TODAY’S TOP SCOOPS:
Foreign Correspondent: Another Day In The Solomon Islands
Chernobyl: A Kiwi Recalls Visiting The Cursed Earth Of The Ukraine -
Audio & Images: ANZAC Day Dawns In Wellington
Literature: Adcock Scoops Queen's Poetry Medal
Tourism: Kiwi Students Spend Eye Opening Week In North Korea
Culture: Newmarket Inspires A Usurper To The Throne -
MORE HEADLINES:
Chernobyl: Still Killing 20 Years On
Darfur: Relief Efforts Near Collapse Due to Fading International Support
MORE INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:
SCOOP COLUMNS:
Suzan Mazur Interviews Prof. David N. Gibbs
Bernard Weiner: Dim Son Rex Ignobilis
Kara-Leah Grant: Are You Kiwi Or Kea Like?
Michael Collins: State Legislators Begin Impeachment Process
MORE SCOOP COMMENT & OPINION:
OTHER NEWS (Just Politics):
Police: Power wants people kept out of the force
Employment: Mapp And Unions On Collision Course -
Art/Defence: Military Life Captured In Oils -
Solomons: NZ Army and Police off to Honiara
MORE POLITICAL HEADLINES:
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TODAY’S TOP SCOOPS
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[1] - The Registra of Companies has announced today that he has accepted the advice of the Auckland Office of the Crown Solicitor, Meredith Connell, that no prosecution action be taken against Mr David parker MP, or any other director associated with Queens Park Mews Limited. The decision follows an investigation by the Companies Office arising from allegations of false or misleading documents having been filed with the Companies Office. See… : Press Release & Report In PDF Format [2]
Foreign Correspondent: Another Day In The Solomon Islands
- After flying down to Christchurch Monday night, the Scoop contingent (photographer Jason Dorday and myself) caught
the New Zealand Defense Force cargo flight to the Solomon Islands. At around 11 hours, including a stop-off in Port
Villa, Vanuatu, the RNZAF C130 Hercules flight was a lot longer than in a Boeing 747, but the Air Force food and service
was a lot more generous and accommodating than in its commercial equivalent. See... Ryan & Dorday: Another Day In The Solomon Islands [1] ALSO:SI Govt. - Solomon Islands Prime Minister Resigns [2] John Roughan - John Roughan (Honiara): Third Time Lucky? [3]
Chernobyl: A Kiwi Recalls Visiting The Cursed Earth Of The Ukraine -
Seeing is believing. Just as seeing the Mona Lisa or the Pyramids makes them more real, getting close-up and personal
made Chernobyl more real to me. Exactly a decade since my visit – and 20 years since the accident – memories of the time
I spent at the site of the world’s worst ecological, engineering and economic catastrophe still linger. See…Keith Lyons: Chernobyl - A Thinly Wrapped Monster [1] ALSO: Scoop Link – John Roughan of the NZ Herald: Chernobyl Was Not that Bad [2] UN - Chernobyl on road to recovery 20 years after [3]
Audio & Images: ANZAC Day Dawns In Wellington
- Sounds and sights from this mornings Dawn Service at the Cenotaph in Wellington. See... Audio & Images: ANZAC Day Dawns In Wellington [1] & Karim Sahai Images: Lest We Forget [2] AUDIO:
The Last Post (1 min) [3]
Address by RSA President John Campbell (10 mins) [4]
Complete Wgtn. ANZAC Dawn Service (40 mins) [5] MORE: William "Molly" Malone's Life Celebrated In A Song [6] Speaker Speech At NZ Service Chunuk Bair [7] Speaker Speech to Dawn Service ANZAC Cove [8] Inaugural artist in residence at Gallipoli [9] Anzac Day commemorative services [10] Speaker Speech to Turkish International Service [11] Peters represents Govt. at London Anzac Day [12] Helen Clark Address - Mt Albert Anzac Day Service [13] ANZAC Day Broadcast a Ratings Success for Maori TV [14]
The Last Post (1 min) [3]
Address by RSA President John Campbell (10 mins) [4]
Complete Wgtn. ANZAC Dawn Service (40 mins) [5] MORE: William "Molly" Malone's Life Celebrated In A Song [6] Speaker Speech At NZ Service Chunuk Bair [7] Speaker Speech to Dawn Service ANZAC Cove [8] Inaugural artist in residence at Gallipoli [9] Anzac Day commemorative services [10] Speaker Speech to Turkish International Service [11] Peters represents Govt. at London Anzac Day [12] Helen Clark Address - Mt Albert Anzac Day Service [13] ANZAC Day Broadcast a Ratings Success for Maori TV [14]
Literature: Adcock Scoops Queen's Poetry Medal
- Prime Minister Helen Clark today congratulated poet Fleur Adcock on receiving the prestigious Queen's Gold Medal for
Poetry for 2006. "This is a stunning achievement and puts the Auckland-born writer in the company of the world's
greatest English-language poets, including WH Auden, Siegfried Sassoon, John Betjeman, Philip Larkin, Robert Graves, Sir
Stephen Spender, Ted Hughes, and the late Allen Curnow, who was awarded this prize in 1989," Helen Clark said. See... Congratulations to Fleur Adcock on Royal honour [1] ALSO:Buckingham Palace - Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry for the year 2006 [2] BNZ - Short story competition just got a little longer [3]
Tourism: Kiwi Students Spend Eye Opening Week In North Korea
After months of organisation and belated email exchanges between a North Korean tour company, the New Zealand DPRK
friendship society and ourselves (a group of three Auckland University Arts students), what begun as a faint idea
sometime last year in the Quad was about to happen. We were accepted and furthermore invited to the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea (DPRK) or more commonly know round these parts as North Korea. See... Kiwi Students Spend Six Days in the DPRK [1]
Culture: Newmarket Inspires A Usurper To The Throne -
The streets of Newmarket in Auckland were littered with pearls and remnants of blue rinses last weekend as contestants
battled for the title of Queen look-a-like winner. Eventually Betty messent took out the title but not without a battle
from the – Best Daytime Queen Elizabeth. See... Queen Betty Takes Out Queen Elizabeth Competition [1]
MORE HEADLINES:
Wake Up! Our Fish is Being Stolen [1] Taking on Multinational Tobacco Co in New York [2] Conventional New Zealand History Challenged [3] Leaden Skies For Anzac Dawn [4] Fouhy Off to Nth Hemisphere for Mid Year Regattas [5]
Chernobyl: Still Killing 20 Years On
- Belarus, Ukraine, Russia: Drawing from eyewitness accounts and analyses, ICFTU has published a new Trade Union World
Briefing condemning the fact that 20 years after the fateful day of 26 April 1986, the biggest industrial catastrophe
ever is still under way. In the days following the explosion of reactor No. 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power station,
dozens of firemen and personnel at the power station died from acute radiation exposure. Since then, however, the human
toll has continued to grow. See... Chernobyl still killing 20 years on [1] ALSO:Chernobyl on road to recovery 20 years after [2]
Darfur: Relief Efforts Near Collapse Due to Fading International Support
- The disastrous combination of a worsening humanitarian situation, Government obstruction, rebel violence and weakened
support of the international community has left relief operations in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region on the verge of
breakdown, placing millions of people at risk, the top United Nations humanitarian official told the Security Council
today. See... Darfur Relief Efforts Near Collapse [1]
MORE INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:
UAE: Massive abuses against migrant workers [1] Trade unions successfully resist World Bank, IMF [2] Nepal: UN condemns use of deadly police force [3] New Caledonia: Rally to back Kanak anti-mining [4] Solomons opposition seeks Rini ouster in vote [5]
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SCOOP COLUMNS
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Suzan Mazur Interviews Prof. David N. Gibbs
- I first met University of Arizona political science professor David N. Gibbs about a year ago while researching a
story about the Patrice Lumumba matrix. Dr. Gibbs spent a couple of years in Africa in the Peace Corps(Niger, 1979-1980)
where his ... See... Mazur: Deeper Into The Dillon-Euphronios Nexus [1]
Bernard Weiner: Dim Son Rex Ignobilis
- The world of theatre that I've swum in for decades as a drama critic provides a useful prism through which to view
today's political events and players. This is especially true when thinking about drama from ancient Greece and Europe's
Renaissance. Those periods remind us how often human tragedy repeats itself over the centuries. (Which is why many
modern directors return so often to the wisdom of these ancient plays, often staging them with contemporary conceits so
as to make the connections overt for their audiences.) Much of ancient Greek drama focuses on the disastrous results of
"hubris," an overweening pride and arrogance that can lead rulers to go outside the ethical/legal boundaries. See... Bushism As Greek Drama: "Hubris" And "Tragic Flaws [1]
Kara-Leah Grant: Are You Kiwi Or Kea Like?
- After all, are New Zealanders easy prey? Or are they hardy survivors? Are we dowdy and round? Or colourful and sleek?
Are we habitual creatures? Or we blessed with an unusual ability to learn and create new solutions to whatever problems
we encounter? See... A Lighthearted Look At Our National Nickname [1]
Michael Collins: State Legislators Begin Impeachment Process
- Representative Karen A. Yarbrough, a Democratic member of the Illinois State Assembly, introduced a resolution
calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush. House Joint Resolution 125 was introduced on April 20, 2006
with two co sponsors, Representatives Sara Feigenholtz and Eddie Washington, also both Democrats. Derided by Thomas
Jefferson as “scarcely a scarecrow,” the presidential impeachment process is a rarity in United States history. The
impeachment of federal judges is more common but also a rare event. See... Bush Impeachment Resolution Introduced In Illinois [1] MORE: David Swanson - California 2nd State To Introduce Bush Impeachment [2]
MORE SCOOP COMMENT & OPINION:
NEW ZEALAND: Russell Brown Et Ors. - Public Address 26/04/06 - Wiki Trouble [1] & Public Address 24/4 - From The Freelance Frontline [2] Rosalea Barker - Stateside: A State Of Electioncy [3] Idiot Savant - No Right Turn: Labour's Dog [4] ELSEWHERE: Toni Solo - Shifting Centres Of Gravity In Latin America [5] Dahr Jamail - Subject to the Penalty of Death [6] William Blum - The Anti-Empire Report April 22, 2006 [7] Syed Atiq ul Hassan - Will Benazir-Nawaz Political Marriage Be Accepted? [8] & US Can Still Save This World [9] ISRAEL & OCCUPIED PALESTINE: Uri Avnery - Who's The Dog? Who's The Tail? [10] Muhammad Idrees Ahmad - Behind the Façade of Israel-Pakistan Rapprochement [11] Genevieve Cora Fraser - Poem: Palestine Will Not Bow to Anyone But Allah [12] , Is Hamas creating a Palestinian Armed Forces? [13] & Do We Need Bin Laden To Tell Us Muslims Targeted? [14] NEPAL: D.Michael Van De Veer - 8- Party Alliance Meet To Form Republic Of Nepal [15] & Nepal: Leaders Reject Attempt To Save The Monarchy [16] Sanjay Upadhya - Nepal: Above The Din, King Reframes The Debate [17] Siddhi B. Ranjitkar - Sincerity of Nepal's King [18] Khagendra Thapa - Nepal on Fire [19] Kamala Sarup - Atrocities Committed Against Nepali Children [20] , Communists Rising In Nepal [21] & How Peace Can Influence [22] Laba Karki - Monarchy An Antidote To The Poison Of Maoists [23] Sudhina Malla - 7 Parties and Maoists - Terrorism Must End [24] Ms Joyti - Roundup Of King's Address With Direct Quotes [25] UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Bill Grigsby - Lame Duck, Or Armed And Dangerous? [26] Mary Pitt - So You Want To Be A US Citizen [27] Norma Sherry - Genocide [28] Atlanta Progressive News - Georgia's Oxendine Accused of Cab Scam [29] Evelyn Pringle - Drip Drip - Paxil Info Leaks Out [30] William Fisher - Someone Does Not Mean Anyone [31] , Whistleblowing Past the Graveyard [32] & Getting Closer To The Top? [33] Ray McGovern - McCarthyism: Mary and Joe [34] David Swanson - Pacifica Radio Air Congressional Iraq Forum Live [35] , A Living Wage Revolution [36] & Congressional Hearing on Iraq [37] John Chuckman - America's Gulag [38] Sheila Samples - We Are The Deciders [39] William Rivers Pitt - Deadlines and Dissent [40] Bill Berkowitz - Michael Ledeen's Dream, M. Elbaradei's Nightmare [41] Cindy Sheehan - Raging Grannies & Raging Americans [42] William Rivers Pitt - My Morning Song [43]
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OTHER NEWS (JUST POLITICS)
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Police: Power wants people kept out of the force
- National Party Law & Order spokesman Simon Power says the Police must not compromise on the quality of recruits just so it can fill the
Government’s recruiting quota. He is commenting on a report that the Police are considering lowering the pre-entry
fitness standards of recruits. “There is no way we should be lowering our standards. Only the best will do." See... Police must not compromise on fitness [1] ALSO:NZ First - Mark Supports Fitness Test Review [2]
Employment: Mapp And Unions On Collision Course -
New Zealand’s largest trade union is putting National Party industrial relations spokesman Wayne Mapp on 90 days’ notice
of mass industrial protest. “If in 90 days he hasn’t scrapped his bill to let employers sack new employees for any
reason, we will launch a massive public campaign against it,” said EPMU national secretary Andrew Little. Mr Little said
that the Dr Mapp’s Employment Relations (Probationary Employment) Amendment Bill was a naked attack on workers’
employment rights. See... Workers put Mapp on 90-day warning [1] ALSO:National - Union's strike threats are ridiculous [2] United Future - Dunne slams EPMU's bully-boy tactics [3]
Art/Defence: Military Life Captured In Oils -
Captain Matt Gauldie, the New Zealand Army's official artist, hosted the launch of his inaugural exhibition. Scoop
popped down to Captain Gauldie's opening and and took a few snaps. Titled 'New Zealand Army Art - images of courage,
commitment, comradeship and integrity', the exhibition featured Captain Gauldie's works from his Unknown Warrior through
to more recent works . See... Official Army Artist Launches Timely Exhibition [1] ALSO: NZ Govt - Army Art Exhibition launch - PM Speech [2] AND:Donna Sarten - Exhibition: Raw War [3]
Solomons: NZ Army and Police off to Honiara
- Two RNZAF aircraft will depart Whenuapai midmorning today, bound for Honiara. An RNZAF Boeing 757 will carry 30 New
Zealand Police and travel via Christchurch, where it will uplift 25 infantry soldiers from Burnham Military Camp. An
RNZAF Hercules C130 will travel via Fiji to assist in transporting additional Fijian Police personnel to Honiara. It is
expected the first aircraft will land shortly after 5pm (New Zealand time) and remain on the ground for a short time
only. See... Solomon Islands - NZDF Assistance [1] Image: ANZAC Day 2004, Honiara ALSO:Audio - PM And RDU's Wammo Discuss The Solomons [2] MFAT: Solomon Islands Travel Advice [3] Massey University - Animosity in the Solomons to run its course [4]
MORE POLITICAL HEADLINES:
NZ Govt - Courts and Criminal Matters Bill Summary [1] NZ Govt - New Zealand Lodges Seabed Boundary with UN [2] NZ Govt - Legislation to target excessive salary sacrifice [3] NZ Govt - Peters holds high level talks with EU in Austria [4] NZ Govt - Three-quarters of million for clean home heating [5] NZ Govt Deep regret at possible sale of Upham medals [6] NZ Govt Her Majesty the Queen's 80th birthday on 21 April [7] NZ Govt - Goff to US for Forum and trade, defence talks [8] National - Prisoners working less under Labour [9] National - National seeks to widen HNZ probe [10] National - Easter trading laws need updating [11] National - Patients struck off second waiting list [12] National - Dog law will fail without council support [13] National - Increase in beneficiaries claiming help for cars [14] National - Public have little confidence in tertiary sector [15] National - NZ should take notice of party pill research [16] National - $11 million for landscaping at prisons [17] National - Complaint lodged over Treaty committee [18] Green Party - Green going bush [19] Green Party - Public education the key to successful recycling [20] Green Party - Clothing company tactics must be stopped [21] ACT - DHBs Play "Fall Guys" For Clark And Hodgson [22]
ENDS