs Into The Euphronius Debate
- Hungry for love after a trouncing on these pages by antiquities whistleblower Oscar Muscarella [ Antiquities
Whistleblower Oscar White Muscarella], New York Times chief art critic Michael Kimmelman and Metropolitan Museum of Art
director Philippe de Montebello took their "Who Owns Art" show last week to Greenwich Village's New School and an
audience packed with collectors. See... NYT, Met Sing to Collectors: Elizabeth Stone I/V [1]
Am Johal Surveys The Merits Of Non-conformism
- The public sphere as a concept which has been under development since the days of Socrates and Plato, continues to be
the subject of modern debate. Socrates, in the end, was executed not for asserting the way the world should be, but for
doubting the truths of others. Non-conformism in the public sphere has thus historically often been dangerous
intellectual terrain virtually since the beginning of modern civilization. See... The Public Sphere in Conflict and Transition State [1]
John Pagani Reports On Paris's Employment Protests
- They say the street always wins in French politics. Daily for a week the Paris streets have filled with protests
organised by students and unions demanding 'retrait du Contrat Première Embauche', or withdrawal of the 'first
employment contract' law. The CPE introduces a two-year probationary period for anyone under 26 when employers could
fire them for any reason. See... France Protests Over Probationary Employment Law [1]
Walter Brasch On The Land Of The Not So Free Anymore
- Two weeks before President Bush signed Congressional legislation that made permanent all but two sections of the USA
PATRIOT Act, State College, Pennsylvania., became the 397th American community to reaffirm the belief that the
Constitution and Bill of Rights take precedence over any federal law. Not one of those resolutions should have been
necessary. Nor should the legislatures of eight states—Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, and
Vermont—have had to pass legislation affirming the rights of all Americans. But they had to, and they did. See... Brasch: Compromising Americans’ Civil Liberties [1]
Jason Leopold Gets Inside PlameGate
- The identity of intelligence officials who are thought to have passed information about covert CIA operative Valerie
Plame Wilson to Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, surfaced in a federal
court document filed Friday evening. See.. Attorneys Identify CIA Officials in Plame Leak [1] and Leopold: Obstruction Trial May Jog Libby's Memory [2]
MORE SCOOP COMMENT & OPINION:
Russell Brown - Public Address 20/03/06 - Mixed Feelings [1] & Public Address 17/3/06 [2] Martin LeFevre - Meditations: The New Human Rights Council [3] Keith Rankin - Keith Rankin: Motorway Follies [4] John Roughan (In Honiara) - A History of Forgetting! [5] Issa Khalaf - What Options Left for Palestine? [6] Evelyn Pringle - Just What Kids Need - Sparlon - Another ADHD Drug [7] , Legal ADHD Speed New Drug Of Choice For Americans [8] , Trasylol Patients and Clinical Trial Subjects Bewa [9] & ADHD Drugs, Who Said What At Last Month's Hearings [10] Sonia Nettnin - Coalition Mobilizes for Muhammad Salah's Rights in US Courts [11] Mary Pitt - J-Mac And The Prez [12] Jason Miller - Pink Slips Abound for Prosecutors and Therapists [13] Sanjay Upadhya - Milosevic’s Defiance In Saddam’s Defense [14] Bill Berkowitz - Rick Warren And The New Evangelism [15] Kelpie Wilson - From Teapot Dome to Gale Norton [16] William Fisher - The Age Of Anxiety Redux [17] David Swanson - Republicans for Impeachment [18] & Homeland Dreamland [19] William Rivers Pitt - Deranged, Disconnected, and Dangerous [20] Genevieve Cora Fraser - Israeli Propaganda Attacks Hamas for Fateh Website [21] Daniel Patrick Welch - Saint Patrick's Day: Needlessly Missed Opportunity [22] Norman Solomon - Norman Solomon: War-Loving Pundits [23]
Katya Rivas's Passion: Serialised For Lent (Part 11)
- Let us go on with this painful story, which you will manage to take to as many people as you can. I will enlighten
you in the way in which it should be done. See... Katya Rivas: Jesus Is Taken to Prison [1] SEE ALSO: Part 10 - Katya Rivas: Peter Denies Jesus [2]
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OTHER NEWS (JUST POLITICS)
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Employment: Maori Party Votes for Allegedly Anti-worker Legislation -
Last evening three of the four Maori party MPs voted for a National Party bill to allow a 90-day probation period for
new workers. The bill will now go to a select committee for further consideration. In his speech supporting the bill
Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples debated the right to work vs the right of the worker. See... Sharples - Probationary Employment Bill [1] ALSO:NZCTU - Right to Work- Workers Rights Not Incompatible [2] National - National delighted probation bill passes [3] Greens - Nat's bill is attack on the vulnerable [4] Business NZ - Probationary period would help more into jobs [5]
Legislation: Nandor Free House Comes One Step Closer -
This week Barbara Stewart's Electoral (Reduction in Number of Members of Parliament) Amendment Bill passed its first
reading. The bill would reduce the number of MPs to 100 at the next election. According to Ms Stewart's bill the number
of electorate and Maori seats would remain the same whilst list MPs would shrink dramatically. If the bill had been
passed before the last election parties entirely consisting of electorate MPs - such as the Maori Party - would still
have four seats while the Green Party would be Nandor-less. See... Sharples - Reduction in Numbers of MP Bill [1] ALSO: NZ First - A Victory For Democracy In New Zealand [2] Scoop Report - MP Seeks To Make Her Compatriots Redundant [3] Progressive Party - Reducing Parliament to 100 MPs has lost relevance [4] Maori Party - Sharples - Reduction in Numbers of MP Bill [5]
GE: NZ Engineers GE-Labelling-Resistant Trade Talks
- New Zealand is now the only country standing in the way of an international agreement on labelling of GE organisms
traded across borders. "We have been the object of international condemnation for some time for being one of the
countries to block agreement. Now, to our shame, we stand alone in wanting to deny developing countries the protection
of a robust international standard," Greens Environment Spokesperson Nandor Tanczos says. See... NZ isolated on GE [1] ALSO:NZ Govt - Minister corrects misrepresentations on Protocol [2] GE Free NZ - Clean green image could be wrecked [3] GE Free NZ - NZFSA is called to test Baby Rice [4] Rural Women NZ - Rural Women support ban on “Terminator” [5]
MORE POLITICAL HEADLINES:
NZ Govt - Organics sector receives govt support [1] NZ Govt - NZ Takes Action to Ban Global Fish Subsidies [2] NZ Govt - Thank U 2 promoters [3] National - Parents first, not bureaucrats [4] National - Pharmac advice leaves Health Minister red-faced [5] National - Labour cannot ignore call to review maternity [6] National - NZ prisons: anything goes under O’Connor [7] National - Call to abandon standards-based scholarship [8] National - Prisoner drug unit availability a disgrace [9] National - Prostitute registers should be shredded [10] Greens - Greens welcome long overdue organics support [11] ACT - Attorney-General David Parker Must Stand Down [12]
POLITICAL COLUMNS
The Mapp Report 17 March 2006 [1] Newsworthy: Claims by prisoners soar [2] Plain English Tackles Text Bullying [3] www.mccully.co.nz 17 March 2006 [4] The Letter – Monday, 13 March 2006 [5]
ENDS