Today's Top Scoops - November 05, 2007
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LEAD STORY------------
Labour Party Conference: 'Tax Cutathon' On Way For 2008? - Over the weekend NZ Prime Minister Helen Clark told the Labour Party conference that tax cuts were on the table for 2008. "Every year officials have sought to explain them away by one off factors. Now they concede that the surpluses are structural...So that gives Labour more choices - not to break the bank and sacrifice our country's stability, but to deliver Budgets which continue to strengthen the economy and services, and deliver hard working New Zealanders a direct dividend through a personal tax cut. More >> [1]
ALSO Left Vs Left:Scoop Report - "Shame" Calls Target Left-Leaning Labourites [2] Len Richards - Len Richards Responds To Alleged Assault Claims [3] Jill Ovens - Delegation had no intention to confront protesters [4] (TV3): Protesters clash with police outside Labour Party conference [5] (TV3): Labour Party delegate assaults protester with megaphone [6] (TV3): Clark announces tax cuts at Labour Party conference [7]
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NZ POLITICS------------
Foreign Advice: Man Who Described TVNZ As 'Braindead' Has Brainstorm Over Condoleezza - "Mr. President, Ms. Rice is a Chamberlain in your Administration. She is wilfully underestimating the words of evil,
ambitious Islamo-Fascists like Ahmadinejad," writes Libertarian Lindsay Perigo in an impassioned plea for the United
States to start a war with Iran. More >> [1]
Police had another busy weekend in Auckland City with Guy Faulkes and the Labour Party meeting however they did manage
to carry out a Drink Drive Operation which targeted the Motorway on ramps. More >> [1]
Conservation: By Herne's Horns Don't Trust Hunters With Pest Control! - Handing control of introduced pests over to hunters will set back conservation 100 years, Forest & Bird says. Public submissions to a ministerial advisory panel considering the options for management of deer, thar,
chamois and wild pigs close tomorrow. More >> [1]
Politics: EPMU Secretary To Announce Candidacy Details - EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little will announce whether or not he will stand for the Labour Party in a list or
electorate seat by February 2008. Speaking on TVOne's Agenda, Mr Little said he had made no definite decisions yet. More >> [1]
Politics: Should Govt Flunkees Have A 'Holiday In Cambodia'? - ACT Party MP Heather Roy writes that Labour uses state-funds to employ party hacks. Ms Roy considers that as
Socialists, our government should know that even Chairman Mao thought that aspiring party activists should first learn
the ways of the peasants. More >> [1]
Foreign Affairs: NZ-Led Nuclear Weapons Resolution Succeeds At UN - "A New Zealand-led resolution which aims to reduce the high alert status of thousands of nuclear weapons has won
strong support at the United Nations General Assembly," Disarmament and Arms Control Minister Phil Goff announced today. More >> [1]
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BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH------------
Good Time Roll: Biggest New Car Sales Month For 18 Years - The new vehicle market demonstrated continuing strength with 7904 new cars registered in October. It was an 11.7%
increase on September, a 1.5% increase on October 2006, and represented the largest number of new cars sold in any month
since June 1989. "New vehicle sales continue to forge ahead," said Motor Industry Association CEO Perry Kerr, "and 2007
is on target to produce over 100,000 new vehicle registrations for only the second time since the late 1980s." More >> [1]
Finance: Solid Second Half Lays Platform For Westpac - Westpac New Zealand today announced a net profit after tax of $465 million for the year ended 30 September, up 2 per
cent. Core earnings (pre tax and impairment charges), however, was up a solid 9%. Second half net profit after tax was
strong, up 10% on the prior period. The stronger second half demonstrated that plans implemented over the past six
months were gaining traction. More >> [1]
Airlines: Air New Zealand Scoops World Travel Award - Air New Zealand has been named Australasia's Leading Business Class Airline at the 14th Annual World Travel Awards.
Hailed by the Wall Street Journal as the "travel industry's equivalent to the Oscars", the World Travel Awards are
considered the most prestigious event on the travel calendar with more than 167,000 travel professionals voting
worldwide. More >> [1]
Tourism Awards: Hukafalls Jet Scoops Top Honours - Hukafalls Jet was last night awarded the Wintech Hospitality, Entertainment and Tourism Award at the Westpac Waikato
Business Excellence Awards black tie dinner held at Mystery Creek in Hamilton. Hukafalls Jet beat off tough competition
to take out top honours in both categories, with this year seeing a higher number of entrant companies than ever before. More >> [1]
Internet: Congratulations To New ICANN Chair, NZ's Peter Dengate Thrush - InternetNZ congratulates longstanding InternetNZ member Peter Dengate Thrush on his election as Chair of the board of
ICANN, the US-based organisation that globally coordinates the Internet's unique identifiers. Dengate Thrush is a
Wellington-based Internet barrister who has been involved with ICANN since its inception in 1998. He participated in the
international working groups that lead to its formation. More >> [1]
Sports Presenters: One News Sports Team Announced - TVNZ has announced that Tony Veitch and Andrew Saville will present the sports news for ONE News at 6pm. Jenny-May
Coffin will be the back-up presenter. Tony becomes the major sports anchor for ONE News, replacing Neil Waka. Tony will
present sports news five nights per week, from Sunday to Thursday. ONE News rugby reporter Andrew Saville will present
Friday and Saturday night sports news. More >> [1]
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WORLD------------
Science: King Tut's Mummy On Public Display For First Time - The face of the ancient Egyptian King Tutankhamun has been shown to the public for the first time since his tomb was
discovered 85 years ago. King Tut's mummy has been moved into a special display case where it will be better protected
from dust and the elements. King Tut's well-preserved face looks like dark leather, and he has a hint of a smile. King
Tut has what Egyptian antiquities chief Zahi Hawass calls beautiful buck teeth. More >> [1]
World News: UN Envoy Begins Discussions With Burma Officials - United Nations Special Advisor Ibrahim Gambari has returned to Myanmar where he has begun talks with senior officials
on speeding up the process of democratization and national reconciliation in the troubled South-East Asian nation. Mr.
Gambari met today with Foreign Minister U Nyan Win to discuss the Govt of Myanmar's response, so far, to the
expectations of the international community following the recent crisis. More >> [1]
Foreign Affairs: Ban Ki-moon Highlights Crucial Role Of Iraq's Neighbours And Regional Partners - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed the vital role played by Iraq's neighbours and regional partners in
securing peace and stability in the strife-torn nation which continues to face daunting challenges. "Iraq today is faced
with an exceptionally complex series of overlapping sectarian, political and ethnic challenges". More >> [1]
Undeniable: UNESCO Unanimously Endorses Resolution on Holocaust Remembrance - Recently in Paris, the 193 member states of the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
adopted by consensus a resolution promoting remembrance of the Holocaust. The resolution, submitted by the United
States, Russia, Australia, Canada, and Israel, and co-sponsored by 65 other UNESCO member states, clearly demonstrates
the refusal of UNESCO's member states to countenance any form of Holocaust denial. More >> [1]
French Connection: The US & France - Renewal Of An Enduring Alliance - In April 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked one million American soldiers to cross the Atlantic to turn the tide of
the great war in favor of the Allies. Two decades later Franklin Roosevelt launched the D-Day invasion to help win back
French dignity and independence. Our countries fought on the same side in two world wars and then during the long
struggle to defeat Communism.More >> [1]
Behind The Wall: The Burma Junta's Hidden Victims - The startling images of fearless saffron-robed monks in the streets of Rangoon and the violent crackdown that
followed exposed Burma to world scrutiny. What we don't see behind these images is the desperation of the Burmese people
whose freedom and livelihoods have been drastically curtailed under the repressive regime. Many of these people face
literal enslavement at home and extreme exploitation in neighboring countries. More >> [1]
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COMMENT------------
Paul Buchanan: A Comment On Terrorist Conspiracy - The subject of terrorism in New Zealand has taken on the character of political theater. To clarify the debate given
continued evidence suppression and putting legal wrangles aside, the question as to whether at least twelve of the
Urewera 17 were involved in a terrorist conspiracy reduces to four fundamental principles: capabilities, preparation,
planning and targets in the construction of a terrorist plot. Beyond that, it is a matter of ideology and law. More >> [1]
Martin LeFevre: The Peace That Passes All Understanding - It's near dusk, and the parkland seems to be full of Cooper's hawks. At one point on the path, a large, brown,
stipple-winged hawk takes off from the path ahead of me with some small animal in its mouth. Another hawk, perched on a
branch overhanging the park road, drops from the limb and screeches incessantly. More >> [1]
J. Sri Raman: Delhi Tries Bush Tack On Nuke Deal - Will India witness in coming days the build-up of a bipartisan consensus on the deal, as the US did some months ago?
That is much more than a billion-dollar question, considering what the deal to reopen US-India nuclear commerce is
likely to cost the common Indian and profit corporate giants in both countries. More >> [1]
Dr. Ravindra Kumar: World Religion - The Need Of The Hour - It was in the morning of the 25th of November, 1997 when Paitoon came to my apartment and said: "I shall be grateful
in case you are pleased to impart knowledge of definition of religion to graduate class in the afternoon today." I
accepted his request and defined religion in the following manner: "Hindu Religious Philosophy incorporates the dictum
that religion is what is worth adopting. More >> [1]
Ramzy Baroud: A Case For Arab Dignity - The ongoing socio-economic and political ills that mar potential progress in Middle Eastern countries can largely be
attributed to the ill-defined foreign policy of the United States. Utterly desperate situations have arisen whereby US
clients rule with an iron fist, making prospects for a meaningful democracy sit at an all-time low. More >> [1]
David Swanson: Impeachment In NYC - This fall, Culture Project will launch an ambitious and unique new series gathering today's most brilliant and
visionary minds to explore and debate the case for the impeachment of President George Bush and Vice President Richard
Cheney. "A Question of Impeachment" will engage audiences in executive powers, war, surveillance, torture and
extraordinary rendition, and government response to disaster. More >> [1]
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LIFESTYLE------------
Sport: Protein Cookies Power NZ Gridiron Players - The Protein Bakery have signed up the Hutt Valley Spartans for the 2007/2008 season of American Football (gridiron).
The team will now be known as the Protein Cookie Spartans. More >> [1]
Graffiti: Urban Eyesores Being Painted Over - The first paint's been applied to urban eyesores by Keep New Zealand Beautiful's graffiti challenge. KNZB has begun
the huge task of painting eye-catching art over the buildings that have fallen victim to spray can vandals. On the
outskirts of Paraparaumu on the Kapiti Coast, an OnTrack gear shed has been transformed. More >> [1]
Fireworks: Wellington Sky About To Explode With Colour - One of Wellington's most colourful events, the Pelorus Trust Sky Show, returns to Wellington on Monday 5 November.
"The Sky Show is an iconic event - it attracts around 100,000 spectators from around the region." More >> [1]
And those were the Top Scoops on this day, November 05, 2007
:)
ENDS