Today's Top Scoops - 28 April 2008
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LEAD STORY------------
Election 08: US Trade Expert Finds Fishhooks In FTA - While media coverage of the China-NZ Free Trade Agreement has focused almost entirely on the possible dollar gains, scant attention has been paid to the equally valid exposure of New Zealand to compensation claims - should any NZ government be so bold in future as to pass laws or regulations that a foreign investor feels will impact on profitability. Last week, I forwarded the China/NZ FTA investment rules to Professor Matthew Porterfield at Georgetown University, and he has come back with a list of the possible traps the FTA document contains. More >> [1]
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NZ POLITICS------------
Union News: Workers Memorial Day Activities - Monday April 28 - Workers Memorial Day is the day drawing attention to the plight of the hundreds of New Zealand workers who still die
every year as a result of their work. More >> [1]
ALSO:(KiwiFM): Wallace n Manning on Workers Memorial Day [2] (KiwiFM): Wallace n Helen Clark's Week of Politics [3] Workers Party of NZ - Solidarity needed during strikes [4]
Mayhem: Lobby Group Wants Violent Game 'Banged To Rights' - Family First NZ is calling for the latest version of the Grand Theft Auto video game series to be banned in NZ. Grand
Theft Auto IV is scheduled for release this week. More >> [1]
Employment: Defence Personnel Get ANZAC Weekend Bonus - Defence Minister Phil Goff has confirmed that New Zealand defence personnel will get an average 10% pay rise this
year. More>> [1]
ALSO: AGENDA - Phil Goff Interview Transcript [2] New Zealand Defence Force - Changes to Military Pay System [3]
Crime: Marie Davis Inquiry - Photo Of Car Released - The team investigating the death of Marie Davis has released the image of a vehicle they believe is similar to the
one reported to have been speeding alongside the Waimakariri River banks on Sunday morning, 6 April. More >> [1]
Defence News: Victoria Cross Recipient Gifts Medal To New Zealand - ANZAC Day News: Corporal Willie Apiata, V.C, will gift the Victoria Cross he received for valour in Afghanistan to a
New Zealand trust, giving more New Zealanders the opportunity to appreciate the honour. The Victoria Cross for New
Zealand was awarded to Corporal Apiata, 35, of the New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS), in July last year for
rescuing a wounded comrade under heavy enemy fire while on operations in Afghanistan in 2004. The Victoria Cross is the
highest award for valour. More >> [1]
ALSO:NZ Govt - Willie Apiata gifts VC to New Zealand [2] Maori Party - Willie Apiata's Remarkable ANZAC Day Gift [3] ANZAC Day FULL COVERAGE - Scoop: A Journey Back Through ANZAC Day Coverage [4]
Gordon Campbell: Young Doctors Cause Cunliffe Headache - So far, Health Minister David Cunliffe has talked so tough on the young doctors' pay dispute that any subsequent
concession will now look like capitulation. More >> [1]
ALSO:NZ Govt - New appointments to Whanganui DHB [2] TV3 Video - Junior doctors at Wairau hospital buck the trend over strikes [3]
Legislation: Public Health Bill Needs Treaty References - PHA - Dr Keating said that if the proposed Public Health Bill goes through as is, it will not only result in a clouded and
confused approach to Maori involvement in health but it could also be seen as an instance of institutional racism about
to be enshrined in government legislation. More >> [1]
ALSO:Maori Party - Treaty Warning must be heard [2] Obesity Action Coalition - No Giving In To Peddlers Of Junk Food [3]
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BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH------------
Family Silver Sale: Politicians In Lather Over Electricity - The sale of Vector's Wellington electricity network to Cheung Kong Infrastructure for $785 million represents the
serious loss of yet another local asset, says New Zealand First. More >> [1]
Monsters Of the Deep: Technicians Defrost Squid - Technicians preparing for the defrosting of the largest ever colossal squid specimen have successfully practised with
a test block of ice today. More >> [1]
Gardening: Stalinesque Purge On Weeds Advocated - New Zealand's 2007 Magazine of the Year is urging readers to purge their gardens of weedy ornamental species to save
our environment. More >> [1]
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WORLD------------
Dry Goods: Tackling Drought Crucial For Food Crisis Solution - Both drought and unsustainable water management have played a key role in the current problem, and managing drought
risk is essential to finding a long-term solution to the crisis, according to the UN International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction. More >> [1]
EARLIERGlobal Food Crisis 'Silent Tsunami' Threatening Over 100 Million People [3] Haiti Facing 'Explosive Situation' - UN [4] UN Economic Council To Meet On Growing Food Crisis [5] Steps Needed To Fight Growing Global Food Crisis [6] Caritas warns on international food crisis [7] Global Unions Demand IFI Policy Shift In Slowdown [8] G8 Must Press For Action On Food Crisis - UK's PM [9] UN Wants Urgent Action On Spiralling Food Prices [10] Global Rice Production To Rise By 1.8% In 2008 [11] Neglect Of Agriculture In Asia Equals Poverty [12]
Show Time: John D. Negroponte, Interview With Charlie Rose - Deputy Secretary Negroponte is the number two man at the United States State Department. He has over four decades of
experience as a diplomat. He served as U.S. ambassador to Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, the United Nations and
Iraq. More >> [1]
Rubble Inspection: UN Nuclear Agency To Probe Claim On Syrian Installation Bombed By Israel - The IAEA will conduct an investigation after receiving information from the U.S. alleging a Syrian installation
destroyed by Israel last year contained a nuclear reactor. Syria is obligated to report planning and construction of any
nuclear facility. More >> [1]
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COMMENT------------
J. Sri Raman: Referendum and Resistance - It is a bestseller, but barely popular with its readers. The 194-page volume, which hit the bookstands in Burma on
April 24, was the long-awaited draft constitution authored by the country's military junta, without consulting most of
its people. ... More >> [1]
Pablo Ouziel: 'Blood Diamonds' 'Blood Oil' and 'Blood Food' - For a while now, I have been thinking about what George W. Bush signifies from a socio-political perspective. Looking
at the world from the time of the 'Big Bang' of September 11th, 2001, until today almost seven years later, one can
clearly observe ... More >> [1]
Toni Solo: Globalization & terror - Clueless in Latin America - Corporate globalization and its equally misshapen twin, the fake "war on terror", look like the Western Bloc's last
crooked chance to sustain a few decades longer its member countries' habitual global power and privilege. John Pilger
has noted ... More >> [1]
Franklin Lamb: Bush to Nasrallah - An Offer Hezbollah Cannot Refuse? - "The Bush administration parking a flotilla from its US 6th fleet off the coast of Lebanon was made necessary, it
claims, to demonstrate Washington's 'commitment to stability in the region'... More >> [1]
ALSO:Part II: Why the Bush admin wants to negotiate now [2] Part III: the CIA and the Pentagon weigh in [3] Part IV: Bait, Hook and Switch [4] Part V: Hezbollah's part of the bargain [5]
Martin LeFevre: The Enlightenment of Hillary - The most interesting thing said so far during the torturous Democratic campaign came, improbably, from that sage,
Hillary Clinton. Intoning in Pennsylvania on Obama's remarks in San Francisco about people "clinging to guns and
religion"... More >> [1]
Ramzy Baroud: Why Palestinian Unity is Not an Option - Just days after the Hamas-Fatah clash last June in Gaza, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas looked firm
and composed as he shook hands with members of his new emergency government. He made sure his move appeared as
legitimate as possible... More >> [1]
Bill Berkowitz: Right Puts Obama in Media Crosshairs - OAKLAND, California, Apr 25 (IPS) - The unveiling this week of a new campaign advertisement by the North Carolina
Republican Party -- using video of controversial remarks made by Senator Barack Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah
Wright... More >> [1]
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LIFESTYLE------------
Angry Music: Florida Politico Punks Touring NZ - Fresh from a headlining tour of Australia, Gainesville Florida's folk punk heroes *Against Me!* Return to New Zealand
for two dates in May. More >> [1]
Moving Limbs: Kiwi Dancer Scoops Major Prize - New Zealand School of Dance graduate Jane Casson has won a major Australian arts award. The Green Room Awards
recognise the contribution that arts practitioners give to their industry. More >> [1]
Flashness: The Queen of Instruments Travels In Royal Style - Cellos have their own seats on a plane and a double bass travels as freight, but a concert harp has its own limousine
and driver. More >> [1]
And those were the Top Scoops on this day, 28 April 2008
:)
ENDS