Today's Top Scoops - July 20, 2007
-----------
TO CHANGE MY SCOOP OPTIONS OR UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS LIST
IF YOU HAVE LOST YOUR PASSWORD
-----------
LEAD STORY------------
Public Service: The Bureaucrats Are Restless - The PSA remains concerned that people who have a relationship with someone who is politically active will find it difficult getting a job in the public service, despite a reassurance from the State Services Commissioner that this is not the case. The Commissioner, Mark Prebble, has today provided details of the case in which Madeleine Setchell lost her job as a head of communications at the Environment Ministry after three days. This was due to what was seen as a potential conflict of interest because her partner is the press secretary of National Party leader, John Key. More >> [1]
-----------
NZ POLITICS------------
QUESTIONS OF THE DAY:Questions And Answers - Thursday, 19 July 2007 [1] Questions And Answers - Wednesday, 18 July 2007 [2] Questions and Answers - Tuesday, 17 July 2007 [3]
Politics: Blown Millions Not An 'Investment' - New Zealanders should be extremely concerned that Finance Minister Dr Michael Cullen is now trying to justify blowing
over $100 million of taxpayers' money trying to play the foreign exchange market by calling it a long-term investment in
New Zealand, ACT New Zealand Deputy Leader Heather Roy said. More>> [1]
ALSO:ANZ Bank - ANZ Bank Analyses The Reserve Bank [2] Auckland Chamber of Commerce - To Economists: Unblock Barriers to Progress [3] Business Roundtable - Monetary Policy Credibility Must be Restored [4]
Education: Minister back-peddles over porn-site teacher - It is no wonder that the Education Minister is distancing himself from the recent decision of the Teachers Council
Disciplinary Tribunal to allow a teacher who posted hard-core pornographic pictures of himself and two women on internet
sex sites to continue teaching, says National’s Education spokeswoman Katherine Rich. “The decision is utterly
indefensible." More >> [1]
McCully.co.nz: Humble MP Denies Burgling Boss - The TVNZ item then ended by stating that Mr Key blamed drug users for the break-in. Unfortunately, at these points,
the wallpaper pictures TVNZ selected for the purposes of illustration were file pictures of the humble Member for East
Coast Bays exiting the iron security gate at the Key Parnell establishment. More >> [1]
Foreign Affairs: Street Theatre And Maryan Street At Falun Gong Protest - This afternoon Wellingtonians were treated to some extreme theatre during a rally organised to protest human rights
abuses in China. Various actors portraying members of the banned (in China) Falun Gong movement were busy being
tormented on flat deck trucks while other unfortunates were having their organs harvested - possibly without
anaesthetic. More >> [1]
ALSO:Scoop Report - Dissident Slams NZ Govt's Relationship With China [2] Amnesty International - "Human Rights are Not For Sale" [3] Amnesty International - Rally Highlights Chinese Abuses [4] Indonesian Human Rights Committee - Letter to Clark - re meeting with Indonesian Pres [5]
-----------
BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH------------
Internet: What Do Women Really Want? – The top ten channels in Nielsen//NetRatings' Market Intelligence showing the sites that attract the highest
percentage of women, aged 25-34, for the month of June 2007. The results show the websites which have the greatest
affinity for women in their late twenties. More >> [1]
Statistics: Kiwi's Enjoying Record Numbers Of Overseas Trips - New Zealand residents departed on 208,300 short-term trips in June 2007, up 20,500 (11 percent) on the 187,800
departures in June 2006, Statistics New Zealand said today. This is a record number of departures for any month. More >> [1]
Media: HT Comes Back For Rest Of MediaWorks - 19 July 2007: HT Media Limited (HT Media) today announced its intention to make an offer to acquire all the shares it
does not own in MediaWorks NZ Limited (MediaWorks) at a price of $2.68 per share. HT Media successfully acquired an
82.6% shareholding in MediaWorks through its previous takeover offer of $2.33 per share (excluding the 10 cents per
share special dividend). More >> [1]
Biosecurity: MAF Swoops On GM Aquarium Fish - MAF Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) yesterday entered four Christchurch premises in response to information that
people at those addresses were breeding and/or selling genetically modified aquarium fish. More >> [1]
-----------
WORLD------------
Australian Minister for Defense: Australian and New Zealand Defence Ministers Meet - Australian and New Zealand Defence Ministers Meet in Sydney The Minister for Defence, Dr Brendan Nelson, met with his
New Zealand counterpart, the Hon Phil Goff, in Sydney today to discuss key priorities for cooperation in an historically
close and enduring defence partnership. More >> [1]
UN Report: President Bush Meets with Ban-Ki-Moon - PRESIDENT BUSH: Mr. Secretary General, welcome; thanks for coming. We've just had a wide-ranging and full discussion
on a lot of issues. First, Mr. Secretary General, I appreciate you, one, taking on this job; two, working extremely
hard; and, three, doing a fine job. I admire the values you hold dear to your heart and I appreciate the chance to share
some thoughts with you. More >> [1]
ITF: Brazil air crash an 'accident waiting to happen' - The ITF today warned that Tuesday’s horrific São Paulo plane crash was an avoidable tragedy that could easily be
repeated if obvious and already known problems are not urgently addressed. The Federation also backed Ifatca and Ifalpa
in their warning that the crash proves that the problem of runway lengths must be urgently examined. More >> [1]
ALSO:NFCAW of Brazil - Brazilian Civil Aviation Workers Shocked [2]
Scoop News: Photo Essay: Recent Floods in Chongqing, China - Photographer Bert Felt shares images of the recently flooded Chongqing, China. Chongqing is located on the edge of
the Yungui Plateau and intersects the Jialing River and the upper part of the river Yangtze.More >> [1]
-----------
COMMENT------------
Freedom Rider: Nazis Attack Iran - The Americans think it is ridiculous and libelous to accuse them of acting like Nazis - and then they do. The planned
attack on Iran, a people we know no better than we knew the Iraqis, will be a slaughter for which the world will hold
the American people... More >> [1]
Congo and Darfur: A Tale of Two Genocides - - As many as five million people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A quarter million or so have perished
in Darfur, western Sudan. Both are abominations, genocides, crimes against humanity, but only Darfur rates coverage in
the U.S. corporate media... More >> [1]
Robert Parry: If the Democrats Want to Win - - If the Democrats really want to prevail over George W. Bush on the Iraq War and on his authoritarian vision of
presidential powers, they would put back on the table two options that their leaders have removed: a cut-off of war
funding and impeachment... More >> [1]
Marjorie Cohn: Reining In an Out-of-Control Executive - Our Founding Fathers created three separate but co-equal branches of government to check and balance each other so no
one branch would become all powerful. Indeed, James Madison wrote in the Federalist Papers, “The preservation of liberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct.” Madison warned, “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary in the same hands ... may justly be pronounced
the very definition of tyranny.” More than 200 years later, we have another King George More >> [1]
-----------
LIFESTYLE------------
World Cup 2007: Calls For Kiwis To Get Hairy - Hayman's Beard, the group calling on All Black prop Carl Hayman to grow back his beard, have now made a call for
national unity, urging all kiwis to grow beards between now and the World Cup to show their support for the All Blacks.
A poll on their blog indicates that 92% of voters agree that Hayman’s Beard is crucial to the success of the All Blacks
at the Rugby World Cup. More >> [1]
Spare Room: Ticketmaster Beats Scalpers At Their Own Game - How much would you pay to see The Police live at Western Springs? The sky’s now the limit, according to the latest
email from Ticketmaster, who have announced Ticketmaster Auctions [1] for their Auckland concert next year. More >>
Rememberance: Poppy Pack remembers New Zealand’s worst disaster - All New Zealanders, including those travelling to cheer on the All Blacks in Europe later this year, are being urged
to buy a commemorative Poppy Pack, launched today (19 July), to mark the 90th anniversary of the worst disaster in New
Zealand’s history. More >> [1]
ALSO:NZ Govt - WWI Casualty Forms Presented To Minister [2]
Fashion: Call for Fresh Faces for Style Pasifika - For one day only the producers of Westfield Style Pasifika will be auditioning fresh new faces for what is New
Zealand's premiere fashion award and entertainment spectacular - and anyone who is an excellent performer is welcome to
audition. More >> [1]
And those were the Top Scoops on this day, July 20, 2007
:)
ENDS