Today's Top Scoops - 02 May 2008
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LEAD STORY------------
Satire: Colossal Squid "Not Nearly As Tasty As Hoped" - ABSTRACT: Lyndon Hood Writes, The research team investigated the tastiness of the colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis Hamiltoni). A complete specimen was dressed and prepared using a variety of traditional methods. All tests found the squid to be not delicious in any way. More >> [1]
ALSO:Out-link - Dim-Post: Violent Bible Book Should be Banned (Kiwiblog) [2] R2 Squid-Cam - Recorded squid footage [3]
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NZ POLITICS------------
Justice System: High Court Finds Berrymans Not Responsible For Bridge Collapse - New Zealand First MPs are delighted at the judgement issued last night which quashed an earlier finding that Keith
and Margaret Berryman were responsible for a fatal bridge collapse on their King Country farm in 1994. More >> [1]
Election 08: Waihopai and the Troublesome Priest - Gordon Campbell writes - Interesting headline in the NZ Herald this morning about the Waihopai spy base invasion: "Spy Base Priest's History of
Trouble" in fact, the only "trouble" the Herald can dig up on Dominican priest Peter Murnane is that he took in the
Algerian asylum seeker Ahmed Zaoui. Right. So he enabled a recognised refugee and an asylum seeker to be kept in humane
conditions. More >> [1]
ALSO:NZ First - Zaoui's Mates In Spy Base Fiasco [2] Carbon News - Waihopai attack might hurt big global warming probe [3]
Maori: Kingitanga 150th Anniversary - The Maori Party honours the distinctive presence of the Kingitanga as an important force in the past and future
design of a nation. "As today we celebrate 150 years since the coronation of Potatau Te Wherowhero, we at the same time
acknowledge the legacy of the movement and its influence upon the cultural landscape of Aotearoa" said Dr Pita Sharples. More >> [1]
ALSO:New Zealand Post - Stamp Issue Marks 150 Years Of Kingitanga [2]
Activist Politics: Ploughshares Penetrate Waihopai Base Deflate Dome - Ploughshares Statement: This morning, 30 April 2008, we entered the Waihopai Spy Base near Blenheim. Our group,
including a Dominican Priest, temporarily closed the base by padlocking the gates and proceeded to deflate one of the
large domes covering two satellite dishes. More >> [1]
ALSO:Peace Movement Aotearoa - Support for Waihopai ANZAC Ploughshares [2] Scoop Review of Books - Review of Book on the PloughsharesGlobal Peace And Justice Auckland - Congratulations on Deflation of Waihopai Dome [3] Shut down the Spy Bases! Protest Saturday [4] 95bFM Audio - Mikey Talks To Spy Base Activist Spokesperson [5] Peace Action Wellington - Direct Action - only way to shut down the bases [6] TV3 Video - Three arrested as activists attack Waihopai spy base domes, deflating one [7] TV3 Video - Full interview with spokesman for Waihopai spy base activists [8]
Gordon Campbell: The Listener, past and present - Former Listener journalist Gordon Campbell disagrees with the assertion that the Listener was ever 'the house journal of
the Alliance' 'If she has been accurately reported, [current editor Pamela] Stirling's assessment of the Listener that she inherited
is a slur on previous editors such as Finlay Macdonald, Paul Little, Jenny Wheeler, Terry Snow, Geoff Baylis and David
Beatson among others - not to mention on the editor who initiated many of the Listener's best conventions, Monte
Holcroft. More >> [1]
ALSO:Scoop Review of Books - Booker Winner Ditches Listener Sub [2]
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BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH------------
Disasters: Natural Hazards In 2007: Busy And Expensive - 2007 was one of the most costly years on record for natural hazards, according to the annual review of natural
hazards from the National Hazards Centre. Insurance Council figures reported in the review show total payouts are likely
to exceed those for 2004, the year of the Manawatu floods. More >> [1]
Race Relations: NZ Artist May Have Inspired Darwin - Evidence suggesting Charles Darwin may have received help formulating his theory of evolution has been uncovered by a
New Zealand historian. AUT University Professor of History Paul Moon says the writings of artist Augustus Earle reveal
an astonishing parallel with Darwin's theory. More >> [1]
Real Estate: $17 Bn Matakana Property Case Back To Court? - It may be unusual, but businessman Christopher Wingate has never been one to do things by halves. The "unusual" is
something that comes easy to him and it made him a millionaire by age 25. Mr Wingate is now advertising for "lawyers
with stamina" to take a case worth $3.5 billion profits back to court. More >> [1]
ALSO:LawFuel - Best-Ever Year For Bell Gully: $100Mil Mark Passed [2] City Vision - Auckland City Council back-flips on Gables [3]
Training: Politicians Experience Work First Hand! - Politicians and other community leaders visited workplaces that work with their Industry Training Organisation to
arrange training for staff. More >> [1]
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WORLD------------
George Chips In: President Bush Offers $770 Million For Food Crisis - Many have expressed concern about the significant increase in global food prices. Today I am calling on Congress to
provide an additional $770 million to support food aid and development programs. Other countries have a role to play as
well. More >> [1]
Food For Thought: Marginalized Must Be Remembered In Food Crisis - Solutions to the current food crisis spurred by soaring global food prices must include marginalized groups, the top
United Nations human rights official said today. "When we focus on those most in need, we must include not only the
poorest but also those that are particularly vulnerable to discrimination on any other grounds, including gender,
ethnicity, or disability." More >> [1]
EARLIERSurging Food Prices Not Just Threat, But Also Opportunity [3] High-Powered Task Force Tackles Global Food Crisis [4] Meeting Of Top Officials From Across The UN [5] Biofuel Production Is 'Criminal Path' Leading To Global Food Crisis [6]
Environment: Indigenous Peoples Most Affected By Climate Change - Indigenous peoples are ''most directly affected by environmental degradation caused by climate change,'' and are
''the stewards of some of the most precious biologically diverse regions of the world,'' the President of the General
Assembly said today. More >> [1]
The Brown Declaration: Palestinian Territories "Open For Business" - British PM - There are "real economic opportunities" in the Middle East and a chance to build "peace and prosperity" across the
region, Gordon Brown has said. Although bullish about economic conditions in the Palestinian territories, the PM called
on Hamas to stop rocket attacks and on the Palestinian Authority to step up security. He added that Israel should lift
its restrictions on Gaza. More >> [1]
Power Plans: Asia-Pacific Nations Agree On Renewable Energy - Asia-Pacific countries reached an agreement at a United Nations meeting in Bangkok to boost their collaboration on
developing renewable energy in a bid to decrease their reliance on fossil fuels and enhance their long-term energy
security. More >> [1]
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COMMENT------------
Interview: Gordon Campbell Interviews Rodney Hide - Act Party leader Rodney Hide has always been something of a poltergeist rattling around on the centre right of the
political spectrum - making noise and kind of friendly (except when he isn't) but without ever conveying the sense that
he's entirely there. More >> [1]
Michael Hammerschlag: The Bush Battered Dollar - The proximate cause for the current US misery is the rupture of the housing bubble and the sub-prime mortgage crisis,
but the base cause of the dollar's collapse and much of the current instability has been George Bush 2 giving $4-5
trillion of tax rebates to the rich. More >> [1]
Religion: AZ Supervisor On State Ignored Polygabuse - The State of Texas has responded to the call for help from inside the polygamist compound in El Dorado. Whether the
call was legitimate or not the abuses they have found are real. The media is acting as if this is some new phenomenon. More >> [1]
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LIFESTYLE------------
Meanness: Union Launches Attack On Miss Manawatu - Association of University Staff reports: "In what must be one the most banal news features emanating from a
university, Massey has trumpeted the success of one of its students in finishing third in the Miss Universe NZ beauty
pageant. More >> [1]
PR THAT LED TO THE ATTACK:Massey Graduate a finalist in national beauty pageant [2] ALSO:JYandA Media - Miss Universe NZ judge hits back at criticism [3] Miss Horowhenua takes Miss Universe New Zealand [4]
Comedy: Lovegrove's Punch Lines To Fall On Deaf Ears - Arguably New Zealand's most naturally talented comedian, award-winning comic Brendhan Lovegrove returns to the 2008
NZ International Comedy Festival with a completely new show, showcasing the finest home-grown stand-up comedy has to
offer, with an important and extremely worthwhile twist. More >> [1]
Foreign Affairs: NZ'S Moana & The Tribe To Play For UN With Geldoff - Internationally respected and lauded New Zealand musician Moana Maniapoto has been invited to perform with her band
Moana & The Tribe at a concert for the United Nations in Germany. More >> [1]
And those were the Top Scoops on this day, 02 May 2008
:)
ENDS